Sand bypass claims rejected

By Jo Kennett

A TRANSPORT for NSW spokesperson says that recent erosion at Fingal beaches is a result of a sustained easterly groundswell and that one of the two aims of the Tweed Sand Bypassing (TSB) is to maintain the natural sand drift to the north.

The comments come in the wake of criticism from Fingal locals about what they see as over-pumping from the bypass, which they fear is causing serious erosion at Fingal beaches and providing Queensland beaches with much of their sand.

“Coastal erosion is caused by a number of natural factors such as tides, waves, water level, wind, rips, runoff and headlands,” the Transport spokesperson said.

“The Tweed Sand Bypassing jetty mounted sand transport system collects sand from the southern side of the Tweed River entrance at Letitia Spit, and pumps it under the river to outlets on the northern side.

“From there the sand is transported by waves and currents to nourish the southern Gold Coast beaches and to counter the effects of coastal erosion.

“Tweed Sand Bypassing has two objectives. One is to maintain the coastal sand drift to the beaches on the southern Gold Coast of Queensland.

“The system is designed to transport the natural quantities of sand that move northwards along the coast.”

On the claim by one Fingal resident that Fingal Beach is dropping into the ocean because not enough sand is being pumped to it, the spokesperson said Fingal “experienced erosion of the upper beach through April/May 2023, primarily due to a sustained easterly groundswell at the end of April.”

“TSB monitored the event and has observed beach conditions on site and through satellite imagery,” the spokesperson said.

“Wave buoy data shows that there was sustained wave energy from an easterly direction for approximately two weeks at the end of April.

“It is expected that, under these conditions, there would be significant sand transport along the coast and a building of the storm bar.

“This is a normal coastal process. TSB does not influence the erosion at Fingal Beach — it is the natural bypassing process that is dominant.”

However, TSB said they will continue to monitor changes to the beach at Fingal.

“Specific reports detailing the short and long-term natural processes that contribute to sediment transport at Fingal are available (online).

“There is also information about the natural variability of beach widths at Fingal. T hese reports point to the fact that Tweed Sand Bypassing operations are driven by naturally-occurring processes; the amount of sand delivered via pumping or dredging varies from year to year (ie not as stated in the comments).

“Historical sand delivery tables can be found on the Tweed Sand Bypassing website; energetic coastal conditions have been observed over the last 12-18 months, resulting in high natural sediment transport rates compared to long-term averages, hence the recent sand delivery totals; our analysis indicates that the project is not negatively impacting the beaches along Letitia Spit.

“We have previously communicated in detail the natural variability of beach widths at Fingal (with reports available on the project website).”

T he spokesperson said that the second objective of Tweed Sand Bypassing is to establish and maintain a safe, navigable entrance to the Tweed River.

“Some sand moves past the jetty and accumulates on the Tweed River entrance, so Tweed Sand Bypassing periodically dredges the Tweed River entrance area.

“Dredged sand is transported to placement areas offshore of southern Gold Coast beaches, Duranbah and Fingal/ Dreamtime.

“Most of the dredged sand is distributed to placement areas north of the Tweed River, which matches the direction of natural sediment transport.”

TSB says the planned estimated distribution for 2023 is 80,000 cubic metres offshore of Bilinga, 75,000 cubic metres to Snapper Rocks East, 65,000 cubic metres to Duranbah Beach, 30,000 cubic metres to Fingal and 10,000 cubic metres to Dreamtime Beach.

TSB also disputes the claim that “every year over 500,000 cubic metres of sand is pumped towards the Gold Coast by the sand pumping jetty and another 260,000 is pumped from the river mouth”, saying historical figures are available via: tweedsandbypass.nsw.gov.au/operations/ sand-delivery.html

Invitation for Registrations of Interest

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment

Clarrie Hall Dam Raising, Tweed Shire LGA e proponent contact is: David Hannah, Senior Environmental Scientist, Tweed Shire Council, T: 02 6670 2400, E: Dhannah@tweed.nsw.gov.au. e purpose of Aboriginal community consultation is: 1) to inform the assessment of cultural heritage values of the area; 2) to assist NSW Government in the assessment of Aboriginal heritage reports prepared for this project; and 3) to support any future applications or approvals for the project sought under the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and/or the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

Tweed Shire Council is proposing the raising of the Clarrie Hall Dam to ensure water security for the Tweed District into the future. e proposal would involve the raising of the existing dam wall to increase storage from 16,000 to 42,300 megalitres. is would result in additional inundation areas immediately surrounding the existing reservoir. e proposal is being assessed as State Signi cant Infrastructure (Reference: SSI-9458) and has also been declared a controlled action under the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Clarrie Hall Dam is located on Doon Doon Road, southwest of Uki, NSW. e project would interact with Lot and DPs: 1/44745, 3-7/240856, 1, 2, 6, 8-14/260821, 6/261570, 1, 2, 5/261582, 1-3, 6/261681, 1, 4/261700, 3, 4/604354, 1/624073, 1, 2/628704, 2/631489, 1, 2,/716151, 1/749031, 107, 156/755730, 32, 33, 74/755743, 1, 2/778141, 1, 2/814563, 2/838936, 21/840278, 1/877100, 5/1024097, 330/1190205, 2-4/1243701, 2/1246411, 2/1257191, 1, 2/126035.

EMM, on behalf of Tweed Shire Council, invites Aboriginal individuals and organisations who hold cultural knowledge relevant to determining the signi cance of Aboriginal objects and/or places in the area, and who wish to be involved in the consultation process undertaken as part of the assessment to register their interests.

Registrations of interest are to be provided by no later than 13th June 2023 to;

Alan Williams

E: awilliams@emmconsulting.com.au

A: EMM Consulting Pty Ltd, 20 Chandos Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065 T: 02 9493 9500.