The rock bags are stacked three deep along a section of the Silverleaves beach. Photos: Steve Lapin By Catherine Watson
SEVEN Silverleaves families are sleeping a lot easier this week after emergency dune works to stabilise the beach in front of their houses.
Work started last week to stack around 600 massive rock bags along a 150m length of the beach between Ellen Road to Sanders Road. The work is expected to be finished in time for the Easter high tides.
“After all the stress and worry of the past three years, there is enormous relief,” says Stephen Lapin, who owns one of the at-risk houses.
“It's quite impressive. I've been watching most of it. Everyone is pretty excited about it. They’re emergency works but this will last a number of years while we work out what to do next.”
SEVEN Silverleaves families are sleeping a lot easier this week after emergency dune works to stabilise the beach in front of their houses.
Work started last week to stack around 600 massive rock bags along a 150m length of the beach between Ellen Road to Sanders Road. The work is expected to be finished in time for the Easter high tides.
“After all the stress and worry of the past three years, there is enormous relief,” says Stephen Lapin, who owns one of the at-risk houses.
“It's quite impressive. I've been watching most of it. Everyone is pretty excited about it. They’re emergency works but this will last a number of years while we work out what to do next.”
The works were funded under a State Government emergency package of $10 million for restoration work and repairs at six sites: Silverleaves, Inverloch, Tooradin, Loch Sport, Warrnambool and Black Rock.
Stephen, who is on the Silverleaves community reference group for the project, said the work had gone quickly The rocks have been stored and bagged at Gap Road then transported to the end of Rose Avenue. At low tide a truck carried six big rock bags at a time and they’ve been stacked in a triangular wedge, leaning back at a 45 degree angle.
He said the beach looked very different with the rock bags. “It's not like a pristine beach but with the Adaptation Plan, there's a possibility to use the rock bags as a backstop and reclaim some of the area in front."
There was also an unexpected gain during the current works. The Department of Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action commissioned the works but left some flexibility to the civil engineering contractors, Maw Civil Marine, to work out what was best on the job.
“The plan was initially to go along the erosion line,” Stephen said, “but when the company got there, they said we can put the rock wall back a bit and backfill. So we've actually regained about seven metres of foreshore, which is a huge bonus.”
Stephen, who is on the Silverleaves community reference group for the project, said the work had gone quickly The rocks have been stored and bagged at Gap Road then transported to the end of Rose Avenue. At low tide a truck carried six big rock bags at a time and they’ve been stacked in a triangular wedge, leaning back at a 45 degree angle.
He said the beach looked very different with the rock bags. “It's not like a pristine beach but with the Adaptation Plan, there's a possibility to use the rock bags as a backstop and reclaim some of the area in front."
There was also an unexpected gain during the current works. The Department of Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action commissioned the works but left some flexibility to the civil engineering contractors, Maw Civil Marine, to work out what was best on the job.
“The plan was initially to go along the erosion line,” Stephen said, “but when the company got there, they said we can put the rock wall back a bit and backfill. So we've actually regained about seven metres of foreshore, which is a huge bonus.”