Hobsons Bay council will next month start work on a $731,000 seawall at Seaholme, with works along the municipality’s 23-kilometre shoreline expected to cost up to $15 million in the next decade.
The council will raise the height of the existing wall at Cresser Reserve by 30 to 60 centimetres and fill in any gaps with a new wall built 1.2 metres above ground level.
It will also construct a beach access ramp and new drainage system.
Deputy mayor Sandra Wilson said the wall would help protect the coastline from erosion and prevent flooding during storms.
“A storm in 2014 all but wiped out a 40-metre section of the Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail and caused localised flooding and considerable damage to Cresser Reserve,” she said.
“This revetment will be built to withstand predicted sea level rises over the next 50 years and extreme storm events.”
A storm on June 25, 2014 flooded homes along the Esplanade and damaged the foreshore from Cresser Reserve to Apex Park in Altona.
Disaster relief
Hobsons Bay was one of eight Victorian councils to receive money to repair storm damage through jointly funded federal-state natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements.
Cr Jason Price said the Seaholme project was funded through the council’s capital works program and a grant from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
“Council and the state government will need to invest between $12 million and $15 million over the next 10 years to ensure our foreshore can handle the impacts from climate change or damage caused by storms and extreme weather,” he said.
“We will continue to advocate for all levels of government to commit to sharing these ongoing costs. We are privileged to have a beautiful coastline and we know how important it is to preserve it for future generations to enjoy.”
The Seaholme works are expected to be completed in 12 weeks.
