MPB Community Meeting - Foreshore Erosion

𝘽𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙈𝙋𝘽. 𝘼𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙨, 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙀𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙈𝙋𝘽, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧.

𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝘽𝙍𝘾 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙋𝘽.

https://www.brcnow.bundaberg.qld.gov.au/.../race.../...

MPB Community Meeting Re Foreshore Erosion 20/06/26

Good afternoon, ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for all coming along today to discuss your concerns and to hear what is planned to be done regarding the current Foreshore Erosion that is being experienced at Moore Park Beach.

Council has been monitoring the slow decline of the foreshore for many years and it wasn’t really a problem until Cyclone Alfred went down our coastline in February 2025 and we lost close to 10 meters of foreshore from the foreshore Parklands on Surf Club Drive. The foreshore has continued to erode at an alarming rate since then and we now have 3 areas of major concern.

I will address each of these areas separately and if we can leave questions/suggestions on each area until the end that would be great. There will be ample time at the end for discussion. There is a lot of technical information, so I will be referring to my notes at times.

The 3 areas are Moore Park Creek Mouth, Lassig St Foreshore & Surf Club Drive Foreshore.

1. Moore Park Creek Mouth

Council has re-engaged a specialist coastal engineer to investigate longer solutions for the shoreline and creek outlet interface at Moore Park Beach. In recent discussions, we were presented a brief on the coastal history which is pictured in the slide on the screen explaining the naturally shifting creek mouth discharge, which is most significantly affected by large rainfall events as recently experienced. (March 2026)

As can be seen in the photo, the coastal dynamic is linked to the discharge of the creek mouth which has moved north some 2km since 2012, with alternate discharge points in between. It is these processes that we will be investigating further to determine if an effective Shoreline Erosion Management Plan (SEMP) can consider reinstatement of the creek discharge to the south of the built environment.

There is a degree of scientific and environmental study required to make such recommendations, however it is our intention to pursue this consideration moving forward.

Council needs to be clear that there is a degree of work ahead to land a solution and secure the requisite environmental permits etc and funding to reinstate the Creek Mouth in its original location. These works would need to be designed and constructed in such a way that it is permanent ie rock groins and walls either side.

2. Lassig St Foreshore

Emergency coastal protection works were undertaken at the Lassig St Foreshore area in May this year.

The erosion was driven by recent Burnett River flooding which has increased water flow through the Moore Park creek system and accelerated the northward movement of the creek mouth.

To minimise any further major erosion in the Lassig St area, emergency works were undertaken, which involved relocating existing rock bags from the former surf club area (which suffered major erosion last year) to Lassig Street to create a protective barrier to the erosion scarp at the former four-wheel drive access.

Additional four-tonne rock bags were also installed to construct a small groyne designed to divert tidal forces away from the foreshore. This work seems to be working and staff are continually monitoring this area.

3. Surf Club Drive Foreshore

Council is also preparing for the next phase of coastal protection works, with construction of a trial offshore breakwater scheduled to begin in July.

The structure will consist of more than 260 four-tonne rock bags positioned approximately 80 meters out from the High tide mark, offshore and adjacent Bob Nielsen Park, an area which has been the subject of intense coastal damage over the years.

The trial breakwater is designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect nearby infrastructure and community assets. The effectiveness of the breakwater will be monitored over a two-year period, with the structure to remain in place if the trial is successful. Working in conjunction with specialist coastal engineers, Council’s infrastructure and project teams have designed an offshore breakwater as a long-term beach protection measure.

The offshore breakwater will be visible about 90% of the time but would become submerged at highest astronomical tide. The purpose of the offshore breakwater is to dissipate the wave action before it reaches the vulnerable bank.

The proposal has undergone state department review and been approved as a trial.

When the breakwater is constructed, there will also be an additional sand buffer placed along the bank from the existing sand bank out to the breakwater.

Case studies from similar solutions constructed in southern states demonstrate that over time an offshore breakwater can result in greater sand retention.

It is intended that this solution will be trialled over two years under a monitoring program. Pending the success of that trial period the offshore breakwater would become a permanent, long-term solution to protect the public infrastructure fronting Bob Nielsen Park.

Tenders for the Construction of the Breakwater have been called and work is expected/hoped to commence in July.

(Questions taken from the floor)

Thank you everyone for coming along today. I hope that I have been able to inform you of what is planned to be done to manage the beach erosion in MPB.

Regards,

Jason