Works completed on Bega river log wall
March 2021
Shannon Brennan, Senior Land Services Officer, Far South Coast
A project to improve the condition of the last remaining cleared stretch of the lower Bega river has recently been completed.
Works were carried out in the former Thompson’s farm area, within the Tathra River Estate, to improve bank stability, riparian vegetation condition and water quality.
Works included construction of a 400 metre section of timber log wall to stabilise eroding river banks, plus foreshore revegetation and weed control along 700 metres of river estuary.
Photos: before and after the log wall was installed.
The lower Bega River estuary is largely in a natural state, with good vegetation cover on the slopes of the immediate catchment. The project site was the exception to this, the property was formerly a dairy and beef farm, with a large area now converted to a residential subdivision with a public reserve remaining along the estuary foreshore.
Having been largely cleared of riparian revegetation, the stretch of foreshore was suffering significant erosion from a combination of floods, wave action from boats and unrestricted stock access.
This was leading to sediment flowing into the river, decreased water quality and impacting of aquatic habitat and condition of threatened ecological communities including saltmarsh and coastal river flat eucalypt communities.
The site was recognised as being in a degraded state in the Bega River Estuary Processes Study and was identified as a priority for both bank work and riparian rehabilitation activities through the Marine Estate Management Strategy (MEMS).
Previous works to revegetate 3 ha of the river and wetland environment had also been undertaken by South East Local Land Services and Bega Valley Shire Council in 2017-18.
This new project has extended past efforts significantly enhancing the condition of the riparian corridor whilst maintaining recreational space and river access for the future.
The project was jointly funded by South East Local Land Services through the Marine Estate Management Strategy and Bega Valley Shire Council. Bank erosion works were managed by the NSW Soil Conservation Service and revegetation works were managed by local contractor Paddy Farrell.