Mounts Bay and Marengo beach nourishment works begin

This week our Coastal Reserves team will begin beach nourishment works across the Mounts Bay and Marengo foreshore. 

We’re undertaking beach nourishment works from mid to late December on the Mounts Bay and Marengo foreshore to increase the dune’s resilience to coastal erosion.  

These works have been brought forward as a matter of priority to take place before the busy summer period following a storm event which took place on 29 November 2023.   

Sand nourishment has been shown to be an effective buffer against storm and tide surges and has slowed erosion and shoreline retreat in other areas along the coast. 

The works are expected to take approximately one week to complete, during this time we will truck in sand from Point Bunbury and the harbour and deposit it into sections of Mounts Bay and Marengo that require the beach nourishment.  

To enable the works, we’ll be closing off part of the Apollo Bay Harbour to ensure community safety. We ask all community members and visitors to be mindful of the large trucks and equipment and to avoid the area if possible, particularly the beaches where the nourishment is being undertaken. 

We will have spotters in place to check the beach for Hooded Plovers prior to truck movements beginning each day, should we find any hoodies we will modify the planned works accordingly. 

If you'd like to find out more about the Mounts Bay Adaptation Plan that's being delivered by the Authority and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) join the online drop in session that will run from 6-8pm on 14 December 2023 on Microsoft Teams.  

We apologise for any inconvenience these works may cause. 

The beach nourishment works will be undertaken in line with the Marine and Coastal Policy, and though these activities are short-to-medium term focused, we are committed to implement the strategic long-term management of coastal hazards through adaptation planning along our coast in alignment with the Victorian Resilience Coast – Adapting for 2100+ guidelines. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Barwon Water for providing funding to deliver these works and to thank the Apollo Bay Victorian Coastal Monitoring team for their continued support with providing data which contributes to evidence based decisions.