[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6538151,"mediaKeyId","3351716-14141044aa5f830fd422143ecb75f05a","parentId",3351716,"title","UCI student team outlines multimodal options — pipeline, electric trucks, rail — for San Clemente sand replenishment","audioSeconds",1068,"startMs",124000,"endMs",1192000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3351716-14141044aa5f830fd422143ecb75f05a&start=124&end=1192","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3351716-14141044aa5f830fd422143ecb75f05a/thumbnail_124000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6538151/San-Clemente-City/Orange-County/California/UCI-student-team-outlines-multimodal-options-pipeline-electric-trucks-rail-for-San-Clemente-sand-replenishment","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6538151-684c7dba01f9dcdf1b5ef98b5ed7557d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771149942&Signature=PT72x0lxDTZJuZ6OAQwf-nn0w0UdKlwS3z1BhqGDYtAGi1wjbaB7Ifdy8fHwT6I2SrTzDUffpvWvk1wt-bIIfaUfGKQQuVbWcw2I45-HchG1EEYuJ3X9CzRgSUsc6BDEAYwvQIY-l3DLt5L1PluIkT6yucHkHGUvsGO-HFJZN-C39~i9FD~VSC3IIDYbXb7o6aGsxGFngDmB6JT3LJFdlgK1qLxtPUphkhQU5kOASV6kBxzL3KZVNxjbcgrETuuS-Mf0KLaTaILzLgBF~pNlhChssRFgkDcC8K-WFBbcwBW-Y~iXlEENKtRRoPc0fNNTFclEWVvy53HIoNtOQHxFmw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","San Clemente City","date","2025-05-16T22:23:10Z","article","A team of UC Irvine Master of Engineering students presented the results of a city‑commissioned study on coastal sand replenishment to the San Clemente Coastal Advisory Committee on May 15, describing candidate inland sand sources and several transportation methods intended to reduce environmental and community impacts from repeat trucking.

The students said they began the project in January and evaluated receiver (discharge) beaches at North Beach, Pier area and South San Clemente; inland supply options including Prado Dam, San Juan Quarry, Santa Ana River and San Diego Creek; and transport methods ranging from conventional diesel trucking to electric trucks, slurry pipelines, conveyor belts and rail. The presentation aimed to identify “more sustainable and environmentally friendly” approaches than last year’s diesel‑trucked nourishment, the students said.

Why it matters: San Clemente’s beaches have required recurring nourishment; the city and regional partners repeatedly move sand to widen beaches that protect infrastructure, recreation and habitat. The students’ work mapped supply, cost and permitting trade‑offs and highlighted where the city might pursue pilots or multimodal approaches to reduce long‑term cost and emissions.

The team narrowed inland sources to Prado Dam and the San Juan Quarry as the most reliable in initial weightings, based on sediment availability, distance and logistics. For partnerships they identified Orange County, Corona and the Orange County Transportation Authority and Orange County Water District for Prado Dam; Irvine and Orange County entities for San Diego Creek; and an industry partnership (company name cited in the presentation) for San Juan Quarry.

On transportation, the students presented these technical and cost points:
- Pipeline: a slurry pipeline concept the students described as using high‑density polyethylene in a protected alignment; they said the mix would be roughly three to four parts water to one part sand and that a changeable flow rate could meet an operational “5,000” target the presenters described (the unit was not specified in the slideshow). The group used a unit price they found of about $235 per linear foot for 12–14‑inch pipe to estimate a San Clemente coastal pipeline at roughly $4 million, with an additional $5 million if routed from Doheny to North Beach, while noting those figures excluded mobilization, pumping and permitting line items.
- Conveyor belts: the students identified aggregate conveyors for short distances and estimated roughly $600 per linear foot using company pricing; applying that rate to different segments produced multi‑million‑dollar orders of magnitude (examples in the slides included totals the team presented as roughly $9–21 million for different reaches). They emphasized that those figures did not include infrastructure or site‑specific permitting costs.
- Electric trucking and hybrid trucks: students said electric trucking scored highly on emissions and could be cheaper than diesel as EVs scale, but they cautioned that heavy‑duty electric semi availability and market readiness remain limited today; they pointed to the California Air Resources Board’s zero‑emission truck target as a long‑term driver of EV adoption.
- Rail: discussions with OCTA staff materialized in the slides. Students reported an OCTA estimate implying more than 100 train trips and a delivery every 7–10 days for a large program; they flagged complexities including railcar availability, offloading equipment, coordination with passenger service and potential impacts to regional freight operations.

“Using electric trucking and conveyor belt would have the highest benefits overall,” the students told the committee, but they emphasized that the best transport depends on the chosen sand source, the scale of stockpiles and local geography. As a practical multimodal option the team proposed trucking to a local stockpile (they identified a vacant lot adjacent to the Beach Hut Deli as a candidate) followed by pipeline or belt delivery for the final leg, or rail to a nearby offload area with short‑haul conveyors to the beach.

Committee members pressed on partnerships and operability. Asked to expand on “partnerships,” a student named specific city and agency partners for each supply option and said the quarry relationship would likely be with industry operators; city staff and the university faculty present added that regulatory and right‑of‑way agreements would be required for any rail or pipeline path.

The students showed the North Beach nourishment from the prior year — a roughly 37,000‑cubic‑yard placement referenced in the slides — as the baseline and argued that upfront infrastructure investments (stockpiles, conveyors, pipeline) could reduce recurring costs across decades. They used a projected 50‑year comparison to show how an initial infrastructure cost could yield net savings versus repeated emergency trucking across multiple cycles.

Next steps and availability: the students said they are preparing a final report and posters to submit to the city before graduation in June. City staff and committee members asked for the full report and indicated the presentation would inform the city’s continuing sand‑sourcing and funding conversations.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Coastal Advisory Committee Meeting May 15, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","A UC Irvine Master of Engineering student team presented multimodal alternatives to diesel trucking for San Clemente beach nourishment, weighing inland sand sources and transport options — pipelines, conveyors, electric trucks and rail — while flagging permitting, cost and operational trade‑offs.","taxTitle","San Clemente City, Orange County, California","taxId",4846,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6538149,"Consultants recommend multipurpose offshore breakwaters, prefill sand to retain beach sand in San Clemente",161,3618000,3779000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3351716-14141044aa5f830fd422143ecb75f05a&start=3618&end=3779","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3351716-14141044aa5f830fd422143ecb75f05a/thumbnail_3618000.jpg","/articles/6538149/San-Clemente-City/Orange-County/California/Consultants-recommend-multipurpose-offshore-breakwaters-prefill-sand-to-retain-beach-sand-in-San-Clemente","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6538149-143c00ad90659c36b438582d109a2be3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771149942&Signature=WSFSn2Q~N11~jTsVexFqQWyxclqwf0KM75HxkiyoJRReZUKJCO~bfsxOS~8yIhf2U-R-QxfC~5mQoN6FeXpof6Io6ofUDm1vrVTj-bhBTBYHqCa7nQB0FfHkmtu-p0ncVnllk1s66KnIksT1et-XCg4U5hU5PCt9eRUALHgBPNUM1B~K-b5CIcXDFOSc0h-toUfrboh3i9gitXB7MLdD-Dt-P8xptffywtABXNkbi8oXsBDBuECXLptlnNKwX1UCOmgcVXXeNsaArBZZrJk2mtzUR~duwzyGwHEX1USodrg3U8jG1MrzS1N3i7uaj3BumogTsqQe22ZiqFb8Q8FAig__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Consultants with Moffatt & Nichol presented a draft Nature‑Based Feasibility Study to the Coastal Advisory Committee on May 15, outlining offshore breakwater/reef concepts intended to trap sand and lengthen the interval between nourishment cycles. The firm proposed pilot projects at North Beach, Capistrano Shores and the south end of the city, and gave preliminary estimates of filled areas, sand volumes and costs for each concept.

Why it matters: The study seeks to move San Clemente from repeated short‑term sand placements toward infrastructure that retains sand longer, potentially reducing long‑term replenishment frequency and protecting shoreline infrastructure, recreation and habitat.

Key consultant findings and concepts
- North Beach “dog‑bone” breakwater: a multipurpose emergent structure the consultants sketched as roughly one quarter mile long with a roughly 700‑foot planform width. Moffatt & Nichol reported that a prefill of 400,000–600,000 cubic yards (they cited 500,000 cy as an illustrative midpoint) would likely be required to create an 8–13 acre beach in the structure’s lee. The consultants said such a feature would block incoming wave energy, produce a quiet swimming area behind the breakwater and could be shaped to provide surfable edges.
- Capistrano Shores submerged breakwater: a longer but lower structure sited in deeper water and intended to be mostly underwater (the crest near mean lower low water). The consultants estimated it could create roughly 20 acres of new beach but would require a much larger prefill — they cited about 1.5 million cubic yards of sand for the concept as presented.
- South‑end breakwater: a design similar to North Beach but slightly smaller in net accreted area (consultants estimated roughly 12 acres). They also noted the potential to use a structure there to stabilize an active toe‑of‑slope landslide in that vicinity and to reduce future repairs to the rail corridor.

Costs, benefits and permitting
Moffatt & Nichol provided high‑level cost estimates that put multipurpose reef projects in the tens of millions; depending on footprint and sand sourcing the consultants described program costs on the order of hundreds of millions when accounting for engineering, environmental review, construction, sand procurement and contingencies. The presentation included a benefits‑to‑cost review prepared by a coastal economist; over a 25‑year window the consultant team’s recreational benefits estimate produced a higher benefit for the North Beach concept (presented as roughly $200 million in recreation benefit over 25 years) and lower values for the south end. The consultants noted their economic tally omitted some protective and non‑recreation benefits (for example, avoided emergency armoring), which could improve benefit‑cost ratios if included.

Moffatt & Nichol stressed that the concept drawings rely on regional correlations and that the next steps — numerical coastal modeling and physical laboratory modeling — would be required to refine dimensions, test surf performance and set final volumes. They also listed permits likely needed for any site: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (River and Harbors Act Section 10 and Clean Water Act Section 404), California Coastal Commission coastal development permits, State Lands Commission, Regional Water Quality Control Board 401 certifications, and right‑of‑entry agreements with OCTA and the regional rail authority if work or staging interacts with rail right‑of‑way.

Timeline and next steps
The consultants said they will publish the draft report for a roughly 50‑day public review period (anticipated the week after the committee meeting). If the city advances a pilot, consultants recommended targeted numerical and flume (physical) modeling, followed by environmental review, permitting and staged construction; the consultants estimated a realistic five‑year timeline to pilot implementation if funding and permitting align, with longer time horizons for expanded regional deployment. They identified pilot site optimization — especially moving some footprints slightly closer to shore to reduce cost while preserving benefit — as a near‑term design priority.

Committee reaction and staff follow up
Committee members and staff discussed project economics, relative public access and visual impacts, and the potential to align OCTA sand placement or regional programs with a retaining structure to reduce overall costs. The consultants and city staff agreed to incorporate public comments into the draft and to provide the report for grant and funding applications.","Moffatt & Nichol’s draft Nature‑Based Feasibility Study recommends pilot offshore structures (emergent/submerged breakwaters) at North Beach, Capistrano Shores and the south end to trap sand, create wider beaches and yield long‑term recreation and resilience benefits — at high upfront cost and with substantial permitting ahead","actionData","errors"]

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UCI student team outlines multimodal options — pipeline, electric trucks, rail — for San Clemente sand replenishment

Consultants recommend multipurpose offshore breakwaters, prefill sand to retain beach sand in San Clemente