Breaching the River

Big excitement on the beach this morning: lots of heavy equipment and many state and federal agencies coordinating to open up the lagoon and release some of the water that's been accumulating at the river mouth. As I understand it, during this time of drought there is not enough water pressure for the river to break through the sand bank and empty into the ocean on its own, so the water backs up and rises behind the levees in town. When the water level in the levee is higher than the land on the other side, seepage and flooding occurs in the neighborhoods. So this emergency breach is initiated to alleviate the problem. Apparently once some of the water is let out, they will close the gap again later today or tomorrow. 

This view is from the cliff above the river, looking toward the pier. The fog is in, at last, challenging the high temperatures we've had recently. I wore my down jacket this morning, as opposed to the shorts I wore all weekend. The ocean is on the left, the river at the bottom, and a seasonal lagoon in the middle. In the center of the photo, the steam shovel (are they still called steam shovels?) has just removed the last bite of sand and opened the channel to the ocean. I confess it was a bit anticlimactic; after waiting so long I had expected at least a token whooshing of water, but it was all very gentle.