DEAR News Of The Area,

WELL before the harbour was constructed it was recognised that sand was being naturally transported south-to-north up the coast.

It was also recognised that construction of the harbour would bring into that harbour some portion of the moving sand.

Many studies of the harbour and the coast have been commissioned over many years.

The general conclusions are these: approximately 75,000 cubic metres of sand is deposited in the harbour each year; that means that a large quantity of sand does not move north and nourish the beaches from the north end of Park Beach up as far north as Look At Me Now headland; finally that the best way to resolve the problem is regular dredging (two to five years from various studies), with the mobile dredge going outside the harbour to deposit the sand back in the pathway north that has existed for eons.

In the Coffs Council meeting of 9/6/22 a motion was passed to write to the NSW authorities to request that the harbour be dredged in a manner similar to that employed 21 years earlier, when just such a dredge and dump process was undertaken successfully.

If you have sighted any progress from a NSW agency resulting from that, please come forward.

What reasons are there for the lack of progress?

It’s not that they can’t get a dredge – this was resolved by the expedient of using the telephone to contact the firm that was here last time, and discussing the job with the owner, including an estimate of cost, and availability.

What of environmental reports that might be required – remembering that the job was done exactly this way now 23 years back, that every report suggests this is the best way to do it, and this is as close as possible to emulating the natural path.

On a couple occasions since the dredge was so successfully employed, there have been small dredge-and-pump efforts made to move some sand onto Park Beach.

While the plan was to move the sand well north, the actual events have left the sand piled in front of the surf club, or moved south in storms into the mouth of the creek.

The beaches to the north continue to recede, the harbour to fill with sand.

While not the main issue, the folly of sand and the boat ramp improvements needs to be mentioned.

Some of the earlier studies examined this likely problem, and, again, called for routine dredging along the southern wall of the harbour.

In what must rank near the top of any list of muddled thinking, the solution to the boat ramp sand is now thought to be to pump the sand to the south of the harbour, onto Boambee beach, giving it a chance to go ‘round again!

Sand coming into the harbour from the natural movement northwards is inexorable.

Dredging it from the harbour and depositing in the ocean north of the harbour is the best response.

Best for the beaches to the north.

Best for seafaring traffic needing a safe harbour, one that they can enter and anchor in.

Best for the boat ramp.

Best for maintaining the commercial fishing industry (imagine having no Fish Co-op in town).

Best for all who enjoy the use of the harbour.

Do we have a problem?

Oh yeah, and it is as basic as arithmetic.

75,000m3 X 23 years now, and counting.

Loss of beaches north, loss of depth in the harbour, loss of large boat traffic, and soon, loss of more.

What to do? Well, Council’s resolution has brought little response and no progress on what is a NSW responsibility.

Start there, and start now, while we still have a navigable harbour.

Arithmetic, or observation, tells you it won’t last forever.

Regards,
Scott WOLGAMOT,
Coffs Harbour.