City officials in Santa Cruz are working with state and federal partner agencies to clear a massive debris field that has stretched 10 miles south to Manresa State Beach following the collapse of a portion of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf on Dec. 23.
In the meantime, structural assessments of the wharf will be conducted in coming days, according to Santa Cruz City Manager Matt Huffaker.
Completing the safety assessment and removing heavy construction equipment from the water will be the first priorities before the wharf can potentially be reopened, Huffaker said at a press conference at the wharf on Dec. 27 that was also attended by Mayor Fred Keeley, Parks and Recreation Director Tony Elliot, and City Councilmember Scott Newsome.
About 150 feet of the wharf broke off at its end on Monday amid powerful waves that were estimated to range up to 30 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
The section was closed and under construction due to damage from previous storms in late 2023 and early 2024. About 70 pilings needed to be replaced, and about 20-30 had so far been installed, according to Elliot.
He said the work was being done in the winter because of permit requirements by the Coastal Commission and other agencies that outlined a timeline for the work to be done between September and March of next year.
Huffaker said that in addition to the structural questions that needed to be answered, the heavy equipment that fell into the water, some of which sank to the sea bottom, posed its own risk to the wharf’s pilings.
“We cannot reopen the wharf until we know it’s safe to do so,” Huffaker said.
Huffaker said the waves that hit on Dec. 23 were part of the largest swell event in the last 30 years.
Brian Garcia, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service, said the nearest active buoy in Soquel Cove, about 5 miles south/southeast of the wharf, recorded swells of about 19 feet on Dec. 23 that were about 22 seconds apart.
The National Weather Service only makes estimates of wave heights because of variations in beaches, but Garcia said a swell of that size could have generated waves between 30-40 feet at the wharf.
“This was a record event,” Garcia said.
Three people fell into the water when the collapse occurred, but no one was injured.
A safety plan discussed before the storm surge involved securing heavy equipment, but no city officials could say if those discussions involved removing the equipment.
The collapse left a restroom that fell into the ocean washed up at the San Lorenzo River mouth.
Elliot said the city was working to remove the building and potentially reopen Main Beach and Cowell’s Beach by Saturday, but the debris field has spread south to Manresa State Beach. He urged the public to avoid the beaches and not to try to clean the debris.
He also said artifacts, including several memorial benches from the wharf, had gone missing in the debris field and asked anyone who sees a bench or anything significant to call the Parks and Recreation Department at (831) 420-5270 or email recreationevents@santacruzca.gov.
He said the Parks and Recreation Department and Port of Santa Cruz were working to allow access to owners of the 20 businesses on the wharf so they could recover and secure property and perishable goods.
“During the holidays, in particular, this is a really important time, both for the businesses on the wharf and for our community as well. Traditions are built here,” Elliot said.
Huffaker said the city would be working on possible financial support that could include rent credits. He said the city was seeking a disaster declaration from the state to try to unlock emergency funds.
In the meantime, the wharf will remain closed pending the structural assessment and heavy equipment removal, a timeline for which Huffaker said was hard to estimate but could take several weeks to a month or longer.
Keeley, in response to a question, said the city would have to think hard about whether, and how, to rebuild the wharf to prevent a cycle of costly destruction and rebuilding.
“It would be irresponsible if we didn’t ask the question, ‘What is the right thing to do here?'” he said before musing on alternate designs. “But to say, ‘we’re simply going to put it back’ is, I think, much more risky and frankly irresponsible than having a very serious conversation.”
Other Information:
How to ensure donations help closed Santa Cruz Wharf businesses (KSBW)
Santa Cruz Wharf Official Site
Officials Reveal Reasons Why Wharf Collapsed (KRON)
There is a great possibility that the collapse of the 150′ end section of the Santa Cruz pier could have been prevented. From an engineering perspective, a great amount of weight was placed near the end of the pier, causing a strain on an already ocean wave weakened pier structure. Noted from videos, the pier structure first started collapsing at the precise point where multi-ton crane equipment was positioned. It’s likely that the City of Santa Cruz will be facing some liability after a structural investigation by an independent engineering consultant. First question that comes to mind is why the City did not make the anticipated repairs with a robust barge system, instead of placing tons of equipment on a verified weakened pier structure?