The Entrance Channel: Council to investigate southern training wall
A southern training wall is on the cards for The Entrance Channel as a permanent solution.
Central Coast
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Central Coast Council will continue its investigations of a southern training wall at The Entrance Channel.
At Monday’s meeting, councillors received a report which identified advantages of a southern
training wall as a permanent solution at the site.
The report indicated that a training wall would “restrain the entrance channel from migrating
southward where it can become perched on the rock shelf”.
“However, a single training wall would still not provide for safe navigation and would be associated with some loss of amenity and aesthetics,” the report read.
Council received an overview of studies into The Entrance Channel and its management, and also acknowledged that there is no simple solution to the waterways’ management.
The issues with silted up channel, and the lack of a permanent opening to the sea, have been ongoing for decades with locals fighting for a permanent solution such as a break wall or training walls.
The floods in February saw the issue reach boiling point when hundreds of homes around Tuggerah Lakes were flooded. Council has since restarted dredging of the channel.
The Entrance resident Sam Gardiner has been fighting for a solution and ongoing management of the Tuggerah Lakes system.
He submitted a scathing speech at the council’s public forum before the meeting, highlighting that certain councillors had let the community down and their imminent suspension over council’s financial crisis was appropriate.
“I openly welcome the administrator because anything has to be better than the toxic dysfunctional mess that we have right now,” he said.
He thanked the councillors who fought for a result at Tuggerah Lakes.
“To those of you who have abused their majority over the last three years to play tactics, I hope we never see you in these seats again,” he said. “You could have helped facilitate some productive results for the management of The Entrance Channel and Tuggerah Lakes but chose to use your majority to play cheap tactics by hijacking, watering down, blocking or deferring any motion that was put forward by the few councillors that were trying to actually bring about a result for our community.
“The display that we have seen over your term has been absolutely sickening to watch at times and the disdain that some of you clearly hold to any form of public scrutiny just signifies why some of you do not deserve the positions you hold. You should be ashamed.”
Cr Bruce McLachlan acknowledged that the situation at the channel was unique, however said council needed to investigate all options. He urged the councillors to make the right decision for the community in what could be their last meeting.
Councillors voted to acknowledge the latest reports and seek the opinions of the Tuggerah Lakes expert panel and Manly Hydraulics Laboratory in relation to a southern training wall.
Council was also informed of the development of an Entrance Management Procedure and Decision Support Tool, which has the ability to forecast likely future conditions in Tuggerah Lake and The Entrance. The predictions are based on real time telemetry, with the work tool expected to be completed in March 2021.