Byron Shire Council is hoping that beach scraping at New Brighton, scheduled to commence on Monday, will return the beach to something approaching its former glory before Christmas.
Beach scraping takes sand from between the low and high tide lines and deposits it on the foredunes. The sand removed is later replenished by incoming tides.
The solution proved effective the last time the beach was scraped in 2010.
Byron Shire Council’s coastal officer Catherine Knight said beach scraping ‘helps to speed up dune rebuilding following an erosion event or erosive period’.
‘Building up the dune sand reserves increases the natural buffer the dune system provides against short-term coastal erosion and inundation. However, it is not a long-term solution to address shoreline recession on a receding coastline.’
She added it is not a solution at Belongil, where the area between the low and high tide lines is not wide enough to allow for it.
The 1.3km length of beach to be scraped stretches either side of Strand Avenue (from 380m south to 920m north).
As part of the program, an ecologist will conduct daily inspections of the beach to look for bird and turtle species and to advise on how to deal with them.
There will also be some minor dune revegetation works.
There will be two beach-scraping ‘runs’ of six days each, with a week between to allow for the intertidal zone to recover.
Because of the use of heavy machinery, parts of the beach will be closed at various times between Monday and mid December.
Council safety officers will be on the beach during scraping and beachgoers are asked to follow their directions.
The works are estimated to cost a total of $96,500, with $48,250 co-funding from the NSW government’s Coastal Management Program.
Byron Shire Council will prepare a coastal zone management plan for New Brighton and South Golden Beach as soon as resources become available.
