Army Engineers renewing eroded beaches in Orange County

SEAL BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- Two miles off the coast of Surfside Beach the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is stirring up a new project aimed at protecting public safety and property along parts of the Orange County coastline.

"The dredge is picking up the sand and pumping it through a pipeline that's placed on the bottom of the ocean," said coastal engineer Chris Hayward. "It comes right up on shore here in the beach."

The beach nourishment project is expected to deposit more than 1 million cubic yards of sand on the beach, he said.

"The water will run back into the ocean and the sand will stay," Hayward said. "There's dozers here pushing that sand up from time to time to make sure the beach is built to the design."

The project is supposed to take place every five to seven years but due to lack of federal funding the last time this happened was in 2010.

When finished Hayward said the beach is expected to be up to 600 feet wider.

"Obviously in a wider beach there's more room for everybody and the beach acts as a natural storm-damage reduction tool," he said.

Hayward said the beach naturally erodes and the current will carry the sand down toward Newport, creating a wider beach along the coast over time.

Although the beach nourishment project has already started, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have a groundbreaking next Wednesday.

The project is set to last several months.