LETTER TO THE EDITOR

NELLY BAY GROYNE FAILURE AND PUBLIC EYESORE

To all whom it may concern.

As I see it

The Nelly Bay Groyne wall has been a frustrating and  contentious subject for at least 20 years. It should have been built  before the opening of the Harbour in 2004.

The August 2019 groyne wall is now beyond the five year experimental stage and is under review.

Queensland Main Roads (TMR) were paying Townsville City Council (TCC) about $80,000.00 per year to remove the sand from in the harbour AND under the Kelly St., harbour bridge, to be spread back along the Nelly Bay beach. The heavy machinery was breaking the beach sand firmer sub-structure for the length of the worked beach, making the sand more readily transportable (erosion) in storms etc.  and the extraordinary periodic stench rendered the wall necessary, let alone the loss of marine amenity in the harbour. In the past 5 years that would suggest a saving of $400,000.00 at a cost of construction of $240,000.00 equals a substantial saving to the Queenslander.

Most everybody knows about the quantity of sand that migrated each year from the beach into the harbour to stockpile up in the harbour and block the cleansing tidal flow under the Kelly street bridge, causing seaweed and Trichondesmium to collect at differing times of the year in the harbour to rot and stink far worse than open septic tanks. Since the wall construction that extraordinary stench has been resolved.

Subsequently the Groyne wall was built to about the 4.12M Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT)( level with the highest tide mark on the beach) level instead of being built above that level and keyed back further into the head of the beach to allow for normal events  such as rough weather, storms and cyclones. The Groyne was built without the swale or amphitheater of bags between the Groyne and the bridge allowing that piece of beach head to migrate into the harbour unabated.  Immediate First Class Unadulterated Failure!

Sadly, the bags were filled with dry sand so that when they were placed, and wet, the sand fill capacity shrunk leaving floppy bags to face the elements instead of much, much more capable firm bags.

The reportedly expert designed project has been, in concept, a very successful project with its visual, functional, and user amenity for all ages to enjoy on the tide. To have a construction project to be also of amenity to the public is a  win for all, including the tourists and visitors.

However, while the Groyne wall concept is perfect, the construction is openly pathetic, not high enough, not keyed back into the beach head sufficiently, loose bag fill, leaving the beach sand to migrate about the beach head of the wall and through under the bridge and into the harbour with negative impact on the marine amenity in the harbour. To this date the sand migration has been significantly reduced but nevertheless the sand is slowly filling the harbour to eventually build high enough to block under the Kelly Street Bridge once again, rendering the complete value of the project an embarrassment and unsuccessful. The very point was to stop the sand migrating into the harbour, and which was known to have failed early, soon after construction and ignored. It must also be appreciated the failed Groyne wall project is constructed in somewhat a protected zone under the lee of the breakwater.

The concept and construction details were near fully outlined in the 2010 Nelly Bay Foreshore Erosion Management plan. To have such a beautiful concept smashed by non-expert construction is disappointing and embarrassing to all Australians, International visitors, tourists and professionals. The project site is simply a disgrace. The Groyne wall is now sagged below the design height and needing remediation.

One of the main considerations for the wall besides stopping the beach infill of the harbour was to keep under the Kelly St., Bridge open,  to allow for tidal flow cleansing of the harbour, which is also very successful at this point, albeit the detrimental sand infill of the harbour is progressing very well, even if some have their head in the sand and ignoring it, but is terribly obvious at lower tides. Eventually, once again the tidal flow will be blocked. Hence the machinery will have to be called back which means the wall is a failure, but it is not…… only the construction is pathetic.

I was advised to, and honestly did attempt to write a “Nice” report and apologize, but the truth got in the road.

Hopefully, intelligent remediation, the in between amphitheater of bags, and joining the adjacent park might make a beautiful project out of the embarrassment that it is.

Maybe the new Queensland Government can do us proud and apply a bucket of professionalism?

Sincerely

Michael Schmidt.

MAGNETIC ISLAND.