City of Albany manually open Taylor Inlet into Nanarup Beach after swells push in sand and cause flooding

Fresh water once again met salt on Thursday as the City of Albany manually opened Taylor Inlet to Nanarup Beach to relieve pressure on its banks after recent swells pushed in sand. City of Albany reserves manager Jacqui Freeman said the works to dredge the metres-long gap between inlet and ocean began at 7.30am with the opening completed safely and successfully by 10.30am. “Taylor Inlet was manually opened on Thursday morning to relieve flooding along Nanarup Road and protect nearby infrastructure,” she said. “Recent high tides and strong ocean swells had pushed sand into the mouth of the inlet, causing water to back up and overflow into surrounding areas. “While the inlet should open naturally, manual intervention is occasionally needed to safeguard local roads and maintain public access.” The inlet typically opens a few times a year for weeks at a time but due to the water flooding onto Nanarup Road, manual intervention was required. Lower King resident and Western Angler Magazine editor Scott Coghlan captured the manual opening with his drone camera. “I saw online on social media that it was opening and I hadn’t seen it open since I was seven or eight, nearly 50 years ago,” he said. “I wanted to have look, so I sat up at Maitraya at the Fisherman’s Lodge, which was a fair way away but had a good view and sent the drone up to watch the digger do his thing. “It was actually pretty slow and there wasn’t a lot of water flowing out too quickly, nothing like the other ones you see like Wilson Inlet in Denmark where it just bursts out. “It was still cool to see though as that swell had really filled it up to a level I’d never seen before and I’ve been going to Nanarup for 50 years.”