If a 50:50 funding application with the State Government’s Waterways Project is successful, the council will attempt to make up the remaining half by increasing the environmental rate. The increase will raise $220,000 a year and may become a permanent solution for the silting channel.

Conducting meetings in Tea Garden/ Hawks Nest to survey the community’s reaction, council’s environment manager of natural systems, Gerard Tuckerman, said residents were supportive of the increase to ensure a resolution.

“We have a great environment and people want to protect it. We have a very strong link to the health of our environment. We have oyster, fishing and tourism industries that depend on a clean and healthy environment and I think people recognise that.”

But the Myall River Action Group said while the silting channel impedes upon livelihoods it is now endangering lives.

“It’s a disaster waiting to happen and it’s only a matter of time before someone is hurt,” Myall River Action Group member David Glynn said.

“Tourists come over for the day, they spend time in town, go home, decide to go through the natural channel because they don’t want to go the long way around and within 400 metres they’ve hit sand and unless you know to take the extreme left or extreme right at 20 - 25 knots it would be like hitting a brick wall.”

The group said the situation is now at a “point of desperation”.

“The Myall River Action Group welcomes the acknowledgement by council, that our waterways are important and have made an ongoing commitment of a rate levy for dredging,” Mr Glynn said.

“We understand that this commitment is in addition to those funds being used to replenish the Jimmys Beach erosion, a separate issue, which may be contributing to sand blockage of the natural entrance and build up of sand in the navigational channel.”

Funds raised from the pending rate increase will go directly towards dredging the Navigational Channel which comes under council’s estuary management plan - a separate issue from the renourishment of Jimmys Beach.