Many locals are aware of the sandy situation at the Pennington tidal pool.

Bryan Maggs, an Umdoni Retirement Village resident, moved into the area with his wife in September last year. When he first saw the tidal pool, there was a little bit of sand in it, but it was still usable.

“Just before the December holidays, an excavator was brought in to clear out the sand and make the pool ready for the holidays. I can’t exactly remember when, but after a big storm and maybe spring tides a lot of the sand that was behind the pool was washed away exposing the back wall of the pool. As a piece of the wall in the one corner was missing, most of the water would drain out of the pool, leaving it very shallow,” he explained.

“Now it appears that after the recent storms that the sand has now completely washed into the pool and filled it up.”

Maggs said that he did not know this was a regular occurrence at Pennington beach, and that he emailed the municipality to ask if they were going to do anything about it. He received a reply indicating that it would be put onto the list.

Ward councillor’s insight

Ward 10 councillor Alan Cutten provided more insight.

“The issue of sand accumulation in the tidal pool is unfortunately not new and has been ongoing for many years.” he said.

“The municipality’s current approach of removing the sand before the main holiday periods using machinery is both an expensive and short-term solution. From discussions I have had with established dredging companies, one of the major challenges is that the sand which is removed is often dumped nearby, resulting in it being washed straight back into the tidal pool within a short period of time. This means public funds are repeatedly being spent without addressing the root cause of the problem.”

Cutten also explained that when the Ifafa Caravan Park was operational, staff maintained the tidal pool by using the natural tidal cycles to remove sand about twice a month. Once this maintenance practice stopped, the pool gradually filled with sand and has continued to deteriorate over time.

“It is concerning that a maintenance method previously used successfully for years has not been properly explored or reinstated by the municipality,” he said.

“If the municipality invested properly in maintaining the tidal pools, a far more sustainable and cost-effective long-term solution could be implemented by working with the natural tidal movement instead of relying solely on machinery.”

Possible solutions

As per Cutten, possible solutions include:
• Waiting for spring tides, which produce the highest and lowest tidal movements and therefore the strongest natural water pressure.
• Sealing the pool at high tide so the pool fills completely and traps the water inside.
• Opening low-level scour or sluice gates during low tide, allowing the trapped water to rush out with force and naturally flush accumulated sand back into the ocean.
• Assisting the process manually using squeegees, push brooms or high-pressure hoses to direct remaining wet sand toward the drainage outlets.
• Repeating the process over several tidal cycles until the pool is cleared.

Both Maggs and Cutten indicated that the tidal pool provides a safer swimming option, especially for the elderly and young children who many not be comfortable in open surf conditions.

Community organisations such as Tidy Towns have also assisted in the past, which demonstrates that there is local willingness to help maintain this public amenity.

“The municipality should conduct a proper cost-benefit analysis into alternative maintenance methods or consider a public-private partnership to replace or install low-level scour or sluice gates,” suggested Cutten.

“Lifeguards, municipal staff or a willing local organisation could then be tasked with the routine monthly opening and closing process to maintain the pool more effectively and at a lower long-term cost.”

Umdoni Municipality was contacted for comment, but none had been received at the time of going to press.

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