Establishing new sand buffer at Jimmys Beach

Continued storm conditions have taken a toll on Jimmys Beach and MidCoast Council will work this week to establish a new sand buffer before the winter storm period begins.

Council has continued to keep a close eye on the erosion hotspot as consistent storm conditions continued throughout summer with plans in place to restore the sand buffer at the pinch point, using 5,000 cubic meters of sand.

“It’s important that we undertake replenishment of the beach each year before the winter storm period begins and the erosion risk increases,” explained Robert Scott, MidCoast Council’s Director of Infrastructure and Engineering Services.

“This year, unfortunately for Jimmys, we’ve had more storms than usual throughout Summer, which is generally when the sand naturally builds on the beachfront. With the Easter holiday period approaching, we are bringing forward targeted replenishment in the worst spot at the pinch point. This will provide a good beach profile through the holidays and provide protection from further storms that are predicted.”

“The plan is to manually place the sand onto the beach along the Boulevarde, between Guya Street and Kururma Crescent,” explained Rob.

“This type of targeted sand replenishment is part of the beach management program for Jimmys Beach and will allow us a buffer until we undertake a major sand transfer campaign using the pumping system that we have planned for May. We have previously used sand scraping to shift and shape the beach to provide good results. The current conditions favour some targeted manual replenishment in the short term.”

The most recent sand replenishment of Jimmys Beach was in August last year, in conjunction with the dredging of the lower Myall River.