City of Gold Coast: Annual sand dredging underway

The City of Gold Coast is conducting annual sand dredging to raise the sandbank by a meter.

According to the City, the work will take about four weeks, weather permitting.

Beach nourishment is an integral part of their coastal protection efforts. It includes:

• offshore dredging,
• creek dredging,
• sand bypassing,
• sand backpass project,
• reuse of excavated sand.

Increased volumes of sand help to protect private and public property along the coastline, and wider dunes and beaches means storm impacts are more manageable.

The first sand bypassing system was constructed at the Gold Coast Seaway in 1986. The aim was to maintain the natural movement of sand along the coastline.