By Catherine Watson
THE South Gippsland Conservation Society is calling for the extension of wet sand fencing along one kilometre of the Inverloch beach.
The society says regular dune renourishment and extension of the wet sand fences over a longer length of the beach represents the best short-term, low-cost solution to protecting the dunes while a longer term strategy is developed through the coastal hazard assessment process.
In a 30-minute video made by SGCS, Coastline in Crisis, society president Philip Heath says the trial wet sand fence erected in front of the surf lifesaving club last October has performed well, and is now almost completely buried by sand, as intended.
THE South Gippsland Conservation Society is calling for the extension of wet sand fencing along one kilometre of the Inverloch beach.
The society says regular dune renourishment and extension of the wet sand fences over a longer length of the beach represents the best short-term, low-cost solution to protecting the dunes while a longer term strategy is developed through the coastal hazard assessment process.
In a 30-minute video made by SGCS, Coastline in Crisis, society president Philip Heath says the trial wet sand fence erected in front of the surf lifesaving club last October has performed well, and is now almost completely buried by sand, as intended.
Provided the fences continue to prove effective over the 2020 storm season, SGCS advocates extension of the fences in spring 2020, following the trial period.
“Consideration should be given to making the fences higher so they can provide protection during the storm season,” Mr Heath said. “This would avoid the kind of damage that occurred at the Bunurong road site during the 2020 storm.”
He says the highest priority is at Flat Rocks, to protect the remaining coast banksia woodland community, and between the surf club and east of the Wave Street beach access track to protect the remaining dunes.
The length totals around one kilometre and the cost of extending the fence is estimated at about the same as the cost of the geotextile sand wall recently completed to save the surf lifesaving club.
The video is a follow-up to the Inverloch Coastal Resilience Report, released by SGCS last August which drew on specialist consultant studies in geomorphology, ecology, cultural heritage and economics commissioned for the project.
The beach has receded by six metres a year since 2013, and the rate of erosion appears to be speeding up, with over a metre of sand dune disappearing over a single weekend in September.
In April the Bunurong coast road between Inverloch and Cape Paterson came within a couple of metres of being breached, leading Regional Roads Victoria to truck in massive quantities of granite rock to save the wall.
Even since the video was launched on May 12, there have been further dramatic changes to the beach. In a sign that the problems are compounding, the emergency rock wall is increasing erosion on adjoining sections of the beach.
“Consideration should be given to making the fences higher so they can provide protection during the storm season,” Mr Heath said. “This would avoid the kind of damage that occurred at the Bunurong road site during the 2020 storm.”
He says the highest priority is at Flat Rocks, to protect the remaining coast banksia woodland community, and between the surf club and east of the Wave Street beach access track to protect the remaining dunes.
The length totals around one kilometre and the cost of extending the fence is estimated at about the same as the cost of the geotextile sand wall recently completed to save the surf lifesaving club.
The video is a follow-up to the Inverloch Coastal Resilience Report, released by SGCS last August which drew on specialist consultant studies in geomorphology, ecology, cultural heritage and economics commissioned for the project.
The beach has receded by six metres a year since 2013, and the rate of erosion appears to be speeding up, with over a metre of sand dune disappearing over a single weekend in September.
In April the Bunurong coast road between Inverloch and Cape Paterson came within a couple of metres of being breached, leading Regional Roads Victoria to truck in massive quantities of granite rock to save the wall.
Even since the video was launched on May 12, there have been further dramatic changes to the beach. In a sign that the problems are compounding, the emergency rock wall is increasing erosion on adjoining sections of the beach.
The last of the coastal banksias, some of them a century old, are toppling into the sea at Flat Rocks. On the other side, the Wreck Creek outlet has moved closer to the new rock wall, creating a spit of sand which is being rapidly eroded by the tides, leaving a tangled mess of mature coast tea tree.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning is working on a long-term coastal hazard solution, but SGCS vice-president Dave Sutton says more immediate and urgent action is needed. “By the time they get to it it’s going to be too late, the way it’s going.”
View the SGCS video: Coastline in Crisis
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning is working on a long-term coastal hazard solution, but SGCS vice-president Dave Sutton says more immediate and urgent action is needed. “By the time they get to it it’s going to be too late, the way it’s going.”
View the SGCS video: Coastline in Crisis