ENCINITAS — Sea level rise should not be an issue for the planned $3 million lifeguard tower project at Moonlight State Beach, city officials said at a recent council meeting.
The City Council heard an update on the project at the Jan. 27 meeting and how it would withstand rising waves, tides and erosion associated with sea level rise.
The consulting firm Moffat and Nichols conducted a study, at the behest of the city, that looked at sea level rise between 2017 and 2067, the expected life of the new lifeguard tower. The study found that while climate change will lead to rising sea levels that could impact the building, the city could lessen the impacts by taking several measures:
- Making the first floor of the 2,200-square-foot facility “floodable” by storing electronics and other sensitive instruments on the top floor.
- Building a foundation of drilled cast-in-place concrete piers connected with grade beams, which will limit the amount of sand that will be carved from the building’s base due to wave movement.
- Continuing to replenish sand at Moonlight Beach and build berms in the winter to keep sand from being stripped from the beach.
Construction on the lifeguard tower is expected to start in October, and completed in April 2017. The city approved the use of bonds to finance the construction of the lifeguard tower, which will replace the current one at Moonlight Beach that is in poor shape and need of major work.
