Case Study: Surfrider Foundation achieves real-time monitoring and protection of Southern California surf breaks with Milestone Systems

Milestone monitors San Diego County shoreline for beach replenishment project

Milestone, in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation San Diego Chapter and ClickVMS/CoastalCOMS, was engaged to monitor a $28M sand‑replenishment program along San Diego County beaches. The challenge was to detect and document any changes to wave breaks and underwater topology caused by the replenishment—potentially harming surf conditions, local recreation and the coastal economy—while providing an affordable, reliable system that could store large volumes of video and be used by volunteers with varying experience.

The solution deployed multiple strategically placed digital cameras feeding CoastalCOMS analytics hosted on Milestone XProtect Corporate, with cloud archival, API integration and volunteer-friendly access for daily monitoring. The program produced a searchable archive of wave and sand‑line data analyzed weekly and quarterly, delivered meaningful baseline and impact reports for regulators, and earned positive feedback from volunteers for its usability, scalability and cost‑effective managed‑service approach.

Surfrider Foundation

Tim Chandler

President, ClickVMS International