City approves winter sand berm contract

CITY COUNCIL

by Emma DiMaggio

Communications Manager

This year, Seal Beach’s winter sand berm will be installed earlier than usual to combat wet weather and potentially powerful waves anticipated from El Niño weather conditions, according to David Spitz, a senior engineer with the City of Seal Beach. Berm construction is tentatively scheduled to begin Oct. 19. A sand berm is a raised mound, ridge or wall of sand that runs parallel to the shoreline and is used as a protective barrier against strong waves, flooding and storm surges. Seal Beach’s berm protects homes and businesses along the coast between the Anaheim Bay jetties and the pier—including the boardwalk, Seal Way and adjacent parking lots, all of which are at high risk of flooding and have flooded in the past.

At its Sept. 14 meeting, the Seal Beach City Council selected low bidder Elka Construction, Inc. for a two-year berm construction contract at a cost of $320,000. The city’s recent berm contractor, Post Bros Construction Co., cited rising fuel costs as the reason it could not maintain its bid price, Spitz told the council.

In addition to bulldozers, Elka Construction, Inc. plans to use excavators to move the sand, which use less fuel than the standard scrapers, Spitz said. In the past, the berm was typically built by Thanksgiving and removed by Easter. For the past several years, berm construction has begun around October, and removal has been delayed due to the frequency of winter storms that occur as late as May, Spitz said.

Heavy machinery lined up on the beach to move sand during construction of last year's winter berm on Nov. 13, 2025.

Paul Kryczko