Crissy going going gone...

From: Richard Zimmerman (windrider@ProtectOurBay.com-DeleteThis.com)
Date: Wed Jan 10 2001 - 10:49:33 PST


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Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 10:49:33 -0800
Subject: Crissy going going gone...
From: Richard Zimmerman <windrider@ProtectOurBay.com-DeleteThis.com>
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January 10, 2001 (SF Chronicle)
Winter Currents Eroding Beach At Crissy Field/GGNRA showplace threatened by
high tides, surging storm swells
Paul McHugh

At the Presidio's troubled East Beach, those seeking to return Crissy
Field to a measure of natural health have been shoveling sand -- and
concrete - - against the tide. And that tide's been rising.
   This week, four extreme high tides of winter -- 7 feet above the mean --
coupled with high offshore swells surging through the Golden Gate, have
sent water lapping near major elements of the $32 million Crissy Field
restoration project.
   A major storm could compound the threat. The National Weather Service was
predicting cloudy skies and rain this afternoon with the added attraction
of brisk wind.
   At risk are Crissy Field's broad new promenade, the seat wall that both
protects it and offers rest benches for pedestrians and stability of a
tidal inlet that leads to the project's centerpiece: a 20-acre marsh and
lagoon.
   Already severely eroded is East Beach, a famed windsurfing site that has
hosted four national championships. Formerly, its broad, sandy expanse in
full view of the Golden Gate Bridge formed an ideal launch zone for
windsurfers.
   But after the new lagoon was created and tides began to ebb and flow
through the inlet, shifts in shoreline current gnawed away at the beach,
subtracting sand by the dump truck-load to expose sharp, dangerous rubble
on which beachgoers can cut their feet.
   Despite efforts to replenish this sand artificially, it has further
eroded. Impacts of winter tides and waves are accelerating this process,
and the lovely East Beach now offers a mere bone of its former bulk.
   Bill Robberson, president of the 2,000-member San Francisco Boardsailors
Association, walked the beach yesterday morning, and watched waves ride
the extreme high tide. They nibbled within a dozen feet of the promenade,
lapped the base of the footbridge over the inlet, and sucked sand away
from the rocky riprap intended to armor the sides of the inlet channel.
   "This is what you'd expect from a winter tide cycle," said Robberson, who
is also a civil engineer. "See how aggressively waves rip at the sand?
Imagine if a big storm hit right now. Without the barrier of East Beach,
any extra surge would threaten the seat wall, the promenade and even the
parking lot.
   "We used to have about 1,100 linear feet of safe, usable beach to launch
and retrieve our boards," Robberson added glumly. "Now, we're down to
about 70 feet, and shrinking."
   National Park Service staff of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
(GGNRA) have been involved in planning and monitoring the Crissy Field
restoration, while staff of the park service's cooperating nonprofit
group, the Golden Gate National Park Association (GGNPA), have funded and
directed the project.
   Park Service officials say they share windsurfer worries over East Beach,
and promise it will be fixed in the future. For now, they counsel
patience. They seek to carefully monitor changes as the beach shoreline
adapts to the new lagoon and inlet, and achieves some sort of natural
stability. Then, take the most logical steps to remedy damage.
   "The natural cycle is for sand on bay beaches to move offshore during
winter, then come back over summer," said Nancy Hornor, chief of planning
for the park. "Our consultant said sand seemed to be accreting at East
Beach last fall. So we hope to see it resume doing that in spring.
   "Most likely, we'll do some artificial sand replenishment to speed things
along at the start of the windsurfing season (in March), but during big
tides of the storm season, that area is vulnerable," Hornor admitted.
   Practical measures taken by the GGNRA-GGNPA thus far include two sand
replenishments, one last spring of about 800 cubic yards, and one last
fall of 2,500 cubic yards. However, both these sand dumps were eventually
nullified by the same erosive forces.
   Then, fearing winter's onslaught, project managers dug an 8-foot-deep
trench alongside the promenade and laid in 220 feet of concrete "K-rail,"
the movable barriers used on freeways, as an emergency barricade -- at a
cost of $50,000.
   This last-ditch shield for the promenade has not yet been exposed by tide
and wave action. But forecasters note a heavy surf advisory for 19-foot
ocean swells predicted to arrive today, stormy weather through Saturday,
and more tall tides into the weekend. That could put this barrier to the
test.
   Robberson says the long-term test is this: Will the institutional will
and
funds be available to restore East Beach after the project gets
transferred to control of the National Park Service in spring? Last
summer, officials said that all $32 million raised for Crissy Field had
been spent or assigned.
   "If we need to take other steps, we will," Hornor said. "The East Beach
area is a prime site; it's where we have our main entrance and our
parking. If a current budget gets used up, we'll make another request.
Whether it's an ongoing need, or some big, specific remedial project, we
can make requests through the NPS region, or all the way up to
Washington."
   E-mail Paul McHugh at outdoors@sfchronicle.com.-DeleteThis.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2001 SF Chronicle

The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/01/10
/MN148173.DTL
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
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