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With approximately 2.54 million cubic metres of sand affecting the riverine environment Glenelg Hopkins CMA instituted a program of managed sand extraction.
The benefits of sand extraction
The health of the river is enhanced through the creation of habitat refuge holes which support life during dry periods, and through the gradual lowering of the river bed which exposes previously smothered habitat as sand moves into these holes from upstream.
The gradual filling and removal of sand from extraction holes prevents the migration of sand downstream and into high value reaches of the river. The aim is to match the volume of sand moving downstream to the volume of sand captured and removed at extraction sites. By reducing the amount of sand, the vital and complex habitat and geomorphology of the riverbed is returned.
In the past five years approximately 180,000 cubic metres of sand has been removed from the Glenelg River at 18 individual sites.
Authorised extractors are licenced to remove sand for commercial purposes, typically for concrete manufacture and bedding material.