Why was sand dredged last year delivered to areas offshore of Duranbah Beach instead of Snapper Rocks?
• At the time of the dredging campaign in May-September 2008, there was still an excess of sand in Coolangatta Bay. This sand was being transported very slowly northwards by waves and currents. To reduce the infeed of more sand into Coolangatta Bay, it was decided to place most of the dredged sand offshore at Duranbah instead of the usual placement areas near Snapper Rocks. • By placing sand off Duranbah, the sand has further to travel before reaching Coolangatta Bay. This would allow more time for the existing build up of sand in Coolangatta Bay to be dispersed naturally before receiving more sand. • Much of the sand placed off Duranbah Beach was placed in deep water. The reason for this was to once again try and delay the sand movement into Coolangatta Bay. Deeper seabeds along the coast are generally more stable than shallower ones. They are less affected by the actions of nearshore waves and currents, so sand placed in deeper water tends to sit in one place for longer. • Sand place
