The sand is chomped away in Newport Beach after a storm causes erosion. Officials in northern Orange County coastal towns are wondering why the federal government hasn’t been able to fund projects to keep the beaches sandy. (File photo: SAM GANGWER/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
By LAYLAN CONNELLY | [email protected] | Orange County Register
Sea-level rise is often pointed to as the unbeatable culprit chomping away at Southern California’s most popular asset. But rising seas aren’t the only reason the coastline is disappearing.
Decades of development along the coast blocked sand flow to beaches. Local shores historically have had a helping hand from the federal government in staying wide and sandy, but that assistance, like the sand itself, has dwindled in recent years.