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Progress on renovations to Costa Mesa’s beloved TeWinkle Park lakes

July 8, 2026

Crews working on a $2.5 million renovation of the unique water features at Costa Mesa’s TeWinkle Park have reached a major milestone: They recently started refilling the completed upper lake, relocating wildlife there while they start improvements to the lower lake.

Dedicated in 1965, the 49-acre park that’s named after Charles TeWinkle, the first mayor of Costa Mesa, boasts an open-air amphitheater, expansive recreational spaces and two beloved lakes.

Ducks huddle together alone the shore of the upper lake at TeWinkle Park as workers use heavy equipment to grade the lakebed of the lower lake, having already completed work on the upper lake, at the Costa Mesa park on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Though the lakes underwent a partial renovation in 2004, they’ve suffered leaks in recent years, leading to an annual loss of about a million gallons of water, which officials have said cost Costa Mesa about $100,000 per year. The leaks also eroded the lakebed and surrounding soil.

In 2022, Costa Mesa officials announced that the lakes would undergo an overhaul to improve their water quality, prevent leakage and rebuild the 3,250-foot shoreline with natural edges, among other repairs. The renovations are also expected to cultivate a healthier ecosystem for the resident turtles, fish and other aquatic wildlife that park visitors love, officials have said.

In September, Costa Mesa councilmembers approved the $2.5 million renovation of the lakes, financed by $500,000 from the city’s capital improvement fund and $2 million of a $10 million state grant.

In recent weeks, construction workers finished draining the lower lake, relocating the wildlife to the refurbished upper lake, said Robert Ryan, the city’s maintenance services manager. Demolition on the second lake has begun, and soil aeration will follow.

The upper lake was partially filled to accommodate the wildlife transfer and will continue to be replenished in the coming weeks, Ryan said recently.

Work completed on the upper lake includes the grading of the lakebed, the rehabilitation of the eroded shoreline and the installation of a new lake liner and concrete embankments.

The repairs on the lakes are expected to wrap up this summer.

Progress on renovations to Costa Mesa’s beloved TeWinkle Park lakes Orange County Register

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Progress on renovations to Costa Mesa’s beloved TeWinkle Park lakes

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