Long Beach, Army Corps to study breakwater adjustment

LONG BEACH — The future of the Long Beach Breakwater is back in the news cycle again as local, state and federal leaders held a joint signing ceremony last month to announce a cost-sharing partnership for the East San Pedro Bay Ecosystem Restoration Study. Officials previously referred to the feasibility study as the Long Beach Breakwater Project. The breakwater off the Long Beach coast and east of the city’s commercial harbor could be reconfigured or completely removed, depending on the results of the feasibility study, Both the city of Long Beach and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers aim to use the study’s results to restore the local ecosystem, provide additional recreational opportunities and make other offshore improvements. Details of what recreational opportunities would be increased have not yet been revealed. Questions also remain whether removing or adjusting Long Beach Breakwater, which is the eastern-most of three breakwaters off the Long Beach-San Pedro coast, would impact recreational boating or fishing. Reconfiguring or removing Long Beach Breakwater could result in cleaner water in the San Pedro Bay. “The study’s purpose is to evaluate opportunities for ecosystem restoration, increased recreational opportunities, and other improvement in the San Pedro Bay off the Long Beach shore,” an Army Corps environmental...