Eurobodalla Shire Council said that Surfside’s new levee is now complete, blending into the reserve and helping to protect low-lying areas from coastal flooding.
The 190-meter long and 10-meter wide raised embankment was built using 2,700 tons of rock and topped with sand and soil. Project manager Paul Pomfret said that favorable weather conditions and tides helped keep the project on track and within budget.
“ A lovely addition we were able to achieve at the end was a pathway through the reserve ,” Mr. Pomfret said. “ We’ve turfed the inland side and planted natives along the top, so as it grows in, the levee will sit more naturally in the foreshore .”
Mr. Pomfret also added that the Surfside levee forms part of Council’s broader coastal protection program.
Now Surfside levee is finished, the next focus is on the seawall at Caseys Beach to protect Beach Road. The existing seawall at Caseys Beach has come under increasing pressure in recent years, with more easterly lows pushing water up and over Beach Road.
“ The wall isn’t holding up the way it needs to anymore, and if we don’t act there’s a real risk we could lose sections of Beach Road ,” Mr. Pomfret said.
Crews will use 21,000 tons of new and existing rock to build the new wall, designed to last 30 years with the option to raise it higher if needed in future.