Rock bags to protect Cosy Corner seawall

GIANT rock bags will be installed along Cosy Corner’s timber seawall in Torquay to provide short-term protection for the aging infrastructure against erosion impacts.

Local environmental groups and land managers concede that there is no easy fix for the issue and long-term planning will be needed to protect the Surf Coast against climate change and rising sea levels.

The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (The Authority) will install four tonne bags along the entire length of the 160-metre wall to provide temporary protection from wave activity that has caused sections of it to collapse.

Built more than half a century ago, the seawall protects the Pt Danger headland and Cosy Corner picnic area from coastal erosion and has high environmental value due to it being adjacent to the Pt Danger Marine Sanctuary.

The works, which are funded by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, have received Marine and Coast Act consent and will involve craning the rock bags in during low-tide periods and is dependent on weather conditions.

Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority CEO Jodie Sizer said that in the face of climate change, “coastal erosion is one of the biggest threats facing our coastline.”

 

She said the upcoming works will hopefully cause some respite and “provide temporary protection while [The Authority] work on a longer-term plan to protect [the] hugely popular and much-loved coastal location.”

According to Surf Coast Environmental Group (SCEG) founder Graeme Stockton is a complex one.

“As I understand it, it’s the result of storm damage and that’s something that all of us are impacted by,” Stockton said.

“If you go for a long walk… take note of the sand dunes from being rounded to being a sheer drop off… that’s a direct indicator of sea levels rising.

“We can expect more of that and it’s accelerating… but what you do with that is a very complex, very difficult thing to answer.

“For them (GORCAPA) they can only allocate funds to so many areas and in the meantime other areas are facing recession.

“The only thing that is going to solve that is climate, and we don’t really seem to have an appetite for that at the moment.”

 

Mr Stockton said that because cliff damage and erosion happens incrementally, it becomes insidious and difficult to notice.

“There is work now being done with drones to measure the rate of recession and in some places it’s really pretty dramatic,” Stockton said.

“I really like the idea of having a big picture approach that underpins the absolute difficulty with dealing with recession along the coastline.

“You can’t just fix it unless you deal with the problem which is climate – it’s all of the problem.”

The Authority have said they have a long-term plan to undertake a technical investigation of coastal processes and hazards which will inform the design for a replacement coastal protective structure.

For more, visit www.greatoceanroadauthority.vic.gov.au