Relocation threat looms for Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club

THE final version of the Cape to Cape Resilience Plan has revealed the Inverloch SLSC may have to relocate as soon as 2040 and Surf Parade residents by 2070.

The Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club is considered to be at significant risk when 0.2m sea level rise is reached from 2040 onwards.

Surf Parade including the road itself, residential properties and adjoining utility infrastructure such as telecoms, sewage and water are predicted to be at risk from 2070.

The report recommends moving infrastructure and assets out of at-risk areas over time including the Inverloch SLSC, Surf Parade and Surf Parade residents.

Former Woorayl Shire Engineer and Inverloch resident Keith Godridge said the 91-page report released by Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos just prior to Christmas was over complex and written in a closed, non-objective style.

“Many statements are self-fulfilling and offer little practical relevance to the erosion issues at Inverloch,” Mr Godridge said.

One section of the report prioritises large-scale renourishment without engineering.

“That includes relocation of the Surf Lifesaving Club,” Mr Godridge said.

President of the Inverloch SLSC Glenn Arnold said time was needed to develop a land-use transition strategy as a prudent consideration of what we do with our public assets and people’s homes if all else fails.

“Buy-back policies, relocation policies, potential locations, and timeframes are all things that come to mind,” Mr Arnold said.

“The work being done right now along the coast, at the very least gives everyone time to look at these issues more closely and adjust the strategy where appropriate.”

According to Mr Godridge the long-term erosion rate is based on data from the 1950s and ignores the dramatic acceleration in erosion observed since 2012.

“It uses the present sea level as a starting point and therefore understates recent losses. Wind-driven wave changes may also be contributing to rapid erosion, a factor the plan does not adequately consider.”

The adaptation of a seawall to protect both Cape Paterson Road and the Inverloch surf beach was a defensible option according to Mr Godridge and one that local groups should press for as a permanent solution.

Mr Godridge said the plan fails to justify the $5.5 million renourishment project or state its expected lifespan and future maintenance requirements.

“The overall emphasis is to downplay hard engineering,” Mr Godridge said.

“The plan does not recognise the extent of erosion since 2012 between Ozone Street and the rock escarpment on the Cape Paterson Road. Approximately 70 metres of sand dunes have already been lost along two kilometres of shoreline,” he said.

The plan is also said to have ignored the costly failures of four wet sand fences.

“The plan’s dominant message is still adapt and retreat,” Mr Godridge said.

“It does not state the expected lifespan of the renourishment, or the schedule for future replenishment. The study rejects the use of groynes and offshore reefs and dismisses hard engineering on the basis of so-called end-effects and alleged base erosion.”

Long-term sea level projections create a false sense of complacency.

“Public consultation appears ineffective and seems to have been used to justify a pre-determined outcome. The document provides no actionable recommendations to permanently protect the surf beach and Cape Paterson Road, instead it foreshadows loss and abandonment without assessing the resulting financial and social costs.”

“It is a plan for the future destruction of Inverloch,” Mr Godridge said.

“It offers no credible pathway to protect existing assets or the community that depends on them, prioritising long-term retreat over immediate, evidence-based protection.”

Mr Godridge said the plan should be rejected in its current form because it fails to provide any permanent solution to the immediate and accelerating threat to Inverloch.