A unique project to replace sand on the beach is underway at Ponto Beach, on the northern end of Encinitas.
Several trucks brought sand from a nearby construction project on Thursday to help replenish the beach sand that is lost to the tides every year.
"Encinitas loses about 50,000 cubic yards of sand a year, alone," explains developer John Dewald "And we're bringing in about 35 - 37,000 cubic yards to restore that here."
Dewald has a major retail and housing project underway in Encinitas. He says the effort to move sand from a building project to the beach took the approval of many government agencies.
He hopes to see the permitting process stream-lined for the future.
"Development is one of the reasons that we're losing our beaches," said Bruce Reznik, Executive Director of San Diego Coast Keeper.
While supporting any effort to make developments greener, environmentalists Reznik say we should keep in mind that it's over-building that's choked-off the rivers and streams that used to bring sand to beach naturally.
"I applaud the efforts to use the project to enhance our local beaches," said Reznik. "But I certainly wouldn't use that as a precedent for why we need more development in San Diego.
That said, Reznik agrees that the extra sand from the developer will be good for the beach.
The project should take about ten days.
