More work on Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach will begin in September

The next phase of the Colorado Lagoon restoration project will get underway in September, city officials said Thursday.

Approved by the City Council this week, the work will add more aquatic resources and essential fish habitat through hydraulic dredging and filling of the lagoon site.

The north shore and easte shoreline will be revegetated by using Califoia native plant species. Officials said new intertidal and shallow subtidal habitat and eelgrass beds will provide foraging for local birds in one of Southe Califoia’s last remaining coastal lagoons.

The floating pier and footbridge will be extended by 150 feet to span the expanded subtidal areas, and the extension will require 16 new piles, officials said. The pier will be repainted, and the stairs will be replaced with ADA-compliant ramps.

City officials said the asphalt access road will be replaced with an ADA-compliant pedestrian walking trail and vegetated bioswale designed to capture runoff from the nearby golf course. The new trail entrance will feature native vegetation, benches and bike racks, officials said.

Construction will expand improvement efforts in 2010 and 2012, which prevented new contaminants from entering the Lagoon and removed years of contaminated sediment, which had contributed to degraded water quality.

The final component of the approved master restoration plan for the lagoon includes redirecting an underground culvert that coects the Lagoon to Marine Stadium to create a more natural vegetated chael that will further improve tidal exchange and create new aquatic resources.

City officials are working state and federal partners, as well as the Port of Long Beach, to get the open chael concept funded and constructed.

“The lagoon is a true ecological landmark that benefits not just residents and visitors, but a wide diversity of flora and fauna that continues to thrive more than ever due to the investments and improvements we have made at this special Long Beach treasure,” Councilwoman Suzie Price said in a statement.

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