Jetty construction plans

Letter (published) to the Peninsula Beacon weekly community newspaper:

I am concerned about the proposed work on the Dog Beach jetty as mentioned in The Beacon on May 21.  I believe that construction of a "9-foot-deep by 1,200-foot-long weir" involving the "removal and relocation of many of the rocks that make up the jetty" would adversely affect the surf in the area.  Under certain conditions, the jetty causes sand bars to form, which can create a classic peeling right.  Alternation of the jetty would surely impede the formation of these waves.

In addition, as a civil engineer, I disagree with Art Shak's assessment of the San Diego River's risk of flooding.  The chance of a 100-year flood occurring is defined as 1 percent each year.  The chance does not increase exponentially each year as he asserts.  In the case of a large flood, Dog Beach would likely be washed into the Pacific and would not hinder the flow of the San Diego River anyway.  Apparently the Army Corpos of Engineers needs to exaggerate the chances of a flood in order to justify spending $1.3 million and eliminating yet another surf break.

Brent McDonald
Ocean Beach