The winter months bring king tides regardless of human institutions and opinions. We’re in the midst of our first winter storm, with strong southerlies, heavy rain, and this week, extra-high tides. Typically, the high tides cause problems by flooding streets, ruining cars parked in the wrong place, and breaking shoreline infrastructure. When combined with a storm front, they can do extra damage as the storm surge, runoff from the rains, and wind chop combine to further stress infrastructure like docks, dock lines, pilings, ramps and everything that keeps an accessible waterfront accessible.

For Mary Spicer of I Heart Oakland Alameda Estuary, there is a silver lining. The king tides allow the Army Corps of Engineers to bring their salvage boat closer to the debris swept down from the land and onto the Oakland Estuary shoreline.

Mary explains, “This time of year, I paddle out and identify large pieces of debris that, with the incoming king tides and storms, may get picked up and carried into the Oakland Estuary and Bay. Every year, these areas get hit hard with what feel like more intense storms, and the debris from those storms lingers at the shoreline. A lot of it goes unnoticed because it’s hard to see from shore, but it’s still a part of our ecosystem and watershed.”

“Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers is coming out in their boat to observe and clear debris. The tide will be 7.75 ft at 11:26 a.m., and because it will be high, they’ll be able to reach the larger debris and remove it. Their vessel has a crane that lifts hazards out of navigational channels. When they were here last year, they removed many creosote logs and small sunken skiffs, and it was super-cool to watch.

“I’m including recent images of the Oakland Estuary shoreline, where most of the larger debris collects. I plan to go out during the king tide to take more photos to show how far the tide comes in, and then again afterward to document how much debris is gone — pulled out into the Bay with the tides and storm.”

Another king-tide silver lining is that the California Coastal Commission gets to ask all of us waterfront enthusiasts to help the plan for sea level rise by taking photos of the impacts of king tides. As Mary notes, tomorrow, Thursday, the 6th, is an extra-high tide, and today at around 10:15 a.m. a very high tide is combining with the winter storm weather. Looking ahead, the next high tides will be December 4 and 5, 2025, and January 2 and 3, 2026.

You can find out how to participate in the California King Tides project by visiting the Coastal Commission website here. If you represent a community group or local government that would like to host a king tides event, please connect via [email protected].

It’s beyond the ability of sailors to solve this problem entirely because the vast majority of shoreline debris comes from materials washed down storm drains, streams, rivers, etc. The problem needs to be solved upstream. We know yacht clubs and many community organizations are working hard to eliminate plastics and prevent the problem, but cleanup will remain part of the challenge for a long time to come. Very often, the cleanup from these storms includes illegal anchor-outs that are not prepared for the weather. They end up as part of the debris documented by those trying to protect the Oakland Estuary waterfront, and are the most expensive for taxpayers to clean up.

At the end of the day, we know Mother Nature is the monarch who runs king tides and the rest of our planetary ecosystem.