Wamberal beach management options: Cost benefit and distributional analysis

Wamberal is a coastal community located near Gosford on the central coast of New South Wales, Australia. A range of structural engineering approaches has been considered to protect beachfront properties and other infrastructure at Wamberal beach and the surrounding lagoon properties from the effects of coastal processes. This report uses a standard Cost-benefit Analysis (CBA) framework to estimate the direct and indirect costs and benefits of these options that may accrue to a range of key stakeholders.

In summary, the seven engineering (seawall) options considered in this report (Options 2-7) all impose a net economic cost on the community, compared to continuing with the current status quo approach of no specific attempt to prevent the effects of coastal erosion. The CBA concludes that none of the engineering options considered (Options 2-7) are expected to provide a net public benefit for the local community and for visitors to the area, under base assumptions. Only a Planned Retreat option (Option 8) provides greater benefits than a continuation of the current approach of no specific managed intervention (Option 1, maintaining current, status quo approaches).