Chevron Reef, also known as Pratte's Reef, was an

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many re ...

constructed in 2000 in

Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in ...

, offshore from

Dockweiler State Beach Dockweiler State Beach is a beach in Los Angeles, California, with of shoreline and a hang gliding practice and training area. Although a unit of the California state park system, it is managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches ...

. It was the first artificial

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

reef in the United States and was the second to be built worldwide. It was removed in 2008.

Location

The reef was located about 100 yards offshore in 15 feet of water, north of the El Segundo jetty and 200 yards south of the

Hyperion sewage treatment plant The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant is a sewage treatment plant in southwest Los Angeles, California, next to Dockweiler State Beach on Santa Monica Bay. The plant is the largest sewage treatment facility in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area and ...

1-mile outfall, known locally as "Shitpipe".

History

In 1984, the

California Coastal Commission The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is " ...

approved a proposed 900-foot

jetty 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 ...

to protect a marine terminal and underwater pipelines at a

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

facility in

El Segundo, California El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of th ...

. The

Surfrider Foundation The Surfrider Foundation USA is a U.S. 501(c)(3) grassroots non-profit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches. It focuses on water quality, beach access, beach and surf spot preservati ...

fought the decision and an agreement was made that the company would pay $300,000 to build an artificial surfing reef if it could be proved that the jetty caused a substantial decrease in surfable waves. Research demonstrating the jetty's negative effect on surf quality was completed in 1994, but Chevron paid out the $300,000 only in 1999. Plans proceeded and the reef was dubbed Pratte's Reef in honor of Surfrider co-founder Thomas Pratte, who had been influential in fighting the Chevron jetty approval and died in 1994. In the fall of 2000, 110

geotextile Geotextiles are permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain. Typically made from polypropylene or polyester, geotextile fabrics come in two basic forms: woven (re ...

bags were dropped into the water to create the artificial reef. It did not have as much of an effect as hoped and an additional $200,000 grant from the

California Coastal Conservancy The California State Coastal Conservancy (CSCC, SCC) is a non-regulatory state agency in California established in 1976 to enhance coastal resources and public access to the coast. The CSCC is a department of the California Natural Resources Agenc ...

was secured to fund adding another 90 bags at the site in spring 2001. In retrospect, the reef was not large enough to focus the swells into nicely breaking waves. Surfrider environmental director Chad Nelsen said in an interview that "when the surf gets big, it breaks outside the reef" but noted that the reef used the greatest volume of sand it could within budget constraints. Beginning in 2008, the reef was removed as required by its permit.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Surfrider Foundation: Pratte's Reef
Artificial reefs Landforms of Southern California Landforms of Los Angeles County, California Reefs of California Natural history of Los Angeles County, California South Bay, Los Angeles Surfing locations in California 2000 establishments in California 2008 disestablishments in California