‘Devastation on the foreshore’: Where coastal erosion has almost reached homes

Lucas Paul considers his house at Loch Sport a little slice of paradise overlooking Lake Victoria.

He has treasured memories of swimming, kayaking, snorkelling and holidaying with family and friends at the property in the Gippsland Lakes region.

Lucas Paul at Loch Sport. He and other residents are dismayed at the erosion in their town.Credit: Jason South

But when he returned to his house after a turbulent storm in September, Paul was dismayed to discover large sections of shoreline collapsed outside his neighbours’ properties.

“It was devastation on the foreshore, particularly impacting some of the walking tracks,” he said.

Paul and those who know Loch Sport well have long understood coastal erosion is a serious threat. But the extent of damage from severe storms this year still came as a heavy blow.

In some sections of shoreline, water has come within about 30 metres of houses as it continues eating away at the land.

Trees have collapsed into the water. At one car park and boat ramp, bollards and sections of bitumen have succumbed to relentless erosion. Stretches of walking track have crumbled while public benches that once had metres of sand in front of them are now almost in the water.

Large hydraulic structures extending into the water to capture sand and preserve beaches, known as groynes, have been installed along some sections of the shore. In those spots, beaches have been maintained.

But stretches of shoreline without groynes are fast disappearing. Paul estimates about three metres of shoreline has washed away in the past year.

Paul, a member of the Loch Sport Foreshore Committee of Management, said the community wanted the state government to deliver more groynes, particularly in front of houses at direct risk.

“It’s a simple concept. It’s environmentally friendly because you’re using local sand,” he said.

Craig Holland, a Loch Sport resident and the fishing association president, said the government had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on reports, but there had been little other action.

He said people with houses on Lake Victoria’s shores were worried.

“The shore there is being undermined every day and getting closer to their houses,” Holland said.

Trees and a walking track have collapsed into the water on the Loch Sport shoreline. Credit: Jason South

He argued that properties and the shoreline could be saved if the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action put in another six groynes and low-rise rock wall.

In August, the Wellington Shire Council wrote to vacant property owners in Loch Sport, saying a state government planning scheme amendment meant all planning decisions across the Victorian coastline needed to consider a sea-level rise of 0.8 metres. The letter said the changes would have significant implications for owners of vacant residential blocks.

Groynes are effective at saving the beaches in Loch Sport.Credit: Jason South

“This means it has become significantly more difficult for owners wanting to develop in identified flood-prone areas,” the letter said.

The council confirmed the policy potentially affected 222 lots in Loch Sport in addition to 156 properties in other coastal areas within the municipality.

A staircase that has almost collapsed on the shore of Lake Victoria. Credit: Jason South

Professor David Kennedy, a coastal geomorphologist at the University of Melbourne, said groynes successfully trapped sand and preserved beaches, but left other sections upstream “sediment starved”.

“Once you trap sand in one spot, it’s not going somewhere else,” he said.

Kennedy said groynes might be an appropriate response to protect houses and infrastructure in Loch Sport, but there would need to be sediment nourishment in other sections where sand was no longer reaching.

He said retreating from houses and public assets might be the most appropriate theoretical response to coastal erosion, but this would impose an immense social, financial and emotional cost on communities.

Coastal erosion shows no signs of slowing.Credit: Jason South

Loch Sport Business and Tourism Association secretary Tony Patchell said erosion was threatening the town’s economic future. Boat ramps had faced extended closures, he said, although one had reopened recently.

Patchell said the town’s population boomed over the summer holidays, attracting between 6000 and 8000 people.

“We’re losing tourist assets and that’s all this town has really got,” he said.

Victorian Nationals leader Danny O’Brien this year told parliament owners of vacant land had contacted him expressing concern.

Erosion has meant the shoreline is not far from some homes in Loch Sport.Credit: Jason South

“They are wondering if they will be able to build a property there at all,” O’Brien told parliament.

Before the 2022 state election, O’Brien committed $5 million to protect Loch Sport. He said groynes had to be part of the response in the town.

“While groynes have some negative impacts, they are very clearly the effective solution because they’ve already worked along the Loch Sport foreshore,” he told The Age.

A Wellington Shire spokeswoman said the council had recently reopened one boat ramp to restore access after storm damage, and was exploring options to maintain road access and manage coastal risks.

Lucas Paul on the collapsing shoreline at Loch Sport.Credit: Jason South

“Council continues to collaborate with stakeholders and analyse data to support affected property owners, ensuring decisions are guided by the latest evidence and community needs,” she said.

A Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action spokeswoman said 6000 cubic metres of sand had been relocated to the beach to protect the coastline from erosion. She said the department was also helping Gippsland Ports deliver further renourishment works early next year.

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