The erosion at Tomahawk Beach has reached a critical point, concerned residents say.
The profile of the beach had changed after years of sand extraction and whereas the beach once sloped down to meet the incoming tide, it now lay flat and the waves rolled in, they told the Otago Daily Times this week.
Erosion was carving out a path along the bank of the stream that connected Tomahawk Lagoon to the ocean and some feared it was only a matter of time before it undermined Tomahawk Rd, Robert Strang, a resident of 17 years, said.
"This is the worst it’s been," Mr Strang said.
"We can see it with our own eyes."
Members of the community had been talking to the Otago Regional Council to try to slow down the rate that sand was taken from the beach.
However, so far they had only been told the company taking the sand, Nash & Ross, was within its rights, he said.
"Long story short, it has not stopped," he said.
"The waves are actually reaching the road at Tomahawk now, because there’s no sand in the middle there.
"We just think they’re taking too much sand, too often.
"It’s pretty simple — the environment has changed so much.
"We’re going to lose the road."
Mr Ross said the company had slowed its operations at the beach over the past few years, but importantly the sand extraction that was done cleared a path for water to leave the lagoon through the stream after a heavy rain.
Without sand extraction low-lying homes nearby would get flooded when the lagoon overflowed, he said.
"If we didn’t take it for nothing, somebody would have to pay to load it up and cart it away.
"These people have got no idea what would happen if it just stopped.
"There would be people jumping up and down when all the houses got flooded again."
Council chairman Andrew Noone acknowledged residents’ concerns. The key question was whether there were effects from the sand extraction that were not anticipated during the consent process and for which a review of the conditions might be warranted, he said.
"This is a staff decision and I’m aware that they’re looking into it," Cr Noone said.
Compliance manager Tami Sargeant said staff had reviewed this and would continue to review it annually, as provided for in the consent.
Present monitoring included being on site to observe the sand extraction during the last two extraction dates in August.
"Tomahawk Beach is a naturally dynamic environment and is subject to significant changes regardless of the sand extraction activities.
"We do not believe there is evidence to support a review of the consent on this basis."
A city council spokesman said it monitored its infrastructure, including roads in the area, through existing maintenance and inspection contracts and was not aware of any immediate threats to its infrastructure due to the sand mining at the beach.
