By Neil Farrell and Teresa Marie-Wilson

In 1983, a severe El Niño winter took a heavy toll on San Luis Obispo County’s ocean piers, partially collapsing the Pismo Pier; completely destroying an oil pier in Estero Bay (which was never rebuilt); and likely starting the decline of the Cayucos Pier.
With meteorologists predicting another strong El Niño winter, what kind of shape are SLO County’s historic and beloved piers in? Tolosa Press sought out the answers for the Pismo, Avila, Harford, Cayucos and San Simeon piers. Here’s what we found out.

Avila Pier
The Avila Pier, built in 1908, while not exactly in imminent danger of collapse, it is in serious trouble. After an extensive survey last summer by Morro Bay’s Shoreline Engineering, it was closed to the public in July.
Andrea Lueker, interim director of the Port San Luis Harbor District, said the pier, “Needs extensive repairs.” The harbor commissioners are discussing what such a fix would entail, including whether to shorten the 1,685-foot wooden structure, as well as how to pay for it.
The current rough estimate is based on the costs to repair the Cayucos Pier, essentially $3.5 million to replace 200 piles vs. 700 piles at Avila, which would cost $12.5 million. And there is a huge potential hazard with Avila.
There is still residual oil beneath the pier under the seafloor, remnants of the Unocal oil spill that closed Avila in 1998 and led to the razzing of the entire waterfront. The concern is that pile driving could release that oil. They’ve already brought Unocal into the matter. “That’s the other part of this, the oil,” Lueker said. “There are certain precautions that we will have to take.”
Lueker said commissioners are working on a plan for how to proceed, which will include developing a scope of work and asking the public about paying for it. PSL District encompasses basically the entire South County, so costs would be spread over a large area.
Faced with a similar situation, Cayucos residents rallied support and raised a ton of money to bolster the County’s efforts to secure grant funding. PSL Directors have hired a public relations firm to “gauge the public’s interest and support,” said Lueker. “It’s a great model what Cayucos did. As with the Cayucos Pier, everybody’s got an Avila Pier story. That’s where I met my husband in 1988.”

Harford Pier
The Harford Pier, first built in 1873 and perhaps the most commercially used pier in SLO County, has been pretty well maintained over the years and today is in pretty decent shape, said Lueker, whose duties include oversight of that pier, too.
The Harford Pier has undergone a patchwork of repairs and with the opening of a new restaurant due at the end of this month, has but one section of the 1,320-foot wooden structure to be repaired. But that section lies underneath the Olde Port Inn.
“It’s more protected by the breakwater,” Lueker explained, so it doesn’t bear the brunt of most Pacific storms, which tend to come from the north out of Alaska. San Luis Bay actually faces south. “There are a few areas that in 4 to 6 years will need to be addressed,” she added.
Another pier in Avila is the former Unocal oil pier, which the company donated to Cal Poly in 2001 and is now a marine research lab. But it is made of steel and not open to the public.

Pismo Pier
Of the public piers in SLO County, the Pismo Pier sustained the most damage in the ’83 El Niño, partially collapsing in huge waves.
A 2014 assessment revealed some problems and the Pismo Pier is scheduled for a $3 million project next year that will replace the middle section.
“The full scope of the project hasn’t been defined yet,” said Pismo Public Works Director, Ben Fine. “It will be pilings and deck boards, railings. I don’t want to say it will be a reconstruction of the pier, but we are going to basically rebuild a section of the pier.”
The pier was originally constructed in 1924, and was rebuilt after the 1983 winter. The 1,250-foot wooden pier varies in width from about 32 to more than 182 feet, and includes cantilevered fishing decks, four diamond pop outs, and one tapered section.
Fine said the pier is a big draw for tourists and locals alike. An electronic counter tracks people who walk onto the pier. In 2014, more than 800,000 people used the pier.
As for El Niño preparations, Fine said the City is as prepared as it can be. “How do you predict that?” Fine asked. “We do monitor the pier during large events? We get weather updates from NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration], PG&E and Diablo Canyon. We get swell predictions and we go out and monitor the pier and make sure it is safe for people to be on it. If it is not safe, we close it.” The pier was actually closed just last week during an extremely high tide and storm surge.
The last pier inspection was in 2009 and was followed by a 2010 maintenance/repair project with some decking replaced, railing gusset strengthened, new piles installed, shimming of other pilings and replacing additional decking and railing.

Cayucos Pier
Of all the oceanic piers in SLO County, the Cayucos Pier is by far in the best shape to weather El Niño.
The Pier, which was first constructed in 1872, recently underwent a complete rebuild and is essentially brand new. The County, with considerable help from the community, and using state, federal and County sources of funding, spent an overall $3.4 million on a multi-year effort to refurbish the historic pier.
The winter of ’83 was perhaps the start of the pier’s rapid decline, to the point where, having lost so many pilings, it had to close to the public in July 2013.
Shoreline Engineering dove the pier, documenting all that needed to be repaired and Associated Pacific Constructors in Morro Bay did the work, which took more than a year and was completed and reopened with a gala reception and ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 31 attended by about 350 people.
Citizen volunteers formed “Save Cayucos Pier” a non-profit organization, and a movement was started that spurred on a tremendous outpouring of support. In a little more than 2 years, the group raised more than $750,000. Some of that was deposited with the SLO County Community Foundation for a future maintenance fund.

San Simeon Pier
The first pier in San Simeon was built in 1852 as part of a growing whaling port. A second wharf was built in 1864 but destroyed in a storm. The new owner of the property, Sen. George Hearst, William Randolph’s daddy, built a 1,000-foot pier in 1878. In 1957, the current pier was built by the State Parks Department, and was severely damaged in a 1969 storm. That led to a repair project and extension of the pier by 300 feet. The current pier is 850 feet long and just 12-feet wide. It sits within William Randolph Hearst State Park and is solely a pedestrian pier.
Dan Falat, the new district superintendent for State Parks’ Coast District, said via email, “According to staff, it appears the last inspection/repairs were completed between 1998 and 2002. We are currently working on putting together a new contract for an updated survey, but we do not have a timeframe at this point.”
The pier, which like the Harford Pier has a point of land to protect it from storms, would appear to be in pretty good shape. “Currently there are no known problems that I have been advised of since my arrival,” Falat said, “but we do monitor it during storms in case a closure needs to occur for any reason.”