Sand building up around the River Torrens outlet at Henley Beach South will be dug up and spread along the severely depleted coastline further north to Henley Beach starting from July 31, with the Environment Department saying another 20,000 cubic metres will be shifted to the trouble spot.

Water Coast Protection Manager Murray Townsend said a higher number of storms than usual was sweeping away sand already trucked to popular city beaches and was instead massing into sand bars further out to sea.

He added that this could help protect the coastline by reducing the impact of high waves, and it was also hoped the sand would be swept back inshore when conditions are calmer.

Concerns were recently raised that so much sand has disappeared around Henley Beach that it has exposed footings at iconic cafe Joe’s Kiosk and the sea wall is in danger of collapsing. Charles Sturt Council has refused to support a department solution to jointly fund a protective stone wall at the site.

Townsend said discussions were continuing about finding a solution to protect the kiosk and sea wall.

He said the public had raised concerns about truckloads of seaweed being dumped at West Beach. The seaweed had been cleared from Glenelg where it had gathered in higher masses than usual and was hindering the ability of a pipeline to shift drifted sand to southern beaches.

The seaweed was expected to help buffer dunes at West Beach.

“Our beaches are constantly changing and sand naturally moves north along our coastline,” Townsend said.

More quarry sand is also being trucked to West Beach in spring with another 50,000 cubic metres on the way between April and June this year on top of the 50,000 dumped there last year.

Work will start in late August to shift 10,000 cubic metres of sand built up at the Semaphore Breakwater to help support eroded dunes at Semaphore Park.

“A sustainable approach to managing Adelaide’s coastline involves moving sand from areas where sand accumulates to areas of depletion, supplemented by bringing in additional sand from external sources when required,” Townsend said.

“These works will ensure our beach system is more resilient to storm damage while also providing sandy beaches for the community to enjoy.”

The state government has commissioned an independent review into the management of Adelaide’s beaches after it stopped a plan funded by the previous government to pipe drifted sand to West Beach and Henley Beach.

This scientific review is due to be completed by the end of 2023.