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Newport OKs repairing Balboa Island sea walls before El Niño storms hit

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A section of sea walls on Balboa Island will receive some quick repairs in preparation for severe El Niño storms expected this winter.

The Newport Beach City Council voted 6 to 0 to approve a contract with Metro Builders & Engineers Group Tuesday night for the contractor to build up sand embankments located along the bottom of sea walls along the east and west end of the Grand Canal. Councilman Marshall “Duffy” Duffield was absent.

The work is expected to last about 16 days and cost roughly $246,500, according to city documents. The contractor will transport the sand used for the project from the base of the Santa Ana River to the Grand Canal, which divides the main island from Little Balboa Island.

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The reinforcement effort stemmed from city staffers’ recent inspection of the structural design of the walls, which showed that the sand has sloughed from its 4-foot-wide shelf since it was reprofiled in 1999, leaving the lower section of the sea walls exposed and vulnerable through the length of the canal, officials said.

“We asked staff to bring in sand to reinforce it in advance of the winter season as a preventative measure in case there are any problems due to El Niño,” said Mayor Ed Selich, who represents Balboa Island.

Sea wall repairs are not a new topic for Balboa Island residents.

The City Council first set a goal in early 2010 to look into preparedness for rising sea levels. A study completed in 2011 indicated the walls had as little as 10 years of useful life left.

The Grand Canal is home to some of the area’s most deteriorated sea walls, the oldest of which were built about 90 years ago and have wide cracks and other structural issues.

After years of discussion about how best to handle the aging infrastructure, the council indicated during a study session in July that it is in favor of repairing, but not replacing, the 2 miles of sea walls surrounding the island in the coming years, beginning first with the walls that are the most damaged.

The structures play an important role as the island’s first line of defense against rising tides during El Niño storms. Balboa Island, known during rain events as the city’s bathtub because of its lack of drainage, has flooded from previous El Niño storms. During the 1982-83 El Niño season, people floated in canoes and inflatable rafts past parked cars on the island’s streets after a severe downpour.

Nearly every winter during especially high tides, city workers pump sea water back into the ocean after it has lapped over the walls.

With forecasters predicting this winter’s El Niño to be one of the most severe on record, some Balboa Island residents are already thinking about how to protect their homes from water damage.

“This El Niño is a little bit scary,” said Ken Yonkers, president of the Little Balboa Island Property Owners Assn. “That’s why I’m glad it’s coming up and being discussed by the city.”

The council will discuss how homeowners can prepare for El Niño during a study session on Oct. 13.

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