GEORGE TOWN: Two outfalls in Batu Ferringhi jutting 120m out to sea have prevented beach erosion at this spot and led to significant beach growth.
A recent visit showed that the stretch of beach has even expanded past the end of one of the outfalls, much to the delight of beach goers.
For this reason, the possibility of more outfalls in Batu Ferringhi and their designs are being studied, said state infrastructure committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari.
He said locations of possible future outfalls included along the main 2.5km beach stretch in Batu Ferringhi and also on the smaller beaches to the east, towards Tanjung Bungah.
“Ten years ago, those two outfalls were built not for beach erosion but were instead for Sungai Emas and Sungai Baru Ferringhi to discharge farther out to sea.
“It was done to preserve seawater clarity at the beach by sending the rivers’ flows about the length of two Olympic swimming pools from the beach.
“We built them to look like 2m-high piers so that beach goers can walk out to sea and even do some fishing,” he said.
When beach erosion became visible in 2021, the two outfalls had the unintended effect of protecting that stretch of the beach.
“The surf hitting Batu Ferringhi during spring tide last year were recorded at over 50cm higher than in the past.
“Even the giant sandbags we fortified the beach with could not handle the force. So we will factor in these climatic changes when planning the new outfalls,” he said.
Zairil added that based on the angle of the shoreline accretion around the outfalls, it was clear the tidal current steadily came from the northwest, which was the direction of the end of the Straits of Malacca and the start of the Andaman Sea.
“This is important because many stakeholders mistakenly believe that Batu Ferringhi’s beach erosion is caused by reclamation works near Persiaran Gurney, over 10km to the east. That is geographically impossible,” he said.
It was previously reported that the Federal Government had approved RM61mil under the 12th Malaysia Plan, Rolling Plan 5, to tackle coastal erosion here.
