"The misconception that the shoreline must be maintined at the same location as in 1960 let alone as last year is the fundamental problem. Not a lack of sand. The rate of sand removal is greater than the rate of deposition even in a natural condition. With the harbor jetties and sea level rise, the rate of removal is even greater. The shoreline must move landward to compensate."
Oceanside Harbor dredging falls short in replenishing city beaches
North County Times-4/20/10
Oceanside's beaches are in such sorry shape this year that sand dredged from the city's harbor didn't go nearly as far is it usually does in making up for the ravages of winter storms.
In a typical year, sand dredged from the harbor every April by the Army Corps of Engineers is pumped onto city beaches as far south as Tyson Street Park, which is about three blocks south of Oceanside Municipal Pier, said Frank Quan, city harbor and beaches coordinator.
This week, as workers packed up their equipment, it became clear that the dredged sand only stretched as far as the pier.
"It's the first year I can ever recall that we didn't have dredged sand south of the pier," said John Daley, a lifelong Oceanside resident and founding member of the Oceanside Historical Society.
"It's just never happened, and I'm old enough to remember the beaches back to the '60s," said Daley, who has collected photographs going back to the 1880s showing the ebb and flow of beach sand.