Army Corps of Engineers to help Bay Area beach with dredge material
Maintenance dredging of the San Francisco Bay main channel that began last week will lead to the creation of a new sandbar off Ocean Beach that will help protect nearly a quarter-mile of waterfront from erosion.
Sand removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge ship Essayons from five miles out in San Francisco Bay's main channel will be deposited about a half-mile off the southern end of Ocean Beach, near Sloat Boulevard and Fort Funston. The project is scheduled to continue through the weekend.
Corps engineers hope the deposited sand would help the naturally existing sandbars in the area rebuild themselves and improve the way the waves beat on the shore.
The dredging is required periodically to keep the channel to a depth of 55 feet, allowing the largest commercial vessels access to the bay.