UNLESS you’re a fisherman, a surfer or a keen boatie; you’re unlikely to be aware that some king tides, well over the 3.0 metre mark, are headed this way around Easter or just after.
Under normal circumstances, most local residents wouldn’t even notice.
There is, however, a group of homeowners along Woodland Avenue at Silverleaves on Phillip Island who are dreading these events, on the afternoon of Friday, April 18, and also April 29, April 30 and May 1, praying that weather conditions don’t conspire to make matters worse.
Of course, they shouldn’t have to worry.
Officers of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), in consultation with the local community, have already developed a plan for dealing with the threat in the short to medium term.
They’ve acknowledged that a highly impacted terminal scour area has developed at the end of the rock revetment, made worse by an extension of the rock wall to the west.
“They’ve already designed and costed what they want to do, putting in 300 metres of geotextile bags (in the area between Coghlan Road and Sanders Road) to protect the foreshore while they come up with a more permanent plan,” said affected resident Natalie Gray.
“They told the community what they wanted to do back in October, which would have given them enough time to put it in place by Easter.
“But it has just sat on the Minister’s desk.
“Now we’ve run out of time,” she said.
It’s going to be an agonising waiting game, over the next month or so, to see if their worst fears are realised.
“Extending the rock wall has altered the pattern of movement and the water swirls more now and when it gets to the end of the rock wall, it’s eroding the coastline more,” said Mrs Gray.
“In some parts of the foreshore, it’s less than a metre to the top of the dune.”
Ms Gray said the cost of the geotextile wall is $500,000 but she says it will cost a lot more if the work isn’t done.
“It’s too late to get it done before Easter, but the government has simply got to move on this as a matter of urgency.”
In October 2024, DECCA advised the community as follows (Silverleaves Coastal Adaption Project #2): “Following our community information session at Cowes in August, DEECA representatives met with FSC Range to discuss options for short-term works to protect the highly impacted terminal scour area at the end of the rock revetment. FSC Range have now developed designs and costings for these works while we continue with the adaptation planning. Andrew from FSC has put together a video presentation to explain this process and the preferred option, a geotextile revetment that can be modified, relocated or removed in the future to align with final adaptation options. Check out the video here for the full details. We are continuing to seek funding for the revetment through grants and budget bids and we will keep the community updated as things progress.”
In the absence of any movement from the government, Eastern Victoria MLC Melina Bath sponsored a petition signed by 4370 which got the issue on to the parliamentary business paper.
Ms Bath continues to work for the community, calling on Minister for the Environment, Hon Steve Dimopoulos, to meet with residents and respond to them about the geotextile bag project.
She’s greatly concerned about what might be headed Silverleaves’ way at Easter, or in the near future.
She said the Allan Government has let down the Silverleaves’ community.
“The Silverleaves’ foreshore has been eroding at an alarming rate, and there is every possibility homes will be lost in the absence of state funding for mitigation,” said Ms Bath.
“Residents are acutely aware of the imminent threat to their properties; many lay in fear at night wondering if their homes will fall victim to the sea - they deserve to hear how the government will protect their estate.”
