FAQs

The Eastern Foreshore Reserve was extended (10-20m) and a new seawall constructed with pedestrian walkways adjacent to it in 2017. The extension has created additional grassed area along the water’s edge, beach area and additional seating and amenity. The height if the new seawall has been designed with consideration for future sea level rises and can be raised with an additional row of blocks in the future. A secondary rear wall prevents the Eastern Foreshore Reserve from inundation during high tides and provides a seating edge.

There will be some very minor wall modifications in the location of the Estuary pool. The top limestone block will be removed for a small section (approximately 30m). The rest of the sea-wall along the length of the Eastern Foreshore will remain unchanged. Terraces, steps, ramp access and new walling will be built in front of the existing wall to create the land based edges to the 'Estuary Pool', extended beach area and new groynes. The existing groyne and Town jetty will be removed to facilitate construction of the circular floating jetty.

The proposal includes removing the existing fixed timber ‘Town Jetty’ (near beach area) and upgrading the ‘Government Jetty’ (Near ‘Bay Café’, previously ‘The Tea and Merchant’) to provide additional floating boat births. A new jetty is also proposed in the location of Tuckey Lane. There will be a significant increase to boat parking spaces and useability provided by the new floating jetties.

The jetties have been designed to meet the requirements for Commercial operator use including generous 3m width main access and approximately 33m length ‘T heads’ in the deep water providing flexible mooring area for multiple size vessels. The jetties will provide for public and commercial use and the City is considering how this is managed.

Yes. New and functional and feature lighting will be installed to provide a well-lit and vibrant night time experience. Old lighting will be replaced with new more effective and efficient LED lighting and multi-function poles will provide power provision and infrastructure to support event activity. The curved floating platform of the ‘Estuary Pool’ will have a coloured feature strip lighting and the jetties will have solar powered bollard lighting.

The City will work with the Department of Transport to re-define gazetted swimming and closed to powered craft areas. Navigation charts will be updated to reflect changes and boat activity policed accordingly.

The proposed ‘Estuary pool’ is a swimming area defined by a floating jetty structure and would have the equivalent level of impact as other similar jetty infrastructure. There are openings in the structure. It is not a closed walled structure. It has been located in the historical location of the Robert Day memorial pool and will extend from the existing curved sea-wall. It can be assumed that there will be minor disturbance to estuarine fauna species during construction of the ‘Estuary Pool’ and floating jetty infrastructure. The environmental impacts will be managed through environmental, design and engineering controls.

There are inherent risks in any swimming area and natural swimming areas are subject to changes in conditions which need to be assessed by users. 

There has been a long history of swimming in this location. In 1965 Mandurah’s bathing sheds were demolished and the 'Robert Day Memorial Pool' was constructed. The stone and cement pool had boardwalk/jetties at the northern and southern sides, the foreshore to the east, and was open to the west side. It also had a diving board and brick changing sheds, which have only recently been demolished. The pool was demolished after the new and long-awaited aquatic centre opened in 1982. The site is significant as the place where most of Mandurah’s young people learned to swim - an essential skill in a aquatically oriented town. It was also socially significant as a meeting place for local people and tourists. 

The City engaged specialist Coastal Engineers to undertake a feasibility study including a ‘Safety in Design’ assessment of the concept proposal. This has guided the detailed planning and design of the ‘Estuary Pool’ and future management considerations. A number of risk controls have been implemented in the design to reduce or eliminate identified risks. The feasibility study considered the currents and water quality at the ‘Estuary pool’ location. The assessment showed that the faster currents in the channel are predominantly in the middle of the channel, with currents decreasing towards the edge of the channel. Typical currents at the site during a flood tide reach approximately 0.3 m/s. The currents at the proposed Estuary Pool (circled) are slightly lower than the currents on the other side of the channel where the swimming area exists on the Western Foreshore. There are no known reported safety issues from users of this facility. The study also concluded that locations in the vicinity of the proposed Estuary Pool location have been determined safe for swimming most of the time based on the water quality.

There are no plans to install a net/barrier around the swimming enclosure. Historically there have not been any reported sharks sited in this location. The capital and maintenance costs and adverse impacts of a barrier are considered high and the safety risks of not having a barrier are considered low. Having a lifeguard present at peak periods and times could be a future consideration.