Maintenance Dredging in the Swansea Channel
Overview of Project
Swansea Channel is the marine gateway to Lake Macquarie on the New South Wales (NSW) Central Coast. Creating and maintaining a more reliable boating access to the lake was considered desirable for social and economic reasons.
Neumann Dredging was selected by New South Wales (NSW) Crown Lands to undertake a larger scale “once off” maintenance dredging campaign to achieve this, with smaller subsequent campaigns for ongoing maintenance.
Scope of Works
The aim of the dredging campaign was to create a stable navigation channel to reduce the frequency of periodic follow-up dredging. All sand dredged from the channel was pumped to a designated area at Blacksmiths Beach where it was de-watered & spread as part of beach nourishment & dune rehabilitation works.
- Dredging a 60m wide channel 3.5m deep,
- Transfer of approximately 80,000m3 of sand up to 3.5km to Blacksmiths Beach.
Challenges
- Presence of sensitive environmental ecosystems
- Involvement of numerous stakeholders and interest groups,
- Proximity to local residents,
- limited timeframe to complete the dredging,
- Installing 3,500mof pipeline from the Channel to the beach including an 80m section through an existing box culvert,
- Pumping the material up to 3,500m through a series of booster pumps,
- Spreading the material evenly along the beach at the nourishment,
- Maintaining safe navigational access for all boating traffic in this very popular and busy recreational waterway.
