Beach nourishment moves ahead at Lake Cathie Reserve

Port Macquarie Hastings Council said that their latest beach nourishment works at Lake Cathie Reserve are now in progress, with marine sand being placed along the foreshore to help protect the area and create more sandy space for families.

“These works will protect the foreshore and create larger sandy areas for recreation,” PMHC Coast and Estuary Coordinator, Ben Foster, said.

“These works are focused on protecting the foreshore and providing safe spaces for families. The machinery on the sand berm is not opening the lake entrance. Council can only intervene at the entrance for flood mitigation purposes, but we are committed to monitoring conditions and keeping the community informed about the lake system.” 

Under the project, the area will be backfilled with marine sands sourced from the entrance sand berm. Sand will be transported from the beach access off Illaroo Road back to the reserve. 

Lake Cathie is an ICOLL (Intermittently Closed and Open Lake or Lagoon), meaning the entrance naturally opens and closes over time.

Also, Lake Cathie is an important conservation and recreational area in the Camden Haven area, and the second largest estuarine saltmarsh in New South Wales. Responsibility for the management of Lake Cathie is shared between the Council and the NSW Government.