Ministers snubs Carrickalinga homeowners’ call for wave generator solution
The government came up with a plan to finally - partially - get rid of the wave generator sunk off the Carrickalinga beach, but homeowners say it’s not good enough.
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A last-ditch plea from Carrickalinga homeowners to totally remove the wave generator sunk off the coast has fallen on deaf ears with the government saying it would cost too much.
The State Government in November announced plans to cut the top off the steel and concrete structure, which sank in the waters off Carrickalinga in March 2014. This solution, described as a “win-win’’, would remove the visible steel structure, cutting it back to one metre below the surface, and provide an artificial reef.
But residents say the concrete base of the generator will be a navigational hazard, and wrote to Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government Stephan Knoll twice this year demanding it be removed. Mr Knoll told The Advertiser that total removal - such as the preferred destruction of the concrete base - would cost up to seven times more than the current proposal and fail to provide the benefit from an artificial reef.
“The solution we’ve landed on really is a win-win for the community because we will not only get rid of the eyesore, we will also create an artificial reef in the process,’’ he said in a statement. “We will also ensure there are safety measures in place for marine vessels, including a lit navigation beacon and signage advising of the exclusion zone.
“All other options to totally remove the structure below water came in at around seven times the cost for taxpayers and would destroy an artificial reef.”
Carrickalinga Ratepayers Association president Kim Baker wrote to Mr Knoll questioning whether removing the generator was “a job the government never expects to complete?”
“The recommendation you have proposed is fraught with danger and creates the need to place permanent navigational beacons around a 100m exclusion zone, making this a future legal liability with ongoing costs to the community.
“The CRA have categorised it as a ‘job half done’ and in the interests of public safety and future liability, we ask the government to reconsider these decisions and implement a commonsense, permanent solution.’’
Mr Baker said yesterday it remained a job half done and presented the possibility of ongoing liability and costs for the government.
He said the ratepayers’ group would continue to fight for its total removal.