Meeting papers

Resilience Strategies for Climate Change
Beach Nourishment

Beach nourishment is the topping up of sand levels along a foreshore
with sand sourced from dredging. In a river setting, it is typically
pumped from the river bed to restore eroded sand edges along the
waterway.

Beach nourishment along the Noosaville Foreshore is currently being
undertaken by Council. Sand pumping, reshaping and regrading, helps
us maintain access to the sand beaches for recreational amenity.
                                                                         Figure 23. Vegetated Swale            Figure 24. Living seawall tiles      Figure 25. Fish friendly sea wall   Figure 26. Cool Street


                                                                         Nature-Based                          Living Seawalls                      Fish Friendly Low                   cool refuge
                                                                         Stormwater                                                                 Sloping sea Walls
                                                                                                               Living seawall tiles and rock                                            In the context of public open
                                                                         Management                            units mimic the features found                                           spaces, a cool refuge is an area
                                                                                                                                                    Innovative alternatives to
                                                                                                               in natural rocky shores. They        traditional sea walls include       or feature (such as a cluster of
                                                                         Nature-based stormwater
                                                                                                               can be retrofitted to our existing   low sloping fish friendly sea       large shade trees) that provide
                                                                         management aims to mimic the
                                                                                                               seawalls, making our foreshore       walls. The use of a gentle slope    relief and comfort to people
                                                                         characteristics of natural creeks.
                                                                                                               more supportive of marine life by    mimics a natural rock edge          during hot weather.
                                                                         Upgrades to Chaplin Park’s            creating intertidal ecosystems       and has many environmental          Source: University of the Sunshine
                                                                         existing drainage corridors           and river habitats.                  and recreational benefits. For      Coast
                                                                         with additional revegetation will                                          maximum benefit, the gentler
Figure 21. Low Planted Slope          Figure 22. Grassed Slope                                                 Each tile and rock unit features
                                                                         help increase resilience and                                               the slope of the seawall the        cool Street
                                                                                                               tiny nooks and alcoves that
                                                                         biodiversity.                                                              better.
low planted slope                     grassed slope                                                            provide marine life a place to
                                                                         There are opportunities to use        grow, live and hide, just as they                                        A ‘cool street’ has effective
                                                                                                                                                    These slopes are created using
Introducing planting with deep        Although planted slopes (see       planted swales and rain gardens       would in a natural mangrove                                              street tree planting which
                                                                                                                                                    rock steps and benches. The mix
and strong root systems to            left) are a more effective way     in the parkland. Unlike traditional   ecosystem.                                                               reduces the urban heat island
                                                                                                                                                    of horizontal and vertical faces
beach nourishment areas will          to establish stability to the      underground pipes, these                                                                                       effect and makes the street
                                                                                                               Once established these systems       on these steps/benches create
help to capture, stabilise and        river’s edge, we recognise the     nature-based systems help slow                                                                                 more walkable and pedestrian
                                                                                                               improve marine biodiversity and      prime habitat opportunities for
hold sand, and protect the            community values uninterrupted     down and clean stormwater                                                                                      friendly during hot weather.
                                                                                                               water quality.                       intertidal plants and animals
river’s edge from erosion. By         beach access. Therefore, some      runoff before it enters the Noosa                                          which will lead to greater          Source: University of the Sunshine
planting beach nourishment            key areas of the foreshore (near   River. They also encourage            When complemented with               diversity of species.               Coast
areas, it reduces the frequency       playgrounds, popular swimming      passive irrigation, accelerate        signage, these interventions
of recurring beach nourishment        areas and gathering spaces)        shade tree growth and provide         can provide a great educational      These slopes offer protection
activities and maintenance.           are proposed to have a grassed     cooler spaces.                        opportunity for children and the     against erosion, increase fauna
                                      slopes.                                                                  community on the subject of          and flora biodiversity and
Beach nourishment planting                                                                                                                          have the flexibility to increase
                                                                         Traditional                           marine biology.
can be a staged process               Grass does not have a deep and                                                                                heights to reduce the impacts of
and adapted over time. Plant          strong enough root system to       Stormwater
                                                                                                                                                    inundation as needed.
species would be predominately        provide long-term protection       Management
groundcovers and grasses and          from erosion. These areas                                                                                     The stepped characteristic of
would not affect sight lines and      will require more frequent         Our piped infrastructure can                                               the walls have added benefit
views to the river.                   maintenance (than low planted      be made more resilient through                                             in allowing/encouraging the
                                      slopes), longer establishment      upgrades and with the addition                                             community to interact with the
                                      and recovery periods after         of backflow prevention devices.                                            river.
                                      severe weather events and use.


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