Implementation Projects

Bargara SEMP Implementation Study 

This project initially sought to address the issue of sediment sourcing for beach nourishment at Bargara/Woodgate concurrently with management and disposal of dredge spoil from Bundaberg Port. It however proved to be difficult to achieve given a lack of commercial dredging contractors at the port and the prohibitive costs of engaging a contractor for the size of the required sand. Council has undertaken detail design and secured development approvals for the sand nourishment and dune revegetation as recommended in the Bargara SEMP and delivered on ground dune reconstruction and revegetation works (where nourishment was not required).

Wunjunga/Beachmount Dune Protection Works

The project includes dune protection works at Beachmount Beach, south of the Wunjunga township in the Burdekin Shire. The dune protection works are part of a larger Dune Management Strategy which builds on the recent Coastal Hazard Adaption Strategy (CHAS), that aims to support the long-term management of the coastline.

Dune protection works include revegetation of erosion prone areas and fencing and signage. Enhancing partnerships with key stakeholders will also be a component of the implementation.

Revegetation activities are to focus on the narrow dunes between Beachmount Road and the coast, and between Charlie’s Break and the coast, which are considered to have the lowest resilience to storm erosion and at risk of a breakthrough during an extreme storm event.

Risk analysis of sea level rise and storm inundation on historic and closed coastal landfills

This project seeks to investigate the risk to the environment and public health from exposure of known landfill sites to both sea level rise and increases in storm surges. Risk assessments associated with both structural integrity of bund walls (if they exist) and rising water tables on these sites will be undertaken with the intention of making recommendations on what actions may be required in the future.

Community Coastal Rehabilitation & Education Project

Formalisation of two pedestrian beach access paths in Port Douglas through the installation of a staircase, boardwalk, and fence. The project involved a community tree planting event, installation of an interpretive sign and an educational video. The project increased the community’s awareness and knowledge of Council’s Resilient Coast Strategic Plan 2019-2029, local indigenous cultural values, importance of dune protection and threats to the foreshore. 

Seventeen Seventy coastal hazard resilience and adaptation plan

The objective is to establish an intervention level methodology for Council assets (that can be applied across the Region) and apply this to the Seventeen Seventy area to develop a community co-designed vision of the Seventeen Seventy Foreshore that achieves community values and uses in the future state; thus, creating an adaptation plan that will be used to implement proactive, incremental and coordinated adaptation of this coastal community and others within our region.

Read their case study here. 

Coomera River Foreshore Stabilisation Project

The Coomera River Foreshore Stabilisation project aims to stabilise the foreshores of four (4) Public parks along the Coomera River estuary using innovative nature-based solutions that will provide long term resilience to the foreshore as well as improve the aquatic habitat, water quality, and overall ecosystem functionality.

Cooloola Coast – Community Coastal Monitoring App

The purpose of the project is to develop an App that can be used to gather information utilising citizen science and be a platform to engage and inform the community about the Cooloola Coast. The data gathered via the app can then be used to inform and refine coastal hazard adaptation planning.

Cooloola Coast foreshore rehabilitation – multiple locations

Councils CHAS identifies the need for mangrove protection and dune rehabilitation in multiple areas of the Cooloola Coast.  Through this project, focus areas will be identified and various revegetation, rehabilitation and installation works will be completed.

Crab Creek Erosion Remediation Design

This design project aimed to produce a design for Council to implement that will halt erosion and undercutting at Crab Creek, protect impacted mature trees and surrounding infrastructure while preserving ecosystem functions and services provided to the local community.

Read their case study here. 

Dohles Rocks Seawall Options Analysis

An options analysis for the future management of the Dohles Rocks (Griffin) foreshore is required due to imminent coastal hazard threats and the poor condition of the existing seawall adjacent to Dohles Rocks Rd. The analysis considers all defend and accommodate adaptation options.

This project is critical to informing the short to medium term adaptation approach for the broader Dohles Rock community (including inundation from rear of settlement open drains) and seeks to work with local communities to understand levels of risk and work towards finding sustainable solutions.

Integrated Coastal Management Solutions for Open Coasts

This project will determine if offshore sand sources are available and suitable for beach nourishment of the Eastern Beaches of Noosa, as well as to establish a long-term and rigorous monitoring program that builds the evidence base for nature-based solutions, improves understanding of coastal hazards with localised data, and informs future management actions to protect our coastline.

This project takes a comprehensive approach using desktop analysis, remote sensing, modelling and monitoring measures to provide a robust basis for identifying sand sources for future beach nourishment and dune augmentation. 

‘Living Foreshores Noosa’ Phase 1: Designing for Resilience

This project provides design solutions that work with nature to build foreshore resilience and provide multiple co-benefits for human wellbeing and ecosystem health. The two components of this project include:

Noosaville Foreshore Resilience Design Concepts

• Develop best-practice design concepts for non-intrusive, innovative, and living foreshore protection that build the resilience of adjacent public and private assets in Noosaville to future frequent inundation, storm tide inundation and catchment flooding.

Designing Dynamic Dunescapes in the Eastern Beaches

• Develop design standards which set out best-practice, minimum requirements to guide the design and construction of functional, sustainable, equitable and durable beach accesses and associated community infrastructure that enhance dune resilience and thereby, coastal protection, while also providing social, ecological and economic benefits to our community.

Prioritising Coastal Wetland Restoration

This project identifies opportunities for coastal wetland restoration within Noosa based on a new, evidence- and values-based framework that goes beyond merely assessing biophysical suitability for restoration to include additional wetland co-benefits (coastal protection, biodiversity, water quality, fisheries and Indigenous heritage), local knowledge, potential benefits to Traditional Custodians, and economic feasibility using a cost-benefit analysis.

The overall purpose of this prioritisation study is to build on the biodiversity vulnerability assessment conducted for the CHAP to ensure ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change that maximises the number of benefits passed on to both human and natural systems from the adaptation action of wetland restoration.

The key objective of this project is to use a novel evidence-based framework for prioritising coastal wetland restoration within the Noosa River Catchment based on multiple ecosystem services, including: coastal protection, biodiversity values, climate change mitigation, Indigenous heritage, improved fisheries, and water quality benefits.

New Mapoon, Seisia, Umagico and Injinoo SEMP+

This project is to develop a Shoreline Erosion Management Plan for the NPARC shoreline communities. This project incorporates an innovative approach to erosion management by focusing on innovative materials, products and emerging nature-based solutions that are appropriate for implementation in northern and remote locations while being aligned with the cultural values of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The geographical scope of the SEMP will span from Paterson Creek in the north to Mutee Heads in the south with a focus on key areas identified in the NPARC CHAS such as campgrounds, Seisia Wharf, Injinoo School, and Injinoo Point.

Redlands Coast Living Shorelines – Pilot Program Phase 1 and 2 (Concept Development and Detailed Design)

The purpose of the project is to develop nature-based solution concepts to enable future implementation of living shorelines in a Redlands Coast context.

The project establishes what living shorelines look like in a local context, geomorphology, and vegetation, to demonstrate the role they can play in coastal hazard mitigation and prepare for future pilots trialling different types of designs, materials, and construction techniques.

Collaborative Design of Special Area Adaptation Plans (SAAP)

The Sunshine Coast Council’s Collaborative Design of Special Area Adaptation Plans (SAAP) Project proposes to collaboratively design two frameworks to more adequately address the needs of site-specific issues. This includes the development of frameworks and case studies that explore co-design, options appraisal, decision making, legislative and approvals requirements, and funding mechanisms for delivery of SAAPs. 

The project includes a coordinated and joint approach to develop SAAP frameworks for locations involving Surf Life Saving (SLS) infrastructure and for the mitigation of erosion risk for private assets based on current coastal hazard threats to private residences.

Pumicestone Parkland Adaptation Pilot

The recent Bribie Island Breakthrough (BIB) has changed the tidal dynamics within the Pumicestone Passage and exacerbated coastal erosion, storm tide flooding and drainage issues in the project area. The mitigation adaptation pathways outlined in SCC’s Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy (CHAS) for the Pumicestone Passage are required to be accelerated due to the BIB.  This includes planning and implementing shoreline erosion management responses to protect public assets.  

Council will investigate resilient options for mitigating coastal hazards in this location and prepare a detailed options analysis of solutions to raise and provide coastal hazard resilient parkland infrastructure to allow for the use of this site during periods of storm surges and spring tides.

Bargara Beach Nourishment

This project builds on the previously funded Bargara SEMP Implementation Study by utilising the best sand source identified in the study and will be delivered in-line with the finalised beach nourishment design and approvals. This was identified as the preferred method for managing the Bargara shoreline in the SEMP, considering all factors and incorporating community and stakeholder feedback.

Investigation of Sand shifter/back pass system development for tropical beaches for the Cassowary Coast

Investigation of sand back-passing systems to re-nourish eroded beaches in tropical north Queensland.

This method has been successfully used in southern areas but is untested technology in North Queensland. As this concept has not been used in tropical (reef protected) areas, the development of a detailed understanding of its potential application will assist other North Queensland Regions in current and future coastal nourishment requirements.

Coastal Protection using Sand Nourishment and relocation

The focus of this project is to conduct beach nourishment activities to rebuild the beach and dunes on an actively eroding coast to reduce the risks to recreational and road assets at identified sites in Cardwell and South Mission Beach.

A pilot project for implementation and delivery of nature-based responses for coastal erosion hotspots in high value conservation areas (Regatta Waters Park, Coomera)

Building on the work completed under the previous round of QCoast2100 funding, this project moves into the implementation phase to address river-bank erosion and will utilise the detailed design and construction of the chosen nature-based solution, delivering environmental benefits that will enhance and preserve the natural character of the Coomera River.

Seventeen Seventy Sewerage Rising Main Relocation

Council will relocate critical community infrastructure – a sewer rising main – at Seventeen Seventy under immediate threat from coastal erosion. Pipework has already been exposed and broken and a temporary fix implemented. Relocation landward to the roadway solution avoids construction of erosion protection works and will preserve the coastal environment.

Lucinda Beach Nourishment and Johnson Park Rockwall Project

This project includes the repair and landward extension of the Johnson Park rock wall to reduce the terminal scour occurring at this location, and complemented by the renourishment of sand on the beach slope that has eroded from the area immediately adjacent to Johnson Park.

Mapoon Coastal Revegetation

Coastal revegetation work will be completed to prevent further coastal erosion in the Cullen Point and Back Beach areas. These are high use areas with significant recreation, economic, and cultural and heritage value: Cullen Point is the site of the Old Mapoon Mission 1896-1963; Cullen Point has the barge ramp, which is also used by recreational fishers and the area is highly regarded for shore fishing; Back Beach is used by Mapoon locals for camping while the recently expanded bush campground at Cullen Point attracts visitors throughout the dry season.

Scarborough and Dohles Rocks (Griffin) Trial Local Resilience Plans

This planning project will provide residents in high-risk coastal areas with a framework to improve resilience of their properties. It enables planning for public and private infrastructure collaboratively so that actions are undertaken in a coordinated and sustainable manner. Risk reduction actions can be staged over time based on the expected risk exposure, giving asset owners the ability to plan for asset improvements to reduce risk over time, such as with house renovations or a seawall renewal.

The product will be a property and asset scale adaptation pathway plan which is an innovative solution and may be extended to other areas and councils.

Living Foreshores Hilton Esplanade Phases 1 and 2

This project looks to use nature-based solutions to address bank erosion and improve the resilience of a high-value foreshore area on the Noosa River that are currently impacted by storm tide inundation, king tides and erosion and will be further exacerbated by sea level rise in the near future.

Living Shorelines - Construction x 2 Pilot Projects 

This construction work progresses the on-ground solutions developed for the Three Paddocks Park and Oyster Point Park through the “Concept Development and Detailed Design” funded in the previous round.