An emergency dredging is not needed to clear a hazardous shoal that’s developed at the Oceanside harbor entrance, though the annual dredging could be scheduled earlier than usual next spring, a federal official said Tuesday. “Following our December 2025 hydrographic survey of the Oceanside Harbo r entrance, we confirmed that the channel remains navigable and does not warrant an emergency dredge at this time,” said Brian Kim, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigation project manager in Los Angeles, in an emailed response to questions. The survey showed the southern half of the harbor’s main channel had a depth of about 8 feet at its lowest levels, while the northern half was 13 feet at its lowest, he said. The annual spring dredging usually deepens the channel to 25 feet or more just before the Memorial Day weekend. Ocean currents constantly push sand into the harbor, though the rate varies with the seasons and weather. “The LA District (of the Corps of Engineers) will continue monitoring the harbor entrance in coordination with the city of Oceanside and has another entrance survey scheduled in January 2026,” Kim said. The Corps is accelerating the schedule for the next maintenance dredging contract as much as possible, he said. It plans to advertise the contract by the end of January and award it in early March to address the harbor’s needs sooner than usual. Oceanside officials plan to meet with the Corps of Engineers in mid-January to further discuss the situation, and how and when the accumulated sediment can be removed, said Jayme Timberlake, Oceanside’s coastal zone administrator. City officials declared a local emergency in November to get federal help with efforts to obtain an “out of cycle” dredging that would clear the growing accumulation of sand. At the time, parts of the main channel had shrunk to as shallow as 10 feet. At least two crews were rescued this fall after their boats overturned in the surf near the entrance. No serious injuries were reported. “Marine safety has been actively monitoring the conditions of the harbor channel,” Timberlake said in an email. “With the minimal swells we’ve been having, there has not been extensive additional shoaling.” However, the shoal remains hazardous, and the first week of January will bring some of the lowest tides of the year. “These shallow depths create potential for perilous navigation through the channel when there are large waves and/or when there are extreme low tide conditions,” Timberlake said Tuesday. “We’d still like swifter attention to the unaddressed abnormal shoaling,” she said. “Shoaling could increase rapidly with any additional weather or surf. The city still assumes we have emergency conditions and that the condition of the channel poses major potential navigational issues.” Oceanside and Camp Pendleton officials have warned boaters not to use the harbor entrance at low tide or during large ocean swells. The shallow water creates breaking waves that can overturn boats, whether large or small. The Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the harbor entrance, which is shared with the Camp Pendleton marina. The federal government pays a contractor for the dredging, usually Manson Construction, which has an office in Long Beach. Sand dredged from the harbor entrance is used to replenish Oceanside beaches, mostly north of Tyson Street and the municipal pier. The goal for the 2026 dredging is about 400,000 cubic yards of material, Kim said, which is slightly more than the usual amount. ...read more read less