According to the municipality, “now that the bathing season is over, work is underway to reinforce the dune cord between Costa Nova do Prado and Praia da Barra, in the area that was affected by the sea disturbance and sea rise last February.”

The operation, which is the responsibility of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), includes the artificial nourishment of the beach to the south of the Barra spur, for an approximate length of 700 metres.

Aggregates from maintenance dredging carried out by the Port of Aveiro are being used to reinforce the dune cord.

“This solution makes it possible to replenish the sand and reinforce the natural protection of the coastline,” the text emphasises.

As well as dredged spoil, a small spur located to the south of the Barra spur, which is considered obsolete, will also be removed.

The materials from the dismantling of this spur “will be reused to reinforce the root of the Barra spur and mitigate the effects of erosion on the dune cord in that area.”

According to the Portuguese Environment Agency, the intervention “aims to protect and conserve the coastline, acting as a passive defence against erosion and anticipating risks aggravated by climate change.”

The estimated execution time for both the artificial sand supply and the removal of the southern spur and consolidation of the Barra spur is around one month, according to the local authority.

In February, the sea advanced several metres over the dunes, due to the tides and strong swell, and destroyed part of the walkway that connected the beaches of Barra and Costa Nova.

At the time, the mayor of Ílhavo complained that the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) was not intervening to solve the problem (of the sea’s advance over the dunes in that area), lamenting the fact that sand had not been replenished since 2020, and defending the deposition of sediment as a measure to contain the sea’s advance.