Bent Street Ramp

 Well looks like the public have scared the local council with dredging coming to a stop today only half way done. Contractor packing up, so guess we the local ratepayers will still cop the price for the whole project plus I understand from the contractor that council is going to reclaim all the dredging spoils from the beach and relocate, that is another huge cost. Well thought out and planned project again. Expect this will have a significant impact on the viability of this ramp.

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Tom M


Francis's picture

Posts: 326

Date Joined: 17/06/08

 There is a public meeting

Wed, 2017-02-01 15:35

 There is a public meeting this Friday @ 4pm if you - or anyone else - is interested ?  Below is what the council sent me via email (I have been discussing this topic with the council for some time now) :

 

The City of Rockingham will be holding a public meeting to consult with the community on the plans for the Waikiki Beach post dredging project. Please join us to discuss our plans for this site and help us prioritise the works to achieve the best outcome.

The meeting will be held this Friday the 3rd of February 2017 at 4pm at the Waikiki Beach Foreshore near the car park on Safety Bay Road opposite Malibu Road roundabout.

 

 

 

Tom M's picture

Posts: 662

Date Joined: 22/09/15

 Thanks mate will be there,

Wed, 2017-02-01 18:05

 Thanks mate will be there, interested in outcome.

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Tom M

Notorious's picture

Posts: 914

Date Joined: 23/02/12

 4pm Friday when most ramp

Wed, 2017-02-01 21:17

 4pm Friday when most ramp users will be at work   :/

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/174055815943047/?fref=nf

Saulty2's picture

Posts: 643

Date Joined: 28/05/10

ran aground close to the green markers

Wed, 2017-02-01 16:13

 last thursday afternoon coming back in , will it still be usable within the coming months 

little johnny's picture

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Date Joined: 04/12/11

Bank will swallow

Wed, 2017-02-01 19:57

 Hole area next few years. Wasting there time . Who can remember where safety bay jetty was look how far out land goes now. Ramp needs to go where beach launch is ( pengo way) good there. 

Francis's picture

Posts: 326

Date Joined: 17/06/08

For info, here is an extract

Thu, 2017-02-02 07:23

For info, here is an extract of some of the questions raised to the council - their answers are in italics. Looks like they did conduct due dilligence but overlooked the public response to dumping the waste on the beach.

 

1) How long is the sand bleaching expected to take ?

 The lightening of the dredged sediment is dependent on exposure to sun, rain and wind. Exposure to these elements, shall lighten the sand overtime.

 


2) FAQ #7 states that the sand will not wash back into the channel - however I'm not sure its the dredged sand that is the concern. I would say it is the sand that is causing the sand bar to grow that is the major factor at play here.
We know from experience that the channel will fill back in. This is guaranteed and I would of thought this was a lesson from when the channel was previously dredged and subsequently filled back in - hence why it is being dredged again.

There is a natural sand feed pulsing from a south westerly direction to Tern Bank. The rate of accretion is 12,000m3 per year into the head of the sand bar. The City is acutely aware of the coastal processes attributing to the growth of Tern Bank and has budgeted for bi-annual dredging 25,000m3. Management of the bank is required to provide safe, formal navigation to the recreational boating community into the deeper waters of Warnbro Sound.



3) Question 10 of the FAQ addressing the sand blowing onto properties is clearly not working. Some properties are covered in the dredged sand. Is there any on going assessment of this ?

 The City has programmed the installation of wind break fencing across the dredge material placement site. Installation is imminent.

 


www.fishwrecked.com/files/images/Sand Bar Growth.preview.JPG

A quick look on historical satellite imagery shows the sand bar growth has accelerated over time. The smallest amount of growth in a 2 year period was between 2002 and 2004 - it was 30m. Recently it has been as much as 70 meters in 2 years (between 2012 and 2014). It is clear that this dredging will need to be carried out again in another 2 years, if not earlier.  See below: The City monitors the growth and elevation of the sand bar and depth of the navigation channel on a bi-annual basis by undertaking beach profile and hydrographic surveys.


4) Was historical data assessed when determining the feasibility of this investment / project ?

The City has undertaken coastal reports/studies to the satisfaction of the Marine Parks & Reserves Authority, Conservation and Parks Commission and Department of Parks and Wildlife (Swan Coastal District and Environmental Branches). The City has also undertaken boat ramp feasibility studies to understand the coastal processes along the beaches of Safety Bay, Warnbro Sound and Port Kennedy to identify alternative boat ramp locations.
 

 

 

Also, there is a natural channel that runs parallel to the beach. This channel was used by boaters whenever the tide was too low to navigate the channel prior to dredging. 

5) Was there any assessment done on the feasibility re-routing the channel in this manner to the natural drop off that exists in Safety Bay ?

I'm not an environmental scientist, but I would suggest that a good option would be to dredge this natural channel, and place the dredged sand at the tip of the sand bar where the growth is naturally occurring. This would also increase the size of the "pond" and improve the facilities for the wind and kite surfers as well as provide a channel solution that requires less investment and maintenance in the future.

The option to provide navigation via the natural channel within close proximity to the coastline was considered very early in the concept planning phase. The State Environmental Agencies did not support the location due to the total  volume of seagrass required for extraction (over the 1.5ha permitted). The State Agencies would not support gazetting a navigation channel so close to the shoreline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Francis's picture

Posts: 326

Date Joined: 17/06/08

 So if anyone has any

Thu, 2017-02-02 07:51

 So if anyone has any suggestions / idea's on what the council should do to fix the ramp, or how they might possible restore the beach feel free to post it on here and we can take it to the council... 

 

From a previous post, they also need to consider parking. If Bent St is going to be un-useable to many of the bigger boats, this will only compound the issues that were posted the other day (people getting parking fines @ point peron). 

 

Maybe something like this at the June Rd or Carlise St ramps to help when the seabreeze kicks up:

www.wavebrake.com/

 

 

 

 

Grey Ghost's picture

Posts: 183

Date Joined: 12/10/15

Don't fix the area

Fri, 2017-02-03 13:56

 I would suggest that the shire leaves "as is". Smaller boats, jet ski's, etc continue to use the ramp and guys with big boats make use of other facilities in the area. Unfortunately the shire can't be expected to make boat ramps everywhere for everyone, especially with the massive growth in the boating industry in the past 10 years. Maybe restrict the Point Peron boat ramp to boats 18 foot and over, and the Palm Beach for the smaller boats and Bent St for under 16 foot. (or something along those lines)

A huge cost for the Rockingham Shire to maintain a channel and I believe for a lost cause in the end.

My parents live in Safety Bay and they are saying the dredged sand stinks and is blowing everywhere.

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 "Grey Ghost",  670HT Barcrusher with 150 Yamaha, based at Cockburn PBC.

MandurahMatt's picture

Posts: 613

Date Joined: 18/09/13

 Too bad if you got a 17ft

Fri, 2017-02-10 09:04

 Too bad if you got a 17ft boat i guess. 

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 Bewdey Fellaz

Posts: 4561

Date Joined: 01/02/10

Don't need your type up that

Fri, 2017-02-10 09:39

Don't need your type up that way anyway.

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Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

Saulty2's picture

Posts: 643

Date Joined: 28/05/10

dredge from ramp to tern island

Thu, 2017-02-02 10:02

then start  rockwall  - parallell with nav. marks and 150m. past end of tern island ?? that would protect up to deepish water ,just a thought !

little johnny's picture

Posts: 5320

Date Joined: 04/12/11

Won't work

Thu, 2017-02-02 12:16

 Going to be huge beach where jetty is no matter what happens. Has to go pengo side of  of sand bank.40 years plants set all sorts. Still moves. Beach ramp hasn't changed in 40 years. Not rocket science where sand is heading.

Posts: 311

Date Joined: 13/12/12

Tom M from what I understand

Fri, 2017-02-03 16:54

Tom M from what I understand from talking to the fella at the council they are approx 5-7000 cubes short of their goal and the cost will be pro rata based on the work completed.

The council recently completed a study to develop the June Rd/Donald drive neach ramp with a ramp similar to Port Kennedy however that would require a 'breakwater' (please no) with an estimated budget of 8-9 mill.

Given the cost that proposal has been put to bed.

The council really are stuck between a rock and a hard place - the boaties want the channel dredged but the locals don't want the spoils on the beach and the cost of trucking it away adds another 200 - 250k the cost.

They did investigatre the option of dumping it offshore however because it's a marine park they can't do that on environmental grounds however they are going to revisit that option.

The current remedy is to remove the spoils from the beach and it will be replaced with the sand adjacent to the Point Peron ramp which will be screened first.

Went to the meeting - people gotta chill - it's not the council's fault the sand bank is forming. 

FFS they have responded to the current situation and will obviously try to address the dredging situation but at least the current fiasco has been halted.

For anyone that's interested I'll put a link following to a study of the sedimentary dynamics of Warnbo Sound - it details the history of the sound and how the shorelines etc are effected by weather and other factors - there's some interesting stuff in there if you fish the area too.

If you check out the original survey by Roe back in 1837 on page 13 you may agree that the closing in of Tern Island is the area simply going back to how it was then.

On a side note the area along Safety Bay was originally sounded at 6 fathoms and there were plans to establish a whaling station here - things certainly have changed and will keep changing.

http://www.web.uwa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1637323/Hollings_2004.pdf

 

 

 

 

Tom M's picture

Posts: 662

Date Joined: 22/09/15

 Thanks Red Dog for supplying

Sat, 2017-02-04 08:32

 Thanks Red Dog for supplying the info, an interesting read of the Thesis. Went to the meeting on the foreshore also and was great to see public turn out for what ever they believed in, what I wanted to point out at the meeting was that if there is no future dredging done then the pond will close in all around and will be a stagnent pond with no water flow, this will impact so called fish habitat when we locals know it is really a pond now for wind surferes. Bird breeding on the sand bar has stopped due to noise and traffic from the same wind surfers so to call this a sanctuary is a little off the mark.

Dredging contractor will be paid out in full and remediation of the beach will be a significant cost not budgeted for not sure how they cost will be pro rata based.

They made a mess of the beach during the bent street ramp upgrade with rubble still on the beach, this project another disaster, I would imaging any proposed work on the canals developement would follow the same path. 

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Tom M

Oldbull's picture

Posts: 175

Date Joined: 21/09/15

 Leave it as is and construct

Fri, 2017-02-03 17:26

 Leave it as is and construct a new ramp near golden bay or singleton.  Will require a breakwater of course but northern suburbs councils can build at hillarys, ocean reef, mindarie into open ocean but nothing between port kennedy and mandurah.  With all the development from secret harbour down to mandurah both sides of the road the this is in need of a new marina.  Put it at Singleton and rocky can  split the costs with Mandurah city.

don't say  ....too expensive!!! . Wasn't a problem for wanneroo council and rocky/mandurah are at least as big.  DoT built Coral bay launch ramps for a few thousand tourists.   

 

 

avatinni's picture

Posts: 141

Date Joined: 06/06/10

I agree with Oldbull and put

Sat, 2017-02-04 09:20

I agree with Oldbull and put a 3rd ramp in at Port Kennedy. 

Posts: 2946

Date Joined: 03/03/10

ah yes bent st boat ramp

Thu, 2017-02-09 20:38

 council has wasted millions down at that ramp , ramp up  grade went 6 months over time two years ago , the contractors dumped their sea contanter in the disabled parking area they had signs up saying you needed safety boots safety glasses high vise clothes on and a hard hat to be working in that area funy the boss had thongs , shorts and a singlet on when i fronted him , i was told to fu,ck  of  (had to control my temper and not thump him)  i made a call to council and the next day they had all the right safety gear , as for the dredging if the dredge didnt break down every second day the derging would have be done on time on budget but as usual the council when for the lowest tender and a shoddy operater  what i should have done was set the MUA on them

as has been said leave the area alone now