The Agua Hedionda Lagoon ("agua hedionda" means "fetid water" in Spanish) is a lagoon in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...

, that is fed by the Agua Hedionda Creek. Stewardship of much of the lagoon is held by the Encina Power Station and its owner

NRG Energy NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. It was formerly the wholesale arm of Northern States Power Company (NSP), which became Xcel Energy, but became independent in 2000. NRG Energy is involved in energ ...

. In November 2000 the Agua Hedionda Lagoon was designated as a critical habitat for the

tidewater goby ''Eucyclogobius newberryi'', the Northern tidewater goby, is a species of goby native to lagoons of streams, marshes, and creeks along the coast of California, United States. The Northern tidewater goby is one of six native goby species to Califo ...

Public access

The Agua Hedionda Lagoon is open to the public as a passive recreation area. The lagoon is known as a place to walk, and for stand-up paddleboard, kayaking, wakeboarding, waterskiing, jet skiing, and wave runnering. The lagoon is also a public social destination, with events and gatherings. The lagoon sees most of its visitors during summer. Its location within the city of Carlsbad leads to its occasional reference as the “Carlsbad Lagoon.” Passive Recreation Areas Legal definition: "''A passive recreation area is an undeveloped space or environmentally sensitive area that requires minimal development. Entities such as a parks department may maintain passive recreation areas for the well-being of the public and for the preservation of wildlife and the environment. The quality of the environment and "naturalness" of an area is the focus of the recreational experience in a passive recreation area.''" There is public access via Bay Shore Drive, which is open for walking traffic from sunrise to sunset. Walking is the primary way of visiting, and vehicles may not drive through when it is closed for pedestrian use. Vehicles are highly limited as it is not environmentally beneficial or safe on the shoreline.

Regulations

Regulations have been enacted on visitors in order to a reduce pollution on the lagoon, including a prohibition on alcohol consumption. Bottles and cans can harm the

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

that are present. Parasailing,

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

, cabin cruisers, motorized surfboards, and aircraft are prohibited on the shorelines of the bay. Visitors are also forbidden from leaving vessels on the lagoon. Public events must be approved by the City of Carlsbad Parks and Recreations Department and during these scheduled proceedings, swimming or wading are not allowed. A vessel permit is required for launching access from the shoreline.

Fishing and boating

Fishing is a popular activity at this lagoon. However, limitations are also implemented. There are designated fishing areas in the lower east end of the lagoon due to algae hampering fishing in other parts of the lagoon. Boats are not allowed to anchor, because doing so would disrupt the lagoon's natural environment and endanger the species that live in the waters. In addition, all California Fish and Game Laws are highly enforced during this activity. There is a fishing license requirement for those 16 years and older. Shoreline fishing is allowed from all public access shorelines in all parts of the lagoon; fishing from a vessel is only allowed in the passive recreation areas.

Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center

The Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center is a nature center for education about the local natural history, ecology, and cultural history of the lagoon and surrounding area. The Lagoon Discovery Center has an award-winning Environmental Stewardship School Program aimed at local 3rd graders which incorporates hands-on learning on Lagoon history, archaeology, Native American culture, migratory birds, and watersheds and wetlands. The Discovery Center also holds numerous free family festivals throughout the year, as well as free monthly lectures and birding hikes. The center opened in 2006 and features a large California native plant

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

, and expansive lagoon views. The natural habitat is

Coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...

Dredging

Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

Agua Hedionda Lagoon has occurred every two to four years since 1954. Prior to the beginning of dredging, the lagoon was not connected to the Pacific Ocean. There are 500,000 cubic yards of sand pulled up from the bottom of the lagoon through this dredging. In 2014, about half of the sand pulled out went to a stretch of the beach between the intake and outlet

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

just outside the lagoon. The remaining sand was split between the beach at Tamarack and Oak Avenues, and the shoreline just south of the lagoon. The Encina Power Station, owned by

, is on the lagoon and pays for the dredging. The power plant was commissioned in 1954, which is when the first dredging was recorded. Its location on the lagoon's southern shore, allows the lagoon water to be used for cooling the power plant. This power station is fueled by non-renewable

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

. It is one of the main sources of energy in the

San Diego metropolitan area San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinbu ...

. Lagoon dredging supports two

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

businesses in the Carlsbad vicinity: the Carlsbad Aqua Farm which raises and sells oysters and mussels; and the Hubbs-Seaworld Institute, which operates a hatchery for White Sea bass. According to Kasia Trojanowska, the Carlsbad Parks Planner, “''the dredging puts sand back on the beach so that beach goers have a nice sandy spot to place their towels.''" Dredging maintains the tidal circulation of the lagoon and creates a larger beach that is free of rocks for a while.

Desalinization plant

The Carlsbad desalination plant at the lagoon will be able provide 50 million gallons of desalinated water per day. There are coastal and marine environmental concerns regarding the plant. By 2017, Poseidon Water will take over dredging responsibilities from

References

External links

Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation
{{coord, 33, 08, 33, N, 117, 19, 39, W, type:waterbody_region:US-CA, display=title Lagoons of San Diego County, California Carlsbad, California Estuaries of California Wetlands of California Nature reserves in California Nature centers in California North County (San Diego County) Protected areas of San Diego County, California NRG Energy