Horseshoe Bay’s swimming pontoon may return to the water this summer, subject to conditions set by Alexandrina Council.

The Port Elliot pontoon has been missing since mid-September, when it was damaged and washed ashore in a storm.

A packed gallery at its 18 November meeting saw the council resolve to support the return of the pontoon for the 24/25 summer school holiday period, and for the pontoon to remain in the water all year round.

This is subject to approval from the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) and confirmation of insurance coverage.

A report to a special council meeting, held on 4 November, advised that it would cost $115,758 to install the pontoon from mid-October to mid-April every year and $186,131 to keep the structure in place all year round.

This contrasts with projected ongoing annual maintenance costs of around $11,000 for the Normanville pontoon by the District Council of Yankalilla, which has also been missing due to storm damage.

Before the September storm the pontoon had been moored in Horseshoe Bay since 2012, installed by the community without reference to the council. 

In 2013 the council allowed Port Elliot Surf Life Saving Club to take ownership of the pontoon, provided it agreed to undertake maintenance, daily visual inspections and biannual underwater inspections by appropriately certified divers. 

Initially in the bay only during the summer months, in 2018 the club gained council permission to keep the pontoon in the water all year round.

In August 2024 the club advised that members could no longer meet maintenance and inspection requirements, and management of the structure was given back to the council.

“Initial feedback from DIT is that we should obtain approval, and our insurers have told us that they are prepared to insure the pontoon, subject to meeting conditions, but we want to review those conditions so we can reduce the cost to Council,” Alexandrina Mayor Keith Parkes says.

“Once we have the DIT approval in place, Council will be talking to the Port Elliot Surf Life Saving Club about undertaking visual inspections of the pontoon.

“We also resolved to approach South Australian diving clubs to ask members with appropriate engineering competencies and qualifications if they would be willing to undertake dives at no cost or low cost so we can meet any obligations to complete underwater inspections.

“Council is going to ask our insurers to do a review of the minimum requirements they want Council to do to manage the pontoon because the initial advice we have about daily inspections and underwater inspections is cost-prohibitive.

“We want a report to come back to Council Members as quickly as possible detailing outcomes of our cost reduction discussions and what support we might have from our community so we can return the pontoon to Horseshoe Bay as soon as possible and at a reasonable cost to ratepayers.

“We also want to thank the Port Elliot Surf Life Saving Club and all its volunteers for managing the pontoon over many years since 2013. They have done a wonderful job to ensure our community can enjoy this popular swimming aid.”

Port Elliot Town and Foreshore Improvement Association has led a community campaign for the pontoon to be restored to Horseshoe Bay. They have been discussing a potential sponsorship deal to secure the pontoon’s future, but await confirmation of the actual cost.