WORK is due to start this week on the construction of a 160-metre-long rock-wall designed to stop rubbish from an old tip site on East Beach at Port Fairy from spilling on to the sand.
The wall was proposed by the Department for Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) as a trial measure to combat beach erosion that has exposed rubbish in beachside dunes from the former tip.
The state government is contributing $55,000 towards the $90,000 cost and Moyne Shire Council $35,000.
Moyne Shire chief executive officer David Madden told the council’s recent meeting that DEPI had initially proposed a lower-cost anti-erosion measure, for which the council was to contribute $17,500.
However, it later decided a long rock- wall was needed and the council had agreed to contribute a further $17,500.
In response to questions from Cr Jim Doukas, Mr Madden said the extra council contribution would come from savings from the allocation for sand dredging in the Moyne River.
The council’s physical services director Trevor Greenberger said work to build the rock-wall would start this week and take about three weeks to complete.
Moyne Shire launched an investigation into the erosion problem at the former tip site after the Port Fairy Coastal Community Challenge group found one metre of sand was being lost from the tip site area every month between May and September last year.
Three years ago The Standard reported that rising tides had carved back dunes by several metres in less than 12 months, exposing the first of hundreds of tonnes of old metal, rusted waste pans, broken bottles and other decayed rubbish.
