Agua Hedionda Lagoon ("agua hedionda" means "fetid water" in Spanish [1] ) is a lagoon in Carlsbad, California, that is fed by Agua Hedionda Creek. Stewardship of much of the lagoon is held by NRG Energy due to its ownership of the former Encina Power Station. November 2000, Agua Hedionda Lagoon was designated as a critical habitat for the tidewater goby. [2]
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." [3]
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. [4]
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 that are present.
Parasailing, hovercraft, 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. [5] A vessel permit is required for launching access from the shoreline.
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. [6]
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 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, and expansive lagoon views. The natural habitat is Coastal sage scrub.
Dredging Agua Hedionda Lagoon has occurred every two to four years since 1954. [7] Prior to the beginning of dredging, the lagoon was not connected to the Pacific Ocean. [7] There are 500,000 cubic yards of sand pulled up from the bottom of the lagoon through this dredging. [8] In 2014, about half of the sand pulled out went to a stretch of the beach between the intake and outlet jetties 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.
Encina Power Station, owned by NRG Energy, was located on the lagoon's southern shore and paid for the dredging. The power plant was commissioned in 1954, which is when the first dredging was recorded, and decommissioned in 2018. [9] The Carlsbad desalination plant subsequently took over dredging responsibilities. [10]
Lagoon dredging supports two aquaculture 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. [11]
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. [8]
Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is 35 miles (56 km) north of downtown San Diego and 87 miles (140 km) south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. Carlsbad is a popular tourist destination and home to many businesses in the golf industry.
North County is a region in the northern area of San Diego County, California. It is the second-most populous region in the county, with an estimated population of 869,322. North County is well known for its affluence, especially in Encinitas, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Poway and Solana Beach, where house prices range, on average, above $1,000,000. Cities along the 78 freeway have more mixed incomes.
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Basin Head Provincial Park is a provincial park located in Basin Head, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is best known by its nickname "Singing Sands", in reference to the pure white sand that "sings" when stepped on, due to a high silica content. This sand is geologically unique to the area.
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The Thousand Islands are a group of natural, modified, and spoil islands in the Banana River Lagoon, Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s the islands were reshaped by development and efforts to control mosquitoes as the population of Brevard grew during the initial period of the space program at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center.
Connecticut River Greenway State Park is a protected environment with public recreation features that consists of separate state land holdings, including open spaces, parks, scenic vistas, and archaeological and historic sites, along the Connecticut River in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. The state park includes critical wildlife and plant habitat as well as areas providing public access to the river in its run across the state and is intertwined with other protected land including farmland under state-held agricultural preservation restrictions, municipal and conservation land trust holdings, and state and national wildlife refuges.
Environmental issues in Brevard County in Florida United States are highlighted by the amount of waterline, the amount of wetlands, the quantity of residents and visitors to the area, as well as the usual threat to air quality from commuters. Assisting in this is the Florida Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition which is headquartered in Brevard.
San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve is one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in San Diego County, California, United States.
The Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a desalination plant in Carlsbad, California. The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), the recipient of the fresh water produced by the plant, calls it "the nation’s largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient seawater desalination plant." Opened on December 14, 2015, the entire desalination project cost about $1 billion for the plant, pipelines, and upgrades to existing SDCWA facilities to use the water.
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Encina Power Station (EPS) was a large natural gas and oil-fueled electricity generating plant in Carlsbad in San Diego County, California. Constructed in 1954, it was one of the major suppliers of electricity for the region. On December 11, 2018, the plant was put into "retired" status and officially stopped operations. Under an agreement approved by NRG Energy, SDG&E and the City of Carlsbad in January 2014, NRG was to tear down the old plant within three years of its retirement. The plant was owned by NRG Energy.
Buena Vista Lagoon is a freshwater lagoon adjacent to the Pacific Ocean in the South Coast region of Southern California within the North County region of San Diego County. The lagoon covers 223 acres of wetland habitat and serves as a geographic border between Carlsbad and Oceanside.
Batiquitos Lagoon State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area in San Diego on California’s south coast. It is part of Batiquitos Lagoon, a coastal tidal wetland lying within the city limits of Carlsbad, and adjacent to Encinitas. The SMCA covers 2000 miles. It protects marine life by limiting the removal of marine wildlife from within its borders.
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Upper Newport Bay State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area in Newport Bay in Orange County and the South Coast region of Southern California. It extends inland/northeast from the Pacific Coast Highway crossing of the bay, within the city of Newport Beach.
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