By Chloe Kent
EARLY March this year, Queensland experienced Tropical Cyclone Afred. The Gold Coast specifically experienced steep sand scarping and damaged access ways and coastal infrastructure; however, there was one new piece of infrastructure that held up, the Palm Beach artificial reef.
The project has been praised by the City of Gold Coast, and in reports “demonstrated exceptional resilience during Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Prior to the PBAR [Palm Beach Shoreline Project], such an event would likely have caused severe erosion and scarping back to the seawall, leaving no usable beach width. Post-PBAR, the beach held up strongly and retained functional width.”
The reef, now six years old, was implemented as a two-phase project solution, which incorporated sand nourishment (phase one) and construction of an artificial reef 270 metres offshore (phase two).
Palm Beach was nourished with 470,000m3 of clean sand (2017), followed by the placing of 60,000 tonnes of basalt and greenstone rock in 2019.
The primary objective of the project was to manage coastal hazards, whilst maintaining beach amenity and improving surf amenity.
The same artificial reef technology has been used to create a surf break at Middleton Beach in Albany earlier this year.
Inverloch local and president of Bass Coast Boardriders Stephen Gow, ‘Gowie’, is urging the state government and authorities to consider an artificial reef for Inverloch, sending letters throughout August.
“We need a reef or something to keep it in, otherwise it’s just going to keep going down the inlet,” Gowie said. “It’s new technology that I feel needs to be considered – it’s just starting to come in and had huge success at Palm Beach and in Western Australia.”
According to Gowie’s letter, which has also been sent to local Member for Bass Jordan Crugnale, the benefits of an artificial reef for Inverloch include erosion control by stabilising the sand and reducing direct wave energy, surfing enhancement, and creating a marine habitat. That sits alongside a tourism boost, adding community value and helping to safeguard the future of the surf club, Surf Parade road and residential areas.
Gowie believes Inverloch is ideal for an artificial reef due to “Inverloch’s consistent swells, which typically arrive from the same direction, making it an excellent candidate for an artificial reef. The wind conditions are generally favourable, and the underwater contours are predictable and manageable.”
Furthermore he states that “using local rock for reef construction would further connect the project with the region, directly improving the stability and longevity of the shoreline.”
And Gowie is not alone in stating that an artificial reef should be considered for Inverloch.
“Over the years prior to retirement and in my position at Surfing Victoria, I only had positive feedback about the values of artificial reefs, mostly this was in relation to creating surfable waves and their protection in relation to erosion control,” fellow Inverloch resident Max Wells stated to the Sentinel-Times last week.
“I don’t actually see an artificial reef placed off the front of the surf club as being an at-risk hard solution… If an artificial reef, properly planned, was placed in that location, I believe it would break the power of the swells before hitting the beach in front of the club.
“The result of this, as shown by other artificial reef placements, is the dropping of sand and net gain of beach amenity. Thus, protecting infrastructure.
“There may or may not be quality surf breaks created, which if it did would be an awesome result for us surfers, but the major gain would be in erosion protection and the saving of beach amenity.”
A passionate surfer, who recently wrote a letter to the Sentinel-Times about the disadvantages of hard solutions – having experienced them first hand in Kuta, which has seen significant negative economic impacts along one of the most famous strips of beach, Max is keen to preserve Inverloch.
“Beach amenity is my main priority as the placement of hard rock solutions, as we now have up on the Cape Paterson Road corner, shows a complete loss of sand and normally the loss of beach amenity (no dry sand),” Max continued.
“The pillars that make Inverloch such a special place are our beaches, the village feel and our inlet. If we lose our front beach, which inevitably would be the result of a hard rock solution to erosion, would, I believe, have catastrophic consequences for the social, economic and environmental balance of our town.”
According to Gowie, the next steps from here would be to engage marine engineers and conduct feasibility studies into an artificial reef and understand if it could provide beach erosion mitigation and surfable waves.
Back on the Gold Coast, the artificial reef six years down the track appears to have been the right long-term solution.
It has achieved its key performance indicators, which included coastal protection, beach amenity, surfing amenity, maintenance costs, safety and environmental performance, and monitoring has shown that one of the greatest benefits has been its ability to dissipate wave energy, which during major swell events has averaged 17 per cent, and seen up to 50 per cent reduction in larger wave heights.
Under the water, the once bare sand bottom is teaming with marine life, including fish, turtles, crabs and even octopus, to name but a few. Above it’s teaming with surfers and looks nothing like the erosion images of Palm Beach in 1967, 2009, 2013 and 2016 when houses were mere metres from being sucked out to sea, down large sand drop-offs.
Whether an artificial reef is the “hard” but soft solution for Inverloch, only marine engineers will be able to advise; however, it’s looking like a pretty good idea that should be considered. And will keep the government’s sand nourishment in place.
Response from local members of parliament:
Melina Bath MP, Member for Eastern Victoria Region: “Inverloch surf beach is an important natural asset which holds significant social and economic value, and nothing should be off the table. The Allan Government has a responsibility to explore all best practice coastal erosion adaptation measures successfully implemented nationally and internationally to mitigate risks for community, environment and visitors to the Bass Coast.”
Jordan Crugnale MP, Member for Bass: “The enquiry I received from the President of the Bass Coast Boardriders outlined the benefits of an artificial reef citing examples including over in Albany WA and I thank Stephen Gow and the organisation for being proactive, detailed in benefits and looking at solutions for the Inverloch area.
Adaptation pathways including Offshore Breakwaters/Offshore Reefs were considered and modelled as part of the costal hazard assessment stage of the project along with a number of other options.
All were assessed using a Multi Criteria Analysis so that the options could be compared against each other. Understanding artificial reefs are submerged as per the one in Albany WA, I have made further enquiries requesting also that the C2C website be updated to mention them explicitly and the pros and cons given the extreme movement of sand.
DEECA have advised that “Offshore breakwaters/Offshore Reefs would need to be so large that they would always be visible above the water from the beach, even at high tide. They would block the view to the ocean from the beach, significantly impacting beach amenity. They would cost a minimum of $40 million to build and would also require beach nourishment. By design, they would change the local wave conditions, meaning they would also impact on the recreational amenity, and the ability to surf in these areas.”
