San Elijo Lagoon dredging starts this week

As reported last week, the long-awaited Sanderling dredge arrived at the San Elijo Lagoon.

The dredge – which came from San Diego Bay after undergoing modifications and retrofitting over the past few months in preparation for the San Elijo Lagoon project to remove 70,000 cubic yards of sand from the main channel – was transported to San Elijo Lagoon in pieces and lowered onto the banks of the lagoon with the help of cranes.

Last week, crews reassembled the dredge and conducted diagnostic tests in preparation for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Dredging Quality Management (DQM) certification, which verifies that the dredge is transmitting the required data. The dredge passed USACE certification.

During testing, it was determined that one of the hydraulic cylinders controlling the cutterhead’s depth – the equipment the dredge uses to loosen and suck up the sand – had broken during transport. The hydraulic cylinder was at the repair shop today and will be installed tomorrow.

If everything goes well with the testing tomorrow, the dredging will begin on Thursday, June 19.

Once dredging begins, the dredge will operate 24/7 to remove approximately 70,000 cubic yards of sand from the main channel, with most of the material located west of the Nature Center and east of the railroad bridge.

The sand will be transported via pipes to the Chart House Restaurant area, utilizing lagoon water for the process.

Following this, land excavation will occur at the Cardiff State Beach inlet for four days.