Australia: Clyde River Bar Dredging Reaches Another Milestone

The long-awaited dredging of the Clyde River Bar at Batemans Bay on the New South Wales far south coast has reached another milestone, but concerns remain about the plans.

The tender application process came to an end late last week, and it is hoped work will start in February to provide a safe navigation channel.

The Long Beach Community Association says it supports the dredging, but the plans could lead to a situation where beaches to the north are starved of sand.

The group’s President, David Lambert, says it has also been designed to create only a short-term solution.

“Within four months, around about half of the depth that’s been dredged will infill again, and the actual life of the dredging is probably lucky to last 18 months,” he said.

“So they’re spending a lot of money, and can create a significant amount of environmental damage to the northern beaches by extracting the sand.”

(abc)

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Source: abc, December 20, 2011; Image: gov