DBW-50thAnnBook-PROOF

P R O T E C T I NG T HE E N V I R ONM E N T

Providing environmentally sound recreational boating is a basic tenet of the Cal Boating philosophy. As far back as the 1960s and early 1970s, Cal Boating led the way for other state agencies in taking environmental responsibility, and the department has continued to sustain these types of programs in generous proportion to its overall budget. The department’s commitment to environmental programs is reflected in a wide range of ongoing activities, which include the Coastal Data Information Program, Online California Coastal Records Project, Clean and Green Boating campaign, Clean Vessel Act Grant Program, “S.S. Relief ” Floating Restroom Program, and Aquatic Weed Control Program. The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP) The Coastal Data Information Program (CDIP), an ongoing coastal wave information gathering system, is Cal Boating’s longest-running, most popular, and most valuable study project. CDIP was developed more than 25 years ago at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, with support from the department and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (which fund the program through a cooperative agreement), and the California Sea Grant College Program. Originally conceived to help scientists understand the wave-driven movement of sand on Southern California beaches, CDIP has grown into the world leader of coastal wave data collection, modeling and forecasting as well as beach and cliff erosion monitoring. At CDIP, oceanographers at the Scripps facility record wave heights and directions at 15 to 20 locations along the California coast every 15 minutes. Sophisticated computer modeling enables these readings to be analyzed and translated into real-time wave height for the

Cal Boating provides this type of web-based infor­ mation for specified locations along the California coast every 15 minutes.

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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007