Sand dredging at Inverloch a band-aid solution

LOCAL residents at Inverloch have expressed deep concern over the $5.3 million plan to dredge sand from Anderson Inlet and pump it on to the surf beach to rebuild eroded dunes.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has admitted the replenished sand dunes may only last four to ten years.

“It will depend on the tides,” said a DEECA spokesman.

“We may need to do further renourishment work to retain the integrity of the dunes.”

The Inverloch Foreshore Action Group (IFAG) criticised DEECA for failing to reassure the community that the long-term erosion crisis is being addressed in a serious, durable, and evidence-based way.

“What was put forward reinforced a pattern of short-term, temporary responses that failed to confront the underlying causes of erosion and offered no credible pathway to permanent protection. Moving sand around without addressing the drivers of erosion is not a solution, it’s a holding pattern,” said IFAG Chair Kerrie Giles.

IFAG said it was deeply frustrating to know this work will have to be redone, yet the infrastructure being installed, especially the pipes will be dismantled and removed rather than left in-situ for the next inevitable iteration.

“This is not efficiency, it is a waste of public money.

“Once again the can has been kicked down the road,” Ms Giles said.

“We don’t want this problem managed forever, we want it solved,” said IFAG.