Carlsbad Art and Culture

Every two to four years the late Winter coastal breeze is filled with a putrid scent sucked up from the depths of the “stinky water” lagoon.

The long 20-inch-diameter black pipe, which begins at a dredging vessel floating in the lagoon’s outer basin transports accumulated sand out of the lagoon. The removal of this sand allows cool water from the lagoon to smoothly enter the internal cooling system of the Encina Power Station.

About 500,000 cubic yards of sand will be pulled from the bottom of the lagoon and placed onto Carlsbad beaches in three stages:

1. About half that sand will go to a stretch of the beach between the intake and outlet jetties just outside the lagoon.

2. The next phase will consist of depositing about one-fourth of the remaining sand south of the warm water jetty.

3. The final stage will consist of placing the remaining sand on the beach between Tamarack and Oak avenues.

The project is expected to be completed before the annual grunion run, which usually begins in mid-April.