Gippsland communities fear erosion protection not coping with rising tides
Protective works paid for by the state government to shelter the coastline of southern Gippsland have failed in the wake of recent abnormal tidal activity.
It has spurred renewed calls for permanent protective works to prevent further erosion, with some residents terrified that rising water could submerge their homes.
Almost 150 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club has been battling creeping coastal erosion for years.
A 70-metre geotextile container wall was built in Inverloch in 2020 for $450,000.
But sand erosion has since spread behind the wall and encroached on the clubhouse.
Sand dunes abutting the clubhouse were hammered by abnormally high tidal water in late May.
The water rose close to 3 metres throughout the week, breaking past a temporary fence installed to help prevent further erosion.
Surf lifesaving club president Glenn Arnold said a stronger wall was the long-term solution.
"If you're asking me, and I know this is a contentious issue, I'm saying throw rocks at it," he said.
"It's not a wall, it's an ingress.
"So it's protecting the dunes, backfilling behind the ingress into the ocean to allow more sand to collect."
Mr Arnold said a wall made of rocks would be more suited to the area.
"They're cost efficient, they're environmentally friendly, they're aesthetically pleasing, more so than ugly manufactured sandbags," he said.
Member for Bass, Jordan Crugnale, said the Bass Coast Shire Council and the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA) were monitoring both areas with designs to repair and extend the geotextile wall.
A call for tenders has been put out for the reconstruction project.
When asked if there was a need for stronger coastal erosion mitigation works, Ms Crugnale said the government was being directed by experts and science.
Further along the coastline at Phillip Island, a $565,000 rock bag wall installed in April to protect residential properties in Silverleaves has failed to protect the beach.
Residents watched as the wall of mesh bags filled with rocks struggled to fight the surge of rising high tides.
Seawater has swept up behind the bags, cutting into the shoreline.
Cowes resident and member of the Silverleaves Conservation Association, Will Dwyer, said a lot of sand and trees had been lost.
"We've lost a number of banksia trees that have come down, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop."
Rather than block the tide, Mr Dwyer said the rock bags had shifted the problem further down the beach.
He said residents were frustrated and tired of fighting for a solution.
"This has been going on for years. We've been fighting for years to get something to happen, and in that time we've lost 18 to 20 metres of foreshore," he said.
"We're just concerned that it took years for them to do what they've done.
"If it's going to take another couple of years, we're just going to keep losing foreshore until Silverleaves becomes inundated."
A spokesperson for Bass Coast Shire Council said contractors would reinstate sand at both ends of the Inverloch sandbag wall this week.
In March, the Victorian government announced more than $17 million in funding to address coastal erosion, safety risks and access issues across the state's most vulnerable sections of coastline, from Warrnambool to Lakes Entrance.
A DEECA spokesperson said the government would continue to work with the council to monitor coastal hazards.
Community members can have their say on the Engage Victoria website before June 8.
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