New report states Karaaf is at risk of “long-term” destruction

RESIDENTS in Torquay North say the Karaaf Wetlands are at risk of being destroyed from a continuing influx of stormwater from nearby developments, and have commissioned a report to back their claims.

The Sands Owners Corporation recently asked engineering and environmental consultant Water Technology to quantify the change in peak stormwater flows and volumes due to urbanisation surrounding the salt-water marsh.

“The amount of stormwater being delivered to the Karaaf is almost a gigalitre above pre-development levels, which is massive and most of it is polluted,” The Sands Owners Corporation president Andrew McCauley said.

The Sands development backs onto the Karaaf Wetlands, and because of a Section 173 agreement with the council 15 years ago, all homeowners within the estate had to sign up to an environmental management plan.

According to the report, there is still work to be done today on the infrastructure of the stormwater drainage system.

“There are two solutions the council can take in remedying the extra gigalitre of stormwater, essentially,” Mr McCauley said.

“Either they extend the foreshore wetlands by another kilometre, which is massive, or they build a dam somewhere to store that water.

“But at the end of the day, the Karaaf is a hyper-saline wetland and fresh water is not its friend.”

The Department of Water, Land and Planning has already restarted the process in designating the Karaaf Wetlands and Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve as a Ramsar site.

This will provide substantially stronger legal protection to the important wetlands, as development stormwater continues to flow in from The Quay, The Dunes and the Stretton estates.

The latest move by Mr McCauley and his mission to save the wetlands has been starting a Facebook page to demonstrate strong community support for the Ramsar certification process, which requires federal and state funding.

More government funding will also be pivotal in future catchment monitoring to maintain positive water quality performance of all the feeder wetlands.

“We recognise the significant environmental and cultural value of the Karaaf Wetlands and acknowledge community concerns about the impact of stormwater on its ecological health,” Surf Coast Shire acting general manager for governance and infrastructure John Bertoldi said.

“While Parks Victoria is the land manager for the Karaaf Wetlands themselves, council is the management authority for stormwater systems immediately upstream of the wetlands.

“We acknowledge stormwater is impacting on the ecology of the Karaaf Wetlands.

“Overall stormwater quality is good, but we do need to better understand the impact of freshwater flows into the Karaaf.

“Sediment from work sites may be another factor impacting on downstream wetlands.”

The shire says it is also carrying out short-term works and a large-scale review on how the stormwater arrangements, under the council’s jurisdiction, affect the Karaaf Wetlands.

These works include awarding a new contract for the maintenance of all its water-sensitive urban design assets, including the wetlands feeding into the Karaaf, starting a campaign to ensure nearby building sites are properly managing litter and soil dispersal, and working with developers who manage wetlands in north Torquay that feed into the Karaaf to improve their management and maintenance.

To view the full report, head to the “Save the Karaaf Wetlands, Torquay” page on Facebook.