Land lost in the wash

Residents claim tinnie hoons causing erosion

A WAR of words and red tape has broken out over hooning and boat congestion that million-dollar property owners say is causing wash that is eroding their land.

But it is the Saltwater Creek, Helensvale householders who are finding themselves in the firing line, with council warning them to stop building concrete barricades to protect their properties and to remove stairs, fences and boat ramps that might encroach on the buffer between the creek and their land.

Documents obtained by the Bulletin show council compliance officers will issue fines of up to $2500 for residents and almost $13,000 to bodies corporate unless all materials are removed from a buffer zone between the creek and properties.

Hoons on jet skis, in tinnies and speedboats towing skiers, are reaching speeds of more than 40 knots in the six-knot zone along the creek, which in parts is only 30m wide and 1m deep. Locals are calling it the Saltwater Creek speedway.

In a letter to council compliance officers, resident Wolfgang Schwantes wrote: “Our Saltwater Creek is regarded as the local speedway for youngsters in tinnies and jet skis with a lot of evidence. Let us be proactive and not wait for the inevitable disaster and then play the blame games.”

Water police officers met with residents last weekend and caught speeding hoons.

“We were only there last Sunday. We issued a few infringement notices. We will continue to do so,” said Senior Sergeant Jay Notaro, officer in charge of Gold Coast Water Police.

Mr Schwantes, writing on behalf of 75 residents as a body corporate committee member at The Peninsula, said the wash from speeding craft was causing trees as tall as 20m to fall into the creek, removing about 2sq m of river bank. “The erosion is now aggressive and rapidly advancing to our property boundary,” he wrote.

The Bulletin understands the council is responsible for compliance on the buffer zone between properties and the creek, and the State Government is responsible for policing waterways.

In a letter to residents, council officers warned “all foreign materials” including stairs, boat ramps and fences had to be removed from the buffer zone. The body corporate has been warned the area is its responsibility and any fallen trees will need to be removed.

Area councillor William Owen-Jones said he understood there had been up to 12 months of negotiations between property owners and council officers.

Some residents have offered to build a revetment wall costing up to $20,000 but that is unlikely to be an option under an existing development approval negotiated almost 20 years ago.

“My understanding is the officers will continue to work with the body corporate to reach some agreement,” Cr OwenJones said. “While the residents may have a rock revetment wall as their preferred solution, that’s not something supported by the agencies at this point in time.”

Gold Coast Waterways Authority CEO Hal Morris acknowledged hooning was a problem at Saltwater Creek and indicated research was being undertaken to tackle a problem of congestion.

“There is good news. We really are conscious of the need to understand how the congestion is going,” Mr Morris said.

“We got $100,000 this financial year to invest in camera technology for vessel monitoring. That will give us better information on how to set priorities. The information will be available to water police as well.”