The City of Onkaparinga has secured two grants totalling $253,500 to better prepare its coastline for the impacts of climate change.
Funded through the SA Climate Ready Coasts program, the grants will support two projects to model and monitor the city’s coastal areas.
Through a $210,500 grant, the council will monitor coastal processes – natural forces such as waves, tides and wind that shape and change coastlines – and the impact of storms and rising sea levels on local beaches and coastal areas.
The project includes the installation of CoastSnap posts along the council’s 31km coastline which will allow residents to provide citizen-science monitoring of the local beaches. CoastSnap is a phone app that analyses repeat photos at the same location to track changes to the coast over time arising from storms, rising sea levels, human activity and other factors.
“The project is important in helping us prioritise our coastal adaptation projects,” says Ynys Onsman, Onkaparinga’s Manager Strategy, Sustainability and Economic Growth.
“It is a pilot program, and we will share what we learn with other coastal councils across South Australia. Our findings will act as a benchmark for the steps we all can take in preparing for and responding to coastal impacts from climate change.”
A $43,000 grant will assist the council to collect data, undertake research and model coastal processes at South Port Beach and the Onkaparinga estuary.
The area has been identified in the council’s Coastal Adaptation Plan as being at high risk of erosion and flooding. Erosion along the dunes and cliffs has already started to impact public infrastructure.
“The storm conditions we experienced over the last months significantly impacted our whole coastline and that area in particular,” says Morgan Ellingham, Onkaparinga’s Manager Assets and Technical Services.
“This funding is therefore both timely and essential. It will help us to mitigate coastal erosion and flooding through strategies such as dune stabilisation, cliff reinforcement, protection of infrastructure and flood protection.”
The City of Onkaparinga has committed in-kind support and a further $38,000 to the two projects.
The projects are part of an extensive program of coastal adaptation activities that the council is undertaking through its Coastal Adaptation Plan. The 7-year plan, launched last year, details the council’s response to coastal risks arising from climate change and sea-level rise.
The two new projects have been funded by the Local Government Association South Australia’s (LGA) Climate Ready Coasts Program with financial support from the Commonwealth Government's Coastal and Estuarine Risk Mitigation Program, the SA Coast Protection Board and the Local Government Research and Development Scheme.
The SA Climate Ready Coasts program aims to improve coastal management and accelerate coastal-hazard adaptation planning in South Australia. It is led by the LGA along with several partners: the SA Coast Protection Board, the Department for Environment and Water, the Adelaide Coastal Councils Network (of which Onkaparinga is a member) and the SA Coastal Councils Alliance.
The $253,500 funding to Onkaparinga is part of $1.45 million recently provided under the program for 15 projects across South Australia.