At least a half dozen public piers are closed after being damaged repeatedly by storms with multiple atmospheric rivers hitting the state over the past year. Repair costs have climbed into the millions of dollars.
Among those shuttered is the pier in
More damage is possible this year with El Nino, which is expected to bring additional storms to
City engineers are looking at redesigning piers to withstand bigger surf with a rise in sea levels. Others face relocation or removal.
“We are very much in a changed environment,” said
Most piers have undergone major repairs after enduring everything from to fires to erosion. But officials say they are now being damaged at an unprecedented rate.
Waves rising to heights topping 20-feet (6-meters) in late December pummeled the 855-foot-long (260.6-meter)
The city is exploring replacing the structure after spending more than
California’s state park service demolished the 93-year-old pier at Seacliff State Beach near
Communities are grappling with whether they can afford to keep their piers, which will need taller and stronger pilings that could make their historic look more industrial, Beck said.
But those are tough conversations for many who consider the piers almost sacred.
“It’s sometimes a little bit of a funny thing here in
For generations, the structures have provided families, fishers, tourists and others a peaceful place to experience the ocean without getting wet.
In
“Walk Ventura's beaches and, in the distance, it wavers like a child’s matchstick project,” the bureau states on its website. “Sit on the sand at its base (on a calm day) and it whispers a lovely song any ocean (and pier) lover knows."
California’s oldest piers served steamships and were lifelines for settlements to get lumber, bricks and cement with much of the coast decades from being reached by a railroad. Piers were later built for tourism like the
In December, Ventura’s pier already was undergoing repairs from the
Rising sea levels from global warming is causing the waves to be bigger off
"We’re really seeing the confluence of all these factors coming together. And that’s going to keep happening," Beck said. "And here in an El Nino year as well, we also see increases in sea levels, even over and above the kinds of increases that we predict long term with sea level rise.”
During a visit to
“The city went over many iterations and different designs and different tactics to make the wharf more resilient and finally settled on widening the wharf,” she said, adding that the narrow part of the trestle will go from three to six pilings.
The new pilings also will have the ability to be raised as sea levels go up.
Kahn said she has no doubt it is worth investing millions to preserve a relic of the past whose sole purpose today is for pleasure, given the number of memories soaked into the wooden wharf.
“When we had our damage here this past January of 2023, you would not believe the amount of phone calls we got. We got obviously from people nearby, but from people who come here annually, people who are out of the country," she said.
Over the years,
As it undergoes repairs, she now stands on a bluff to watch the crews.
“I think they’re going to do a great job. Yes, we’re having stronger storms, and the weather is changing. But I think we can do it so that it’ll last longer,” she said. “And I think it’s absolutely worth it. It brings a community together. People love walking out there.”
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Daley reported from
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This story has been corrected to show the name of state park where a pier was demolished is Seacliff State Beach.
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