Sand dredging trial to replenish Adelaide beaches starts next week
Ninety thousand cubic metres of sand will be dredged and delivered to West Beach in a trial dubbed a potential solution to Adelaide’s beach sand loss.
Dredging operations approved by the Environment Protection Authority EPA will start next week, with sand to be dredged from an area south of North Haven Marina and delivered by barge to West Beach.
The trial was one recommendation from the Adelaide Beach Management Review, which looked into how to replenish sand along the city’s coastline.
Beach replenishment has cost South Australia around $200 million since the early 1970s, and the dredging trial is the latest option to address the northern sand drift problem.
The Department of Environment and Water DEW also announced today that the trial will be expanded to dredge sand from an area about 500 metres off West Beach and from around the West Beach Boat Harbour.
Under the trial, different methods of dumping the sand will be explored, such as pumping it directly onto the beach and placing it in a “nearshore zone” to create a buffer against erosion caused by waves.
You might like
DEW will manage the project, which is expected to be completed by late November. During the trial, an estimated 90,000 cubic metres of collected sand will be pumped onto the West Beach shoreline.
Dredging operations are permitted around the clock according to DEW, which said a noise management plan has been approved.
North Haven Marina and West Beach Boat Ramp access is not expected to be affected during the trial, but an exclusion zone around the dredging equipment will be established.
However, DEW said restricted access to the beach at West Beach “may be required” for safety reasons.
Stay informed, daily
“Maintaining a healthy beach system means people can enjoy Adelaide’s beautiful coastline all year round,” DEW coast manager David Osborn said.
“Dredging has the potential to cause less disruption by reducing the amount of machinery on our beaches.”
West Beach will also receive 200,000 cubic metres of quarry sand over the next 12 months as part of a $20.7 million commitment from the state government for beach management works and the dredging trial.
The dredging trial was one of three main options considered by the Adelaide Beach Management Review, alongside the delivery of quarry sand via trucks and the construction of a pipeline between Largs Bay and West Beach.
The review considered how to best manage beach sand while minimising community disruption, avoiding environmental harm, and maximising sand retention.
Some options that were rejected by the Review included long-term ongoing delivery of quarry sand, removal or bypassing of existing structures that impede sand movement, building groynes, seawalls or artificial headlands or reefs, and relocating properties and infrastructure.
Some 550,000 cubic metres of sand are required for the metropolitan coastline over the next five years, the review found.
