UC Irvine environmental engineering [Professor] Brett Sanders said those sand replenishment projects are needed. The drought the past few years is contributing to the area’s lack of sand. With no rain pushing sediment down the nearby creek, sand isn’t being redistributed naturally offshore. “One of the links is, there just hasn’t been enough sand supply from that creek to keep a beach that’s going to defend the rocks and railway from the stress of these waves events,” he said.

Founder of the U.S. Department of Energy competition ... [Richard] King’s stop provided an unexpected burst of excitement to Team Orange, a collaboration among four Orange County schools: UC Irvine ... Recent UCI graduate Andy Truong is heading the project’s construction management and plumbing teams. ... Gregory Washington, dean of UCI’s engineering school, said the competition gives students experiences that are impossible to replicate in a classroom setting.