Visitors to West Beach this Christmas will be welcomed by a beautiful sandy coastline after the successful delivery of sand from land-based quarries.
Since August this year, the Marshall Liberal Government has been delivering sand from land-based quarries in Mount Compass to West Beach as part of the first phase of a mass replenishment of Adelaide's metropolitan beaches.
The project has been able to replenish West Beach in time for summer with a beach in front of the West Beach Surf Club for the first time in years.
Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said works will now pause and resume on 31 January 2022 giving the community and visitors to West Beach uninterrupted access during the holidays.
"There's a finite amount of sand in Adelaide's beach system which is why bringing in sand from external sources, as well as recycling sand from where it builds up along our coastline is needed to retain Adelaide's long, sandy beaches," Minister Speirs said.
"Unfortunately, the former Labor Government sat on their hands and failed to act for more than a decade causing West Beach to practically vanish. In fact, at the time of coming into government, beach volumes were the lowest since measurements began in the 1970s.
"By adding a large volume of sand to West Beach from a land-based quarry we've been able to significantly improve the quality of the beach just in time for the busy Christmas period which will provide a significant environmental, social and economic boost for the area.
"To see sand in front of the West Beach Surf Club for the first time in years is a sight for sore eyes and something which will be thoroughly enjoyed by visitors this summer.
"We acknowledge that trucking over the past few months has caused some disruption for local residents and I sincerely thank them for their patience and hopefully the resulting sandy beach is a just reward for their cooperation."
Minister Speirs said sand on Adelaide's beaches naturally drifts from south to north along our coastline and without moving sand, some of the metropolitan beaches would erode to rock and clay as was starting to be seen at West Beach.
"Our beach replenishment program is about keeping our beaches sandy for the whole community to enjoy, build resilience in our coastline in the fact of a changing climate, rehabilitate dunes and improve environmental outcomes in a practical way," Minister Speirs said.
"While the delivery of the quarry sand has been successful, it is a short-term and high cost solution.
"While we deliver this sand in the short term, construction of a new sand recycling pipeline from Semaphore to West Beach will provide a long-term solution to the coastal erosion issues at West Beach and Henley Beach South.
"We have seen the success of the Glenelg to Kingston Park pipeline that has been operating since 2013. The existing pipeline pumps around 100,000 cubic metres of sand each year to the southern beaches and has seen the re-establishment of stable, vegetated dune systems.
"Unfortunately for the people of West Beach and other nearby beaches, Labor's proposal to halt the new pipeline will be a trip back to the past where no action was seen to stop the erosion of our precious beaches.
"Instead of sitting on our hands and doing nothing, the Marshall Liberal Government is getting on with delivering a project which will benefit all South Australians."
A development application on the proposed pipeline was lodged in November 2021 with the State Commission Assessment Panel.
For more information on the Securing the Future of our Coastline project visit: www.environment.sa.gov.au/coasts
