Design For Mettams Pool Ramp Repairs

The City of Stirling is addressing ongoing coastal erosion at Mettams Pool and a design has now been prepared to retain the main ramp, which is due to be released for tender this July.

Following a series of storms in 2009 that significantly impacted coastal infrastructure at Watermans Bay, the City commissioned a Strategic Coastal Processes Study to examine coastal processes and determine the risks to our coastline, which was later reported to Council.

One of the areas identified as most at risk from erosion was Mettams Pool and parts of West Coast Drive - which supports a popular coastal cycling and walking route and direct access to properties.

Mayor Mark Irwin said following on from the main stairs repair in October 2020 – a planned intervention to maintain pedestrian access prior to correcting the main ramp – the City considered design options which would maintain the dunes and sand opposite the lookout.

“The City investigated a range of coastal engineering options, with the aim of balancing the protection of West Coast Drive while retaining or enhancing the attributes of Mettams Pool so valued by the community,” he said.

“We found that the main ramp was becoming increasingly undermined and that pedestrians travelling to the north were finding access difficult given the drop-off at the end of the ramp.

“In preparing a plan with regard to value for money and a beach dune preservation approach, the design we are announcing today builds on and consolidates the existing main ramp by adding geotextile sand containers (GSC) as has been done at Watermans Bay.”

GSCs provide stabilisation and a “soft rock” seawall protection, which will support the existing main ramp for pedestrian traffic.

The coastal vulnerability at Mettams Pool is a result of a number of factors including:

• Changes to coastal sand movements
• Severe storm events which may be exacerbated by climate change
• Sea level rise, which is expected to increase significantly in the short term and substantially in the long term.

Due to a combination of the above, the coastal vulnerability is likely to increase significantly in the future. These factors are now putting coastal assets at greater risk and requiring a more strategic approach to coastal hazard mitigation and coastal adaptation.

The City plans to commence a tender process in July 2021 for the upgrade of the main ramp and delivery of these works is expected by the end of November 2021.