Oceanside plans to hire a consultant for $120,000 to plan, design and obtain permits for the regular maintenance of Loma Alta Creek, the site of a long-planned wetlands restoration.
Loma Alta Creek flows into the ocean at Buccaneer Beach, where the naturally occurring rock cobble creates a large berm for most of the year. The city uses bulldozers and heavy equipment to remove the berm and lower the water when it becomes stagnant and threatens to flood nearby properties.
City staffers are recommending the Oceanside City Council approve a $199,999 contract with Dudek, a national consulting firm with offices in Encinitas, “for the study, design plan, permitting and environmental documents necessary” to quickly clear the creek mouth when necessary.
“Maintenance will lessen flood risks for future projects such as improvements to the existing pedestrian footpath, bathrooms, and recreation area east of the (Pacific Street) bridge, the planned extension of the Oceanside Coastal Rail Trail bike path, and the eventual decommission and conversion of the La Salina wastewater treatment plant to a lift station,” states a staff report.
Approval of the contract is on the consent calendar for Wednesday’s Oceanside City Council meeting. Consent calendar items usually are approved in a single vote without individual presentations or comments.
The area to be studied by Dudek covers about half an acre west of the bridge. The consultant’s services will provide information to assist the city with other projects planned for the creek area.
Late last year, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation announced a $500,000 grant that was the final chunk of funding Oceanside needed to start construction on the city’s Loma Alta Slough wetlands restoration project.
Construction is expected to start this year on about six acres, mostly east of the bridge. The work will include the excavation of the creek channel and the removal of invasive plants to improve water circulation and quality.
A 6-foot-wide public trail, an overlook and interpretive signs will be added, along with a connection to the Coastal Rail Trail.
Oceanside has planned the restoration for more than 20 years. The remaining wetlands are a small percentage of a much larger slough that was reduced by encroaching urbanization over the past century.
The city received a $400,000 grant in 2018 from the State Coastal Conservancy to begin the restoration design, and in June 2022 it received $1 million from the California Ocean Protection Council in June 2022 to go toward construction costs, which are expected to be a little more than $2 million in all.
