HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. A newly
dug tidal inlet creates a connection between the ocean and
the Bolsa Chica wetlands for the first time in more than a
century.
Huntington Beach's Bolsa
Chica wetlands for the first time 107 years filled with
ocean water as a 387-acre, newly restored basin completed a
two-year project that cost more than
$100 million dollars and diverted part of Pacific Coast
Highway to an overpass. First cut off from the ocean by duck
hunters of the Bolsa Hunting Club, it became an oil field.
It will now serve as a stable habitat for endangered
species.
The inlet will allow
full-strength ocean tides to flush a
367-acre basin twice each day. It is
expected to regenerate the habitat for fish
and endangered birds. The restoration
project was paid for by the ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach, and is compensation
or trade for the destroyed marine habitat in
an agreement that permits port expansions.
On August
24, 2006 the Huntington Beach tidal inlet
officially opened. A year later when the
annual celebration of the opening of the
inlet was held, unexpected swarms of
aggressive black salt marsh mosquitoes
plagued Landing and Landmark neighborhoods
adjacent to the wetlands in Huntington
Beach. Pools or pockets of stagnating water
created breeding grounds for these bugs.
While Orange County and California State
officials disagreed about the source of the
problem, both agencies agreed that high
tides were likely to contribute to or
exacerbate existing conditions.
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