Marina del Rey, California



Entrance channel maintenance dredging, 2012

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a $13 million dredging project April 5, 2012, that will remove up to one million cubic yards of accumulated sand from the entrance channel to Marina del Rey Harbor and improve navigational safety for area first responders and other boating traffic.

The clamshell dredge Paula Lee, operated by Dutra Dredging Company of San Rafael, Calif., will place about 520,000 cubic yards of removed sediment into barges for transportation to the Port of Long Beach for its Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project. Dutra will deposit additional clean sand on Redondo Beach, and in the near-shore at Dockweiler State Beach and Redondo Beach for future renourishment needs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Coastal Commission and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board have reviewed the Corps’ samples of material in the prescribed dredging area and approved it for beach placement.

Dredging is scheduled to take place 24 hours per day, seven days a week, with completion expected in late summer.

Safety personnel will monitor dredging operations and advise boaters to maintain safe distances at all times.

General Information

Marina del Rey is located approximately 12 miles southwest of the Los Angeles Civic Center on the coast of Santa Monica Bay. The harbor is a small craft marina that can accommodate up to 6,500 small crafts and 2,000 trailer-mounted vessels. The area which has been and still is known for its biotic resources has long been an alluring location for human settlement. Aboriginal groups lived in the area for possibly 9000 years. 

Located in the City of Los Angeles between Santa Monica and the Palos Verdes peninsula, Marina del Rey is a densely populated area, characterized by multi-family residences and a variety of commercial land uses. There is a tremendous public use of the harbor and beach. Dockweiler Beach and Redondo Beach are heavily used during the summer and attract a substantial number of residents and visitors to the area. The Marina del Rey entrance and approach channels incur major boat traffic most of the year, with particularly heavy concentrations on weekends and summer months.