UPPER NEWPORT BAY, CALIFORNIA

ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION FEASIBILITY STUDY

STATE MAP &

LOCATION

UpperNewport

Bay

Upper Newport Bay Ecosystem Restoration- Background

• Original authorization WRDA 86 • Current feasibility commenced 1997• 154-sq mi watershed (orig 10-sq mi)• 2 parts of Newport Bay:

• Lower Bay – 752 acres (coastal lagoon)• Upper Bay – 1000 acres (drowned river valley)

• Major tribs: • San Diego Creek, Santa Ana-Delhi channel

• UNB Ecological Reserve• Major habitats: open water, mudflats, salt marsh (low/ middle/ high),

freshwater marsh, salt pannes, uplands• 6 T&E species: clapper rail, Belding’s sparrow, least tern, peregrine falcon,

brown pelican

HABITAT CHANGES

Open Water

Intertidal Mudflat

Low Salt Marsh

Middle Salt Marsh

50-year Future Without Project Condition Habitat Changes80% Loss of Open Water Habitat in the Upper BayAlmost 50% Gain in Intertidal Mudflat Habitat

Upper Newport BayProblems

• The rapid urbanization of the Newport Bay watershed has resulted in the degradation of water quality in the freshwater flows into the Bay, particularly San Diego Creek and the Santa Ana-Delhi Channel.

• Excessive amounts of trash and debris flow into Newport Bay, particularly from the Santa Ana-Delhi channel, during storms.

• Uncontrolled sediment deposition in Upper Newport Bay has accelerated habitat changes in the estuarine environment of the ecological reserve, especially the loss of open water areas.

Upper Newport BayProblems

• Sensitive ecological habitats are more easily accessible along the perimeters of the ecological reserve.

• Vessels have been running aground due to shoaling in navigation channels and slips in the lower portion of Upper Bay and the Lower Bay.

• Poor tidal circulation results in stagnant water conditions lowering dissolved oxygen levels, promoting algae blooms, and causing foul odors.

Upper Newport BayProblems

• Exotics and invasives are replacing native species in fringe habitats surrounding the ecological reserve.

• Various habitat areas in the ecological reserve have degraded due to past dredge and fill activities in the Upper Bay.

• Loss of educational and interpretive use in the ecological reserve due to obstructed viewing access and habitat degradation.

Upper Newport BayOpportunities

• Improve watershed and bay water quality through the implementation of TMDL’s.

• Install trash booms in the fresh water channels.

• Restore storage capacity in bay basins.

Upper Newport BayPlanning Objectives

• Restore, enhance, optimize and maintain the ecological values for fish and wildlife, including sensitive communities in and around the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Preserve, to provide a diversity of use for resident and migratory species.

• Restore, maintain and manage a healthy and productive mix of habitat types including subtidal marine, intertidal mudflat, cordgrass dominated low salt marsh and pickleweed dominated mid-salt marsh.

Upper Newport BayConstraints

• Avoid any net loss in salt marsh habitat in the ecological reserve.

• Limit future changes to all habitat types in the ecological reserve.

• Prevent the advance of one habitat or species at the cost of another, unless supported by the ecological habitat analyses (HEP).

• Minimize and/or avoid disturbance to general wildlife species, especially Federally listed threatened and/or endangered species.

Which led to…

Upper Newport BayMore Planning Objectives

• Manage sediment deposition within the Bay to sustain the existing balance of estuarine habitats.

• Develop a sediment maintenance plan that initiates dredging activities before there is any loss in open waters within the ecological reserve.

• Reduce the frequency of shoaling in navigation channels by improving the design of sediment basins and/or developing a better sediment maintenance plan.

Which led to…

Upper Newport BayAnother Constraint

• Ensure sediment deposition does not extend above –3 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL) before dredging maintenance activities begin.

And then there were more…

Upper Newport BayMore Planning Objectives

• Implement sediment control measures in Upper Newport Bay such that the basins need not be dredged more frequently than about once every 10 years, with the long-term goal of reducing the frequency of dredging to once every 20 to 30 years.

• Maintain ability for the Department of Fish and Game personnel to access least tern habitat areas for vegetation clearing.

• Remove natural and man-made features within and around the ecological reserve that provide little or no value to the estuarine environment.

Upper Newport BayMore Planning Objectives (continued)

• Improve or restore estuarine habitats in areas within the Upper Bay identified by the resource agencies, considering locations in relation to sediment control measures.

• Increase tidal circulation in stagnant water areas, including the cannels around the least tern islands, New Island, Middle Island, and Shellmaker Island.

• Reduce potential human or predator access to sensitive, threatened, and endangered species sites.

• Improve public use and access, and educational and recreational opportunities including trails and interpretive displays.

Participants & Responsibilities• Federal: USFWS, EPA, NMFS, Coast Guard, FAA,

USACE• State: CA Coastal Commission, CA Dep F&G, CA

Regional Water Quality Control Board• Orange Co: Public Facilities Dep, Parks & Rec, Coastal

Fac, Flood Control, Sanitation, Env Health• City of Newport Beach: Public Works, Utilities, Harbor

patrol, City Council• Local Groups: NB WQ Committee, NB Tech Adv

Comm, homeowners, marinas, surfriders, naturalists, CA Coastal Conservancy