Western Cape coastline eroding fast

It says the construction of barriers and groynes has done little to slow down the rapid erosion of the province's sandy coastline. According to the report, Langebaan Ratepayers' Association chair Jaco Kotze said beaches on the West Coast were also under serious threat, despite the local municipality spending more than R43m to build a set of groynes to protect them. Kotze is quoted in the report as saying: 'That was money wasted. The problem is nobody knows why the sand is disappearing so quickly.' Kotze pointed out how large parts of Langebaan's main beach had disappeared, while the area's own Sandy Bay was getting smaller every year. Meanwhile, states the report, drastic action is being taken to salvage Sandy Bay near Llandudno. Mayoral committee member for economic, environmental and spatial planning Garreth Bloor announced that 25 000m3 of sand was being taken from Hout Bay to Sandy Bay as a last-ditch effort to try to replenish the beach's stocks. Full Cape Argus report