The community are curious to know whether the excavation and opening of The Entrance channel last week was a success?
Late on Tue 1 March 2022, Council’s beach maintenance staff mobilised 3 large excavators onto the sand berm at Dunleith Pt at North Entrance.
By 9pm they had widened the main channel and excavated a pilot channel.
It appears that the primary objective was to encourage nature to self scour the large amount of sand that had built up on the berm since the last flood in March 2021.
I consulted a graph from the NSW Government’s Manly Hydraulics Laboratory (MHL) that showed the flood levels in Ourimbah Ck and Long Jetty over the last week
The graph is evidence that when The Entrance channel is opened, the flood waters can exit Tuggerah Lakes at a faster rate than the rising flood waters from the rivers and creeks.
For locals that have lived here for more than 45 years this was a defining moment.
A lot has been achieved from this relatively inexpensive undertaking.
Well done Council.
Graham Hankin, Chittaway Point