Sand replenisment 2017 large
Sand replenisment 2017 large

How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape

  • 19 May 2021
  • 2 min read
It’s hard work keeping Adelaide beaches looking good. Find out what it involves and why it’s worth the effort.

Did you know that Adelaide’s beaches aren’t naturally all sandy? It takes work to keep our beaches looking great.

Adelaide’s coastline was originally a natural sand dune system. But from the early 1900s, most of the land behind Adelaide’s foreshore was developed with roads, buildings, houses, recreational areas, and sewerage and stormwater infrastructure.

How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape

The sand along Adelaide’s coast naturally moves northward, by the wind and waves. This causes sand to build on our northern beaches such as Semaphore and Largs Bay, but causes erosion along our southern and central coast such as Seacliff, Brighton and Henley Beach.

How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape
Largs Bay in April 2020, which has a build-up of sand

The effects of Adelaide’s natural northward drift, together with earlier foreshore development, means that our coasts need to be looked after. If not, some of our favourite beaches would quickly erode to rock and clay, plus our houses and roads along the foreshore could be badly damaged by storms.

How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape
A vulnerable section of beach at West Beach where sand is regularly added
How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape
A section of West Beach where rocks are exposed, April 2021
How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape

Since the 1970s, Adelaide has adopted a beach replenishment program to actively manage our metropolitan beaches. Every year, sand is pumped or trucked from our northern beaches to our southern beaches.

How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape
How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape

Sand pumping uses pumping stations and underground pipelines to transfer a slurry of sand and seawater from beaches where sand is building up to the eroding beaches further south.

Two sections of Adelaide’s coasts have an underground sand pipeline – Glenelg to Kingston Park and the Torrens Outlet to the West Beach dunes. A new pipeline is also being built from Semaphore to West Beach.

Keeping Adelaide’s beaches sandy - Adelaide’s sand recycling pipeline

How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape
Sand pumping discharge outflow pipe during operation at the base of a rock seawall

Trucks are used to transfer sand along some sections of the coast, such as from West Beach Harbour to Glenelg North and between Semaphore and Henley Beach South. Once the Semaphore to West Beach pipeline is built this will reduce the need for sand trucking in the area.

How Adelaide’s beaches stay in shape
Sand trucking

As Adelaide’s climate changes and sea levels continue to rise, it will take extra work to keep our beaches looking beautiful.

Learn how we keep sand on Adelaide’s beaches

Learn more about sand shifting along Adelaide's coastline.

Sand movement works are recommencing in May. To find out about the latest beach works and how we’re securing the future of our coastline, visit the website.

Main image: Henley Beach

This story was originally posted in October 2015 and has been updated with current information.

Subscribe

Fill out the form below and we'll send you Good Living inspiration straight to your inbox

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.