Our Ocean Beach, in its natural state before settlement, has been vastly altered from a sandy bay by the destruction of its natural dune system with major land reclamation and the construction of man made dune structures to protect the developing city from the action and inundation of the sea.
Since then Ocean Beach has been subjected to a continual process of erosion since the 1860’s. You can’t conserve the coastline, its dynamic and changing all the time, this beach emergency is man made and has dished up a raw need to implement a totally substantial, practicable and financially sustainable long-term solution.
Hard engineering techniques such as sea walls, sand sausages, groins and gambion baskets have consistently proven to exacerbate erosion, and require ongoing funding and maintenance. Sand replenishment is both unsustainable and unproven as a long term solution, increased storm events mean it’s less likely that sand replenishment will work.
We need to implement something substantial for an artificial beach profile to get a dune system functioning again to rehabilitate the coastline to reduce council and public risk.
This is not only an issue for the DCC, the Otago Regional Council needs to be part of the solution. Any group that is formed to decide on a long term solution needs the co-operation of both these councils working together, as each has jurisdiction over different parts of the affected areas.
The importance of public consultation and information gathering has repeatedly been called for in public arenas. What does the DCC think it will achieve?
What information are the DCC and their consultants missing that the past coastal studies and hazard reports have missed?
Does this mean that current consultants are not fully informed? Hasn’t the consultant got access to scientific info?
Don’t want consideration for a multitude of unsubstantiated ideas no matter how well intentioned from the public.. We need action now, proven solutions now, not a wading through scores of unproven solutions.
Lets agree on some performance criteria to assess and measure against, as a process of public consultation.
.{{ call for a set of perfomance criteria, if public consulted on anything, public not agree on specific solutions.}}
Do we want to comply with the RMA & NZ coastal policy? Is it cost effective? A one off cost or ongoing?
How much are we prepared to pay?
do we want temporary or a permanent soultion?
A review in 10 years? Do we save the dunes, or extend?
Or let the sea take over in a controlled manner?
Do we want the world renowned surf breaks at St Clair and St Kilda to be preserved?
Coastal engineering is a very imprecise science.
What about Holmberg Technologies' Undercurrent Stabilisers?
Nobody in nz that’s doing soft shore protection like this.. the mechanism is soft shore as it stabilises erosive currents in principle [operation] opposed to wall reflected energy and hard armouring,,
It works moree effectively in a high energy situation... workign to raise the profile of the beach.
In a storm the system works better, the more energy, the more sand in system.. more bought on to shore.
Sand sausages work on totally different principle, by reflection & undermining.
Holmberg does have a shore parallel aspect, which is graduated so the sea has to climb it.
We need an open transparent investigation of soft shore methods including this one.
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