Construction of the Southern California Edison Experimental Artificial Kelp Reef San Clemente, California

Coastal Environments was retained by Southern California Edison (SCE) to provide engineering support and construction verification for the SCE Experimental Artificial Kelp Reef (AKR) located at San Clemente, California. The experimental reef was constructed to gain information prior to construction of a 150-acre mitigation reef which will be built to mitigate fish and associated biota losses resulting from operation of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Onofre, California.

The experimental reef consisted of 22.4 acres. Technical specifications for design of the reef were completed by CE prior to construction. One half of the 56 modules (0.4 acre each) were constructed of quarry rock and one half were constructed using recycled concrete. Three hard substrate coverage percentages were utilized (17%, 34%, and 67% coverage) to assess which coverage(s) were optimal for kelp and associated biota development.

A derrick barge, moored by six anchors, was utilized to assist in placing the reef materials per the engineering design specifications. Two Global Positioning Satellite Sysems along with survey software were utilized to locate the derrick crane in the correct position. A supply barge transported materials for construction of two modules per day. The supply barge was attached to the derrick crane barge and material was transferred to the ocean bottom via front loaders along the placement lines.

Construction control and verification included a) on-site monitoring, b) side-scan sonar verification, c) diver surveys, and d) video monitoring. Photographs were collected during the construction process. Compliance with applicable permits was achieved. A total of 35 field days were utilized to successfully build the reef.

Client:

Southern California Edison

Client Contact:

Mr. Samir Tanious
Southern California Edison
P.O. Box 800
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 302.9725