Encinitas and regional officials celebrate a shared 2025 Best Restored Beach Award with Solana Beach at Encinitas City Hall on Feb. 19 for efforts to replenish sand along portions of the cities’ beaches. (Encinitas city photo)
Encinitas and Solana Beach have earned national recognition for recent beach restoration efforts after the neighboring cities were named winners of the 2025 Best Restored Beach Award by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.
In a social media announcement Thursday, Feb. 19, Encinitas city officials said the award highlights restoration work along nearly 1.5 miles of coastline in Encinitas and Solana Beach, aimed at strengthening storm protection, reducing erosion and protecting coastal bluffs, homes and public access points. Work focused on reinforcing vulnerable sections of shoreline while allowing beaches to continue functioning as natural buffers against storms and rising seas.
In Encinitas, the project centered on widening beaches and adding sand to areas that had experienced repeated storm damage and long-term erosion. Officials said the effort reflects years of planning and a sustained commitment by the City Council to prioritize coastal management.
Much of the work was part of a large sand-replenishment and storm-damage reduction project completed in spring 2024. That effort added about 340,000 cubic yards of sand along roughly 7,800 feet of shoreline in the city, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-49th District).
The project was supported by more than $30 million in federal funding secured through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Levin’s office said the funding was intended to help widen beaches, reduce storm damage and improve public safety in coastal communities.
In Solana Beach, restoration efforts focused on protecting homes, rail lines and public spaces that face ongoing pressure from erosion and storm activity. The project added about 700,000 cubic yards of sand along approximately 7,200 feet of shoreline, helping stabilize areas considered at high risk for future damage.
“I remember when we got to Congress in 2019, the big problem was, number one, the Army Corps (of Engineers) wasn’t exactly focusing on this project, or a lot of the projects like it,” Levin noted in remarks Feb. 19 at Encinitas City Hall. “And they had it in their mind that it was about just recreation, it was about tourism, which is all true. We need it for our regional economy. But it’s really about safety and it’s about the stability of our rail corridor, and our economy for the whole region.”
The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association evaluates projects based on long-term success, environmental benefits and community impact. The Encinitas and Solana Beach project was also recognized for its programmatic approach, which includes long-term monitoring and scheduled renourishment cycles.
“This unique programmatic approach, planning out a 50-year renourishment cycle, in spans of five years for Encinitas and 10 years for Solana Beach, will provide the necessary sediment buffer to minimize coastal erosion, creating a beach wide enough to dissipate the wave energy earlier enough for life and property protection,” the association stated in a news release. “The long-term monitoring program will provide lessons learned to inform future projects and collaborative approaches throughout California.”
The Encinitas and Solana Beach combined effort was one of four sand replenishment projects awarded in 2025, according to an American Shore and Beach Preservation Association announcement. Other projects noted were in Florida, Texas and New Jersey.
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