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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Three years after wind-driven waves destroyed Library Park’s old seawall, work has gotten underway to replace it with a new wall of steel.
The project is being funded primarily by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of California.
In a special November meeting, the Lakeport City Council voted unanimously to award the seawall rebuilding contract to West Coast Contractors Inc. of Coos Bay, Oregon, a company that specializes in marine sheet pile projects.
The company’s winning bid was $799,773; the city engineer had estimated the project would cost $1 million.
The new seawall project is approximately 535 lineal feet, which will support the adjoining pedestrian promenade, city officials said.
The old seawall was built of cinder blocks. The new one, designed to withstand heavy wave action and future flooding conditions, will be built of nearly half-inch-thick sheet pile that will be driven 25 feet into the ground. City officials said the new wall has been designed to the 100-year flood level.
Heavy storms in February 2017 resulted in wind-driven waves that pummeled the aging seawall, damaging it beyond repair and causing the area around it, including the sidewalk, to be cordoned off from the public with chain link fence.
Then, in March 2019, more heavy rain and winter storms caused the damaged wall to be undermined further, leading to underground water intrusion, as Lake County News has reported.
Those storms and the resulting flooding affected the city’s original replacement project timeline and resulted in another federal major disaster declaration.
As a result of the federal disaster declarations, the city was eligible to apply for federal and state funding to assist the reconstruction efforts.
Public Works Director Doug Grider and his staff followed a lengthy and complicated federal grant application process in order to build a new and improved seawall.
As a result, the city received funds from FEMA and the state of California that will pay the majority of the project costs. The city is only required to pay for a 6.38-percent match, which its insurance will cover.
Rebuilding the wall had to wait until FEMA gave the final go-ahead, which allowed the city to award the bid in the fall.
The city still had a few last-minute delays in getting the project started. Originally, it had been set to begin Dec. 23, but over the holidays the sheet pile manufacturer had a breakdown and so the sheet pile wasn’t expected to be ready until the end of January.
Along with the seawall, the promenade also will be rebuilt and will feature a new safety handrail and a new concrete sidewalk. It’s to be built under a separate contract, according to city officials.
The city has a targeted completion date of June 1 for the new seawall, just in time for the busy summer tourism season.
Library Park lies along the west shore of Clear Lake in downtown Lakeport. It was established nearly 100 years ago and now includes more than three acres of land area, the city reported.
Owned and maintained by the city of Lakeport, Library Park is a center of community activity, hosting numerous events, from plays to summer music concerts, as well as fairs and markets. It offers boat launches, new docks, fishing opportunities, lake swimming, picnic areas, an accessible children’s playground and ADA-accessible restrooms, some of them recently replaced.
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