Cr West believes the ongoing idea of constructing a southern wall, in an attempt to keep the river entrance open, will only exacerbate the problem, or worse, in a big flood event, could see parts of Manning Point wiped off the map.

“Flood modelling hasn’t been done on what effect a southern wall would have on Manning Point during a one-in-one-hundred year event. Particularly when you consider large storm events appear to be occurring with more frequency,” Cr West said.

Cr West and Steve Attkins from the Manning Valley Business Chamber would prefer to see the current northern wall re-engineered to include a permanent back channel that would act as a drag line behind the wall itself - and absorb the effects of a tidal surge.

“For a back channel to be effective, the v-section of the current wall would need to be flattened-off, the sand deposited behind that section would need to be dredged and the Marine Rescue headquarters would need to be relocated. The wall itself would need to be raised and extended to include the section that was lost to the ocean some years ago. Large boulders would also need to be placed on the sand dune area at the river entrance, to prevent erosion.

“The result would make the existing channel, along the Harrington sea wall, a permanent deep water entrance for vessels to access the ocean. The area behind the sea wall would become a tidal drag line, removing any build up of silt.

“The river itself would then act as a device to prevent sand from coming back into the river system, because the velocity of the river into the ocean will stop the northerly sand drift from re-entering.

“Another benefit would be the ability to construct a marina in the back channel area which would be of great benefit to the economies of Harrington and the Manning Valley as a whole. Fishing would improve and the lagoon could be returned to its pristine condition, because the sand that currently deposits there would naturally flow into the ocean through the back channel,” Cr West said.

Cr West estimates the cost of this option would be around $20 million, and a lot less expensive than the construction of a southern wall, which was estimated to cost almost $90 million.

Steve Attkins believes that a combined expression of interest from the Manning Valley Business Chamber and Greater Taree City Council could open up dialogue with the Australian Defence Force, who may be interested in having permanent deep water access in this region.

“If there is an incident at sea, police can only launch their vessels from either Coffs Harbour or Port Stephens at the moment. Access at Coffs Harbour is problematic due to siltation issues and so there is a recognised need for increased secure access to the ocean along the north coast of NSW.

“We have 176 kilometres of navigable water in the Manning River and Harrington would be an ideal location for a naval base or a water police launch site.

“Another consideration is our local boat building industry. Stebercraft contributes a great deal to our local economy. They currently supply vessels for the Australia Navy and NSW Police. At the moment Stebercraft vessels can travel over the sand bar at Harrington, but we would hate to see this situation worsen. Delivery by road is not an option.

“The economic reality is that we want to maintain Stebercraft’s investment in this region and options such as investment by the Australian Defence Force are certainly worth exploring,” Steve said.