DREDGING OF THE FREMANTLE INNER HARBOUR
The Fremantle Inner Harbour maintenance dredging project began yesterday. The dredging is planned to only run for ten days, but more than 18 months of planning has gone into this project by Fremantle Ports to ensure it’s done well, and in an appropriate manner.
Dredging of the Inner Harbour by the TRUD R vessel will remove 60,000 cubic meters of sediment that has come down the river since the harbour was deepened in 2010. That amount is relatively small, just 2 per cent of what was removed when the harbour was deepened in 2010.
This will allow the port to maintain harbour depth so large ships can continue to enter and leave safely and efficiently. The dredged sediment will be deposited offshore in Gage Roads anchorage, on the advice of marine consultants, and in line with an Australian Government approval.
Fremantle Ports engaged environmental consultants to provide advice on the maintenance dredging. The project’s been assessed to have a low environmental risk and disposal operations planned to have as little impact as possible on the seabed, water quality, marine fauna and seagrass meadows. Some limited plumes are anticipated both upstream and downstream, but are expected to be no worse than river water with sediment in suspension, as seen during mid-winter.
The dredging project marks the first opportunity for Fremantle Ports to use three newly-trained Indigenous Marine Rangers. One of the rangers will conduct marine monitoring on a science vessel before, during and after the dredging operations and the other two rangers underwent training as marine species observers and will be positioned on the dredge. Marine species observation is a highly regarded skill in the marine environmental industry and will provide valuable ongoing work opportunities for the rangers.
Roel Loopers
DREDGING OF THE INNER HARBOUR STARTS
The dredging of the inner harbour of Fremantle Ports starts today and will continue for ten days.
The TRUD R vessel received a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony this morning. It will also have three Aboriginal rangers on board, or on a support vessel, to monitor the wildlife.
Roel Loopers
THE END OF THE PORT BEACH RAINBOW
The rainbowing project at Fremantle’s Port Beach has been completed. Sand was dredged from Fremantle Ports’ deep water channel and 150.000 cubic metres was pumped onto the beach, that had been severely eroded by winter storms.
The collaboration between the City of Fremantle, Fremantle Ports, and the Department of Transport was done in two stages. The first one between July and October last year.
It is planned, and hoped, that the rainbowing project will protect Port Beach against erosion for up to ten years.Dune reestablishment and revegetation at Sandtrax will be done by the end of autumn.
Roel Loopers
PORT BEACH RAINBOWING PROJECT COMPLETED
The second phase of combating coastal erosion at Fremantle’s Port Beach has been completed. It recommenced on 9 March 2023 with 24-hour operations.
Last night wthe rainbowing sand onto the beach was completed, reaching the target placement volume of 150,000 m³.
The project was delivered as a partnership by the City of Fremantle, Fremantle Ports and the Department of Transport, using $3.25 million in WA Recovery Plan funding from the state government.
The next phase of the project entails the creation and revegetation of dunes along Sandtrax. This work will be completed this coming winter.
Roel Loopers
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PORT BEACH LONG TERM SOLUTION PRIORITY
Although the rainbowing project at Fremantle’s Port Beach is funded from a State Government grant to the City of Fremantle, it has raised concerns that Freo ratepayers have been paying for the protection of Port Beach and Leighton Beach for many years. Some people claim that Fremantle Ports is responsible for the degradation and erosion of the beaches, because of the Rous Head industrial area, that is on reclaimed land.
Ratepayers ask why the City of Fremantle has been paying to try to save the beaches, when it should be the State Government, through Fremantle Ports. However Fremantle Ports have never admitted responsibility for the degradation of the beaches, even when for many years thousands of small rocks were swept onto the sand.
The City of Fremantle have been pushing sand around and built a small rock wall near the Coast hospitality venue, to try to save it, but are considering that relocation of the venue might be necessary in the foreseeable future.
It appears hard to prove that the Rous Head land reclaiming project is the reason for the beach erosion, with Fremantle Ports in denial about it, so they must be delighted that nowadays everyone blames just about everything that happens in the world on climate change. Fremantle Ports too can now hide behind that and claim it is not the fault of the Rous Head expansion that has created the problems on our North Fremantle beaches.
While the rainbowing/dredging project looks impressive, it is not a long-term solution, and only a very expensive temporary relief, that is not sustainable over a long period.
So will the State Government, Fremantle Ports and Fremantle Council establish a working group that will address the issues involved with the relocation of the Coast venue, the carpark and Port Beach Road, and get on with it now, so that a permanent solution can be found and implemented fast, so that they can stop pushing and blowing tons of sand around for many more years to come? It’s a waste of money and time and not achieving what is needed to be done!
Roel Loopers
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RAINBOWING FOR PORT BEACH PRESERVATION
Contrary to the claims by some Fremantle residents the rainbowing project at North Freo’s Port Beach is funded by the State Government through the WA Recovery Plan, with funds of $3.25m to the City of Fremantle. Up to 150,000 m3 of sand will be dredged from the Fremantle Ports Deep Water Channel and placed offshore (in the nearshore zone) at Port Beach.
The works will involve dredging, transporting and rainbowing material from the Fremantle Ports Deep Water Channel to Port Beach. Land-based equipment will work on the beach later in 2022 to construct the sand dunes and complete the dune stabilisation and revegetation works.
Rainbowing involves the pumping of a mixture of dredged sand and water through a hose with a nozzle, into a high arc through the air and onto the nearshore area.
The Sand Nourishment program will provide a buffer to protect landward assets against the effects of coastal erosion whilst also providing public amenity.
The design of the sand nourishment program has been developed to provide a wide enough beach so that, with the anticipated movement of the placed sand, a sufficient buffer against cross shore erosion due to severe storms is maintained.
Sand nourishment via dredging was selected over other potential adaptation options based on the outcomes of a multicriteria analysis through which criteria of technical, social, environmental and economic criteria were considered. Significant community engagement also informed this approach.
There will be some localised impact to beach use during the works. For safety reasons, access to certain areas of the beach included Sandtrax will be restricted during the works.
Odour generation – It is likely that as ‘wet’ sand is deposited directly onto the beach, odour may be generated. This is expected to dissipate relatively quickly.
Sand quality – Early studies of sediment sampling have identified suitable sediment (size, colour) and dredge material and this will be monitored during the works. Sand placed on the beach will first appear darker than the existing beach, but this is expected to fade over time.
Roel Loopers
FREO’S PORT BEACH TO BECOME RAINBOW BEACH
A project to combat coastal erosion by depositing thousands of cubic metres of sand at Fremantle’s Port Beach will commence in the coming weeks.
The Port Beach Sand Nourishment Project will see up to 150,000m3of sand dredged from Fremantle Port’s Deep Water Channel and ‘rainbowed’ onto the beach.
Rainbowing involves the pumping of a mixture of dredged sand and water through a hose with a nozzle, into a high arc through the air and onto the nearshore area.
Subject to final safety plans being approved, an initial placement volume of around 30,000m3 of sand is expected to be placed on the beach over a two-week period, with the remaining up to 120,000m3 to be placed during 2023. The works schedule may vary depending on weather conditions.
The project is being delivered as a partnership project by the City of Fremantle, Fremantle Ports and the Department of Transport using $3.25 million in WA Recovery Plan funding from the state government.
In a report released by the state government in 2019 Port Beach topped the list of WA’s coastal erosion hotspots.
The design of the Port Beach sand nourishment program has been developed to provide a wide enough beach so that, with the anticipated movement of the placed sand, there will still be a sufficient buffer against the erosion caused by severe storms.
Fremantle Ports CEO Michael Parker said while protection of the beach for the public was paramount, the sand renourishment had operational advantages as well in terms of maintenance of the shipping channel’s depth and ensuring a buffer for the critical Port Beach Road access to Rous Head.
The present pattern is for eroded sand from Port Beach to be transported to the north and deposited near Leighton Beach. In a bad year Port Beach can lose up to 40,000m3 of sand, however the average annual loss is around 15,000m3.
The works are intended to provide protection for up to ten years, although the actual life of the works will ultimately depend on the weather conditions experienced over the next decade.
The sand nourishment project will address the current extreme erosion risk level while allowing time for a longer-term planning process to enable the implementation of a managed retreat strategy, that includes the establishment of a broader foreshore reserve to retain a beach and amenities for the community.
Water quality monitoring and light monitoring will occur throughout the works program.
Sand placed on the beach may first appear darker than the existing beach, but this is expected to fade over time.
Dredging and nourishment works will be planned around periods of high tide, so there will likely be some works occurring at night.
The dredging and rainbowing works are not expected to impact access to facilities such as parking, change rooms, the Surf Life Saving Facility and commercial food and beverage outlets.
For more information please to go mysay.fremantle.wa.gov.au/port-beach.
Roel Loopers
PLANET FREO THE ALL INCLUSIVE INFO GO-TO
PLANET FREO is an all new information website for people who want to find out what goes on in Fremantle, so if you are part of the Fremantle community, list your events, business, websites, blogs, etc. with this very exciting new idea, created by Fremantle Society member Sam Wilson. IT’S FREE!
Click on: http://fremantlesociety.org.au/wiki/Planet_Freo
Roel Loopers
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LOVING THE LATE LIGHT
Professional photographers love the late and early light of the day, when the colours are warmer, and we can create those stunning seductive moody images. I spend about an hour around sunset in Fremantle harbour today and got back with the photos you see in the slide show below.
Photos copyright Roel Loopers. Profile Photography
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POPULAR BLOG
It is satisfying to see that this blog has become rather popular in the nearly 12 months it has been going. I hope that is a result of the variety of information and opinion, and I will try to keep it as interesting as possible for all sections of the community.
The two days of this weekend alone 1447 people accessed Freo’s View.
Inform me of upcoming events, so I can promote them, and put your comments with articles on the blog!
Thank you!
Roel Loopers
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