Elevated bacteria levels detected by routine testing have placed three northern Oceanside waterfront areas on San Diego County’s beach advisory list, possibly a result of the ongoing harbor dredging and sand placement project.
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Harbor Beach, the San Luis Rey River outlet, and the area around the Oceanside Municipal Pier all showed elevated levels of enterococcus, a bacteria that orginates in the fecal matter of humans and animals.
“Our field staff indicated there is active dredging occurring at the Oceanside Harbor entrance,” said Donna Durckel, a communications officer for the county, in an email Tuesday. “This may affect water quality at the surrounding beaches.”
Bacterial levels also are often elevated by stormwater run-off, but the region has been dry for months. Beach advisories are common during the winter rains.
Also under advisories this week in San Diego County were the Children’s Pool at La Jolla, Vacation Isle at Mission Bay, and the Imperial Beach Pier. Four closures were in effect, all at Imperial Beach near the Mexican border.
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A beach advisory means bacteria levels in the water have exceeded state health safety levels, and that people should avoid contact with the water in those areas. The county tests coastal waters regularly, and the advisory will be lifted when new tests show the bacteria levels have receded
Oceanside has always dredged its harbor channel in the spring to keep it safe for navigation. The sand is piped onto beaches north of the pier, finishing shortly before the Labor Day weekend.
However, the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently worked together to switch the annual dredging to the fall, which required a second dredging this year. Studies show the new schedule is more likely to keep sand on the beaches longer before it’s lost to the tides, waves and coastal erosion.
Sand placement began in mid-September and is expected to continue until about Oct. 20. About 380,000 cubic yards of sand is expected to be dredged from the Harbor channel and placed on the beaches this fall, city officials said.
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