Coastal protection needed, not beautification
It beggars belief to see that Gosford Council has applied for more than $2.8 million from the Federal Government for the foreshore at Ettalong.
This demonstrates very clearly the complete lack of liaison, or communication between council departments.
Residents presume that employees in Open Spaces and Leisure Services talk to the people in charge of the Coast and Estuary or the Bushcare departments.
This would seem not to be the case.
It is also obvious that the people at Open Spaces and Leisure have not taken a walk along the open space at Ocean Beach recently.
This space is being reduced at a fast rate due to high tides, storms and strong south east winds, especially over the past three years and this is not factoring in any sea level rise.
Perhaps these same people believe that erosion at Ocean Beach is nothing to do with Ettalong Beach because that is in the estuary.
Most people however understand that when one force meets another force, as in the ocean coming through The Heads and meeting the estuary coming out, there is deadlock and this would result in "pumping" taking place.
This would exacerbate local flooding around the catchment.
The power of this can already be seen at Ettalong, near the Vietnam Memorial and at Lance Web Reserve, where the rocks placed in both places by council, have caused erosion behind them.
Furthermore, the storm drains put in to take storm water out to sea can also work in reverse and bring that ocean water back up the drain into the town.
This is already happening at some places in Sydney.
Vegetation on dunes helps to build up the sand and provides a little protection from the water but this has been removed, so Ettalong is now very vulnerable to the elements of nature.
I very strongly believe therefore that the Federal Government's first priority is to the residents of Ettalong and the Peninsula.
Foreshore protection is extremely expensive and its effects not very certain but you only have to observe the effects of the recent storms not only at Ocean Beach but also at North Entrance and other places along the coast, to realise that many previous planning decisions have been mistakes.
With limited Federal Funding available, it is vital that priority is given to coastal protection instead of coastal "beautification" measures.
Coastal protection will benefit all residents of the Peninsula at least for a time.
As the last president of the USA found to his detriment, it does not pay to ignore the warning signs of nature and the calls from scientists for more understanding.
Margaret Lund,
Woy Woy Bay