Boreholes will be drilled into Bournemouth’s beaches this month as part of investigative work for the Bournemouth Beach Management programme of timber groyne replacement.
Using a cable percussion drilling rig, each borehole will be drilled to a depth of 15m and is expected to take two days to complete. The purpose of the boreholes is to ascertain the ground conditions of potential new groyne locations. In total 15 boreholes will be drilled into the sand with five between the piers and 10 east of Boscombe Pier.
Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment, said: “We are carrying out vital investigations on the beaches throughout March to identify the best possible locations for the building of new groynes to combat erosion. Groynes have been built for over 100 years to protect the cliff and cliff-top properties in Bournemouth. With our coastline eroding at approximately one metre per year this work is especially important.”
Bournemouth Beach Management is a project to provide coast protection for Bournemouth for the next 100 years to prevent the loss of homes to coastal erosion and drastic changes to the local environment.
Over the lifetime of the project Bournemouth’s beaches will be subject to regular replenishment; approximately 210,000m3 of replenishment materials will be added every three years to keep the beach topped up at its target volume. The groyne renewal programme will be undertaken as part of the project to improve performance, protect the seawall and prevent the loss of beach material.
The borehole drilling is being undertaken by Environmental Scientifics Group (ESG) and is fully funded by the Environment Agency.
