Narrabeen locals are all too familiar with the natural conditions that cause the build up of sand in the entrance to Narrabeen lagoon and close it to the ocean.

While Council has been proactively managing the lagoon entrance to reduce the flood risk, including a significant sand clearance in 2021, we have been developing a strategy which considers the short, medium and long-term options to manage the lagoon and prioritise actions.

We started with releasing an options paper for community input which informed the development of the more comprehensive strategy which was subsequently put out for community feedback.

A broad range of options were considered with the following selected for more detailed analysis: ongoing mechanical and major entrance clearances, ebb-tide channel, mobile sand pumping, rock training wall and installation of low flow pipes. The report found some of these options were not feasible, not supported by the community or had significant environmental or engineering issues.

The final adopted strategy includes a range of priority actions which we will now begin to implement including:

• trialling more frequent but smaller sand clearance operations (every two-three years rather than four-five years)
• developing a more flexible set of the conditions which trigger Council intervention to open the lagoon if required
• adjusting the alignment for the pilot channel
• reshaping and revegetating the denuded part of Birdwood Park dune to assist with sand stabilisation
• investigating the financial viability of mobile sand pumping as a longer term alternative to trucking.

Thanks to the hundreds of people who attended our information sessions, read the strategy and provided feedback to help shape the final strategy.

Now if the rain would just stay away….