Secretary of the St Georges Basin Community Forum Maureen Webb said the volume of sediment was so great a new foreshore was being created along the Basin.

The section of concern is along the Cyril Blacket Reserve near Kevin Crescent and Graham Avenue, and the apparent expansion of the isthmus near the Aloha Caravan Park is also worrying Mrs Webb.

“The new section will join up with the isthmus,” Mrs Webb said.

“It’s devastating to see what is going on.”

Mrs Webb said parts of the Basin were now shallower and local residents were seeing clay on the foreshore that had never appeared before.

Forum chairperson Rebecca Rudd and Mrs Webb met council officers Michael Dale and David Banwell at the foreshore on Monday.

They were shown sections of the Basin that used to be covered by water, even at low tide, but now can be stood upon without getting wet.

“We need to know what is happening and we can’t afford to let the Basin fill up,” Mrs Webb said.

Ms Rudd said the foreshore was definitely changing.

She said sediment running into the Basin over time was a factor and that the development of a nearby shopping centre had exacerbated the situation.

“The thing with the Basin is that it’s fragile,” Ms Rudd said.

The forum members said the changes, since Christmas, were noticeable.

The council officers talked about efforts that had been made to stop sediment running into the Basin from the shopping centre development near Island Point Road, which included a gross pollutant trap and a silt curtain at the end of a drain.

Because it was at low tide, they could not determine whether the integrity of the silt curtain had been compromised.

Mr Banwell and Mr Dale will recommend monitoring the alleged foreshore expansion.