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Protect Wooli From Coastal Erosion

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Thanks, it’s working really well, but what if …

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Little dune viewed from big duneThanks to the DuneCare members and volunteers who worked steadily over the summer holidays on sand-trapping and replanting both the main dune and the fore dune. In some places the fore dune is even beginning to spawn another little dune nearer the water. DuneCare’s ongoing success is a credit to Craig Drabsch as he hands over the Coordinator responsibility to Sharon Nelson after three years. Thanks Craig and Sharon.

We reported earlier in the Little Hero article that the fore dune has already protected the main dune from substantial storms. However, as Kristin Stubbins noted recently “..we are worried that the fore-dunes beach scrapingthat have been built up might be taken by a big storm and then it takes us 6 months to organise a beach scrape (to repair it) – and there could be another storm in that time” which could seriously damage the main dune.

So it was timely to hear from Angus Gordon, Chair of the NSW Coastal Committee, that “I would always recommend it (beach scraping, also known as Nature Assisted Beach Enhancement) during the recovery phase after a severe erosion event. … I think I would put beach scraping on the “to do” list if you see the fore dunes being eroded”. For more detail on Angus’ views here is his recent paper, some of the highlights of which are :

  • Beach scraping provides potential to limit the erosion impacts of subsequent storms.  Reforming a fore dune sand buffer prior to secondary storms can reduce, but not overcome, the long-term rate of shoreline recession.
  • Focus on dune re-formation is vital. The sooner a sediment buffer is re-established at the back of the beach, the better it provides protection against following storm events. The formation of an incipient fore dune assists with deflection of onshore winds at the rear of the beach, allowing gravity to assist in releasing sand for depositing on the emerging dune.Also, the sooner the incipient dunes are formed the sooner re-planting and re-colonisation by remnant vegetation can occur, thus “kick-starting” the natural process that will eventually lead to the re-establishment of an effective, vegetated dune system.
  • NABE is basically a mechanical intervention to speed up the natural processes of beach and fore dune recovery after a storm event. It is a useful tool to achieve rapid reestablishment of a fore dune and beach berm. It can be used not only to create a buffer against further back beach erosion during following storms, but also to re-establish a dune crest level that will prevent a wash through from wave over-topping. While it is not a panacea for overcoming long-term coastal recession it can reduce the recession rate by mitigating the compounding impacts of multiple storm erosion events.

bright ideaBased on that very experienced advice, the CCPA steering committee has begun the next step of working with the Council to have a beach scraping plan pre-approved and pre-funded so as to be ready when its needed to quickly repair the fore dune.

Cautionary note: meaningful progress of that plan will be tied to getting our new CZMP approved by the Minister along with the funding application that went along with it.

 

One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

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Watching for progress on Wooli’s Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) canone step, two steps be frustrating. Just to refresh your memory, here are the main steps so far:

That’s when the ‘one step back’ happened. The  CZMP proposed to get half the sand needed to nourish the village dunes from the national park behind Wilsons Headland. NSW National Parks department rejected that idea meaning the CZMP would not be approved.

Now for the two steps forward.

Firstly, Council are to be congratulated  for promptly approving an adjustment to the plan which retains beach nourishment to protect the dunes but uses a different approach to get the needed sand. The northern end of Wooli beach will continue to provide about half the sand originally planned for, but will do so every 2.5 years rather than every 5 years (depending on availability and need).

Secondly, Council added to the revised plan a proposal from CCPA to investigate beach scraping as a way to supplement the sand supply from north Wooli. Thanks to members Brian Saye (surveyor) and Bob Stack (engineer) for their Submissions which formed the basis for our proposal.

Finally, a couple of cautions about the Plan’s likely successsuccess_what_people_think_it_looks_like. Agreement will be needed from the Departments of Land and Marine Parks to take sand from north Wooli before this revised CZMP is likely to be approved by the Minister. Also state government approval of Council’s funding application is needed in order to get the plan started. Guarded optimism would be a fair summary.

First birthday for eye in the sky

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Seems like just yesterday that Dr. Shaw Mead (eCoast) helped by CCPA members and Council staff set up the computerised camera system atop the Wooli water tower.

 

In fact, the system has been operational for over a year now capturing thousands of views during daylight hours of the dynamics of the beach in all different weathers.

 

The eCoast team has analysed all that information and presented CCPA and CVC with the first annual report of their findings. This and subsequent reports will be important components in building an evidenced-based beach protection strategy.

 

The Executive Summary  will give you the headlines in a few pages but if you’d like to know more its all in the full report.

 

 

 

Macquarie St., Prince St. and Main St. move ahead.

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    Speaking from his office in Main St. Wooli,  Bruce Bird (President of the Protect Wooli campaign) congratulated Clarence Valley Council on its recent unanimous decision to undertake a major revision of Wooli ‘s Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP).

     â€œIt didn ‘t happen overnight but it did happen” said Bruce.“We ‘ve still got a lot of hurdles to clear but this was a big one to get over.

The new plan will move away from abandoning the village. Instead it will focus on understanding the forces that shape the beach and using modern adaptive management science to develop a beach protection strategy for the long term”.

For the full story read our previous News item

 

Following hard on the heels of the Prince St. announcement,  theWooli community and CVC received strong support for their new approach via a media release from the O ‘Farrell government in Macquarie St. Sydney.

The release by Special Minister of State, Chris Hartcher  announced that

–   The heavy handed application of (the previous government) Labour ‘s sea level rise planning benchmarks for 2050 and 2100 would go…given that the scientific knowledge in the field was continually evolving

–   Councils will have the freedom to consider local conditions when determining future hazards

–   (And there will be) more freedom given to landowners to protect their properties from erosion.

 

 

Main St. and Prince St. aren ‘t resting on their laurels however.

The Wooli community has already implemented the surveys and automated photography systems to capture on-shore data about the beach and dunes. The community is now working with CVC on a jointly funded project to map the off-shore data about Wooli bay including its waves, currents, contours and sediments.

Time is of the essence as CVC works towards having a new CZMP available by December. What a Christmas present that would be for the Wooli community.

 

 

Wooli and Council on the same page

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WOOLI MEETING WELCOMES COUNCIL INVOLVEMENT  

 

A meeting of Wooli community group CCPA (Coastal Communities Protection Alliance) was held on Saturday 9 June. The group formed in 2010 in response to the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan tabled by Clarence Valley Council, proposing “planned retreat” from Wooli village in the face of predicted coastal erosion threats.

 

The group ‘s vice president Peter Dunn welcomed CVC ‘s Strategic and Economic Planning Manager Dave Morrison and Environmental Planning Coordinator Scott Lenton, to what he called “a landmark occasion for Wooli”.

 

”When the draft Plan was exhibited in 2010, emotions ran high with over 100 submissions to council making Wooli ‘s opposition to the “planned retreat” proposal loud and clear” said Mr Dunn.” CCPA has been working with council staff for over a year on a revised strategy, and today we are sharing a community meeting with input from both community and council staff.”

 

 

“Today ‘s meeting is about a process for producing a new plan that replaces the “planned retreat” concept with one of adaptive management. This will enable solutions for Wooli ‘s future to be based on consultation, research and verifiable planning.”

 

Addressing the meeting, Mr Morrison said that the number of submissions showed CVC how concerning the draft plan was to the Wooli community. “They showed the social impact on the village was a major problem. It became very apparent that there was support for considering a wider range of options”.

Mr. Morrison agreed that subsequent discussions between council and CCPA representatives have been useful in putting both parties on the same page.

He went on to say that “in reviewing the plan greater emphasis is likely to be put on structured and on-going data collection to inform a range of potential alternatives, and the creation of an evolving, rather than a static, management plan. Providing more clarity to development controls and a move away from “planned retreat” options such as land swap will all be on the table.

He stressed, however, that a revised plan needed to be reviewed and approved by Council then the State Government, with continued community involvement, hopefully in the last quarter of 2012

Mr Dunn said that a research program into Wooli beach processes was already going ahead, with council cooperation.

“Time-lapse photography, beach surveys and sand-trapping are under way and there are plans for underwater data collection off Wooli beach. So far, funding has come from the community, but council has been approached for assistance and has applied to the NSW government for extra funds. A thorough and current understanding of how Wooli ‘s beach system works and an intelligent and adaptive plan are crucial to finding viable options to protect Wooli.”