A century of sand debt comes due in Malibu

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on Inside Climate News or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Malibu’s iconic Surfrider Beach is losing sand after decades of human intervention disrupted the sediment supply
• Rindge Dam, built in 1926, reduced the amount of sediment reaching the coast from Malibu Creek from roughly 41,000 to 14,000 cubic metres a year, while seawalls and engineered rivers have further constrained natural sand movement

🔭 The context: A 2026 study of 57 globally significant surf breaks found 89% face medium or high risk from declining shoreline resilience, while 79% face such risk from sea-level rise
• Malibu is now facing an additional threat: NOAA projects a greater than 90% chance of a very strong El Niño this fall and winter, potentially bringing higher waves, flooding and temporarily elevated coastal sea levels

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Climate change is adding pressure to a coastline already stripped of natural buffers by dams, seawalls and development
• The Malibu case illustrates how restoring sediment flows and allowing beaches to migrate can complement, and potentially reduce reliance on, hard coastal defenses

⏭️ What’s next: California State Parks plans to begin removing Rindge Dam in stages from 2029, subject to funding, with roughly half of its beach-suitable sediment potentially trucked to nearby beaches
• The coming El Niño winter will provide a major test of Malibu’s remaining natural defenses

💬 One quote: “Erosion is a people problem. It’s not a nature problem,” said Zach Plopper of the Surfrider Foundation

📈 One stat: 152 million cubic metres — the estimated amount of sand trapped behind California’s major coastal dams since 1885

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