Published October 24, 2026
NEWPORT BEACH | SURF & COAST | OCTOBER 24, 2026
Newport Beach has more than eight miles of ocean coastline, from the Santa Ana River jetty to Crystal Cove. But it is not one continuous beach behaving the same way. Waves, currents, jetties and groins all affect where sand settles—and where it gets carried away.
The Wedge has become the most visible warning. Powerful swells stripped away so much sand that rocks, pipes and rusted metal were exposed near the shoreline. A USGS coastal scientist told SFGATE that seasonal sand loss is normal there, but this year’s erosion was unusually severe. Some of the newly exposed material may be tied to old harbor and jetty construction. The Army Corps of Engineers extended Newport Harbor’s jetties in the 1930s; a 1937 Corps report warned that sand deposited by the work might not remain stable.
The Wedge’s erosion is only one part of a coast-wide sand problem. Farther north, Newport’s groins interrupt the movement of sand along the shore. A recent USGS study used nearly four decades of satellite observations to examine how groin fields affect shoreline patterns, including at Newport Beach. The study documents different patterns of sand buildup and erosion around these structures. Groins can hold sand in one area while changing how much continues down the coast.
The City and Orange County are moving about 100,000 cubic yards of sand from the Santa Ana River mouth to eroded beaches between 36th and 62nd streets. The City says the work is intended to replenish the beach and add protection against erosion and coastal flooding. That is a significant short-term response, but moving sand does not stop the waves or permanently change the currents that move it.
Newport also has a longer-running federal sand-replenishment program with the Army Corps and other coastal cities. Since the 1960s, roughly 27 million cubic yards of sand have been placed at Surfside-Sunset and Newport beaches through repeated nourishment stages. That history shows both the scale of the effort and the recurring nature of the challenge: beaches need new sand because storms and currents keep moving it away.
The stretch from the Wedge to the river jetty is a connected but complicated system. The immediate questions are where replacement sand can be sourced, how to move it safely, and how to protect public access and homes. The harder question is how Newport plans for a shoreline that keeps changing after each round of nourishment. Sand can buy time. A durable plan has to account for where that sand goes next.
Sources: City of Newport Beach: West Newport sand replenishment; USGS: how groins reshape California beaches; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Surfside-Sunset Stage 13 environmental assessment (PDF); SFGATE: erosion and exposed infrastructure at the Wedge.
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