Work under way to restore sand

Sand is being restored on Te Rauone Beach after winter storms made their mark.

Two Port Otago dredges are combining to send the fine, white sand from the harbour sea bed to the beach where a digger spreads it.

Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said a report had been received from consultants Beca, who calculated how much sand had to be put back on the beach after the winter storm.

"So we’re just repairing the beach after the winter storms and yeah, our team dredges clean sand from the harbour and then pumps it on up through a pipe on to the beach and then we just use a digger to spread it out around the groynes and to the southern end," he said.

A statement from Port Otago said it had been two and a-half years since the beach restoration was completed and original projections suggested replenishment would likely be needed every two to five years and after significant storms. Most winters storms came through and impacted on the shore and beach.

It has been replenished once, via sand recycling in June last year.

Some residents at the city end of the beach felt the sand had not been remaining.

Jan McLean said she would wait and see how long this sand lasted.

The work is expected to take two weeks. — Allied Media