- Improved data available for Gascoyne and southern coastal
erosion hotspots
- $4.5 million mapping project
- Data is vital to fight coastal erosion
The first data from seabed
mapping targeting erosion hotspots in the Gascoyne and along the southern coast
is now available for use in the State Government's multifaceted $33.5 million
five-year plan to better manage and protect Western Australia's coastline.
As part of the Coast
Capture WA program, the Department of Transport (DoT) has contracted Fugro, a Geo-data
company, to undertake a $4.5 million project to map from Esperance to Barrow
Island.
High resolution nearshore
water depth data is being recorded at coastal erosion hotspots identified in a special report in 2019 which listed 55 locations where
coastal erosion is expected to be a risk to coastal values and assets, and an
additional 31 watch list locations for future investigation.
Since last March aircraft equipped with aerial Light
Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors have been used to capture topographic and
bathymetric data of the foreshore and seabed, out to approximately 20 metres
depth, at Bremer Bay, Albany, Peaceful Bay, Augusta and Gnarabup south on the
south coast. Coral Bay, Carnarvon, Monkey Mia, and Denham in the Gascoyne have
also been covered.
Following
processing, the first data is now available to local coastal managers
and used to assist in designing appropriate measures to combat erosion issues
at each location.This and other
bathymetry data is available on DoT's WA Bathymetry Portal.
The work to date has been
funded through the State Government's CoastWA initiative ($3 million) and the
Commonwealth ($1.5 million).
Gathering data is a key element of CoastWA, which aims to provide local managers with additional information to implement the most
appropriate strategic response to the
growing impacts of coastal hazards.
Comments attributed to Minister Assisting
the Minister of Transport David Michael:
"This important work will
provide a better understanding of the coastal hazards that have been identified
as needing priority and assist the local coastal managers as they respond to
the threat.
"The project will provide
some key missing pieces to the existing bank of topographic and bathymetric
data currently available for the State's coastline and further build the
dataset to ensure we implement the most appropriate response measures to erosion.
"Significant additional
funding has been allocated to manage the impacts of coastal erosion and protect
WA's coastline through CoastWA and data collection is a key element of the
program along with boosted funding for planning and projects, additional technical
expertise, community engagement and monitoring of hotspots."
