Esplanade pipeline idea for Karaaf questioned

A PLAN to reactivate a pump and pipe under The Esplanade at Torquay to pull stormwater out of the Karaaf wetlands has some merit, according to local residents, but there are questions about its cost and how it will work with other proposals to help protect the area.

At their meeting last month, Surf Coast Shire councillors received an update from officers on how to best divert freshwater running off nearby housing developments away from the naturally saline Karaaf Wetlands and prevent any further damage.

The investigations revealed it may be viable to re-establish the pumping of water from the constructed wetland on The Esplanade – near the entrance to The Sands estate – to the mouth of Deep Creek, but further work is needed.

The report estimates this could reduce the existing stormwater volumes going into the Karaaf Wetlands by between 40 and 50 per cent.

Groups including The Sands Owners Corporation have been campaigning for years about increasing degradation of the internationally recognised wetland system.

The Sands Owners Corporation spokesperson Andy McCauley said he was unaware of any plans to use The Esplanade pump and pipe until they were raised at the council meeting.

“It’s not a bad solution – I could argue about the volume they say they’re going to save, but the first thing is it depends on how much it costs.

“That whole pipeline needs a lot of rehabilitation, I don’t know whether it’s full of sediment or not, but bits of it are bad.

“I don’t know whether it’s the best option, but it’s certainly not the only option – it was presented to the council as ‘You’ll either do this or we do nothing’ – well, that’s insane.”

Barwon Water has started a 12-month project to develop a concept design and business case for the agricultural reuse of the stormwater now entering the Karaaf by mixing it with recycled water from Barwon Water’s Black Rock plant.

Mr McCauley estimated that project would cost about $30 million in total and would be part of a much bigger plan to eventually pipe the mixed stormwater even further.

“We’re going into a dry period; what that means to the water, I don’t know,” he said.

“But we’re talking about spending I don’t know how much or how long before it’s completely redundant, because once the Barwon Water thing is in, this [Esplanade pump] is totally unneccesary.”

Reinstating the pump and pipe system is one of several priorities the shire provided to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water following its request for information on an allocation of $1.9 million under the federal government’s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program.

The others included improving the Esplanade constructed wetland bed and vegetation to improve water quality, and ecological monitoring of the Karaaf Wetlands and water level monitoring at two constructed wetlands sites.

“This funding will play a big part in progressing diversion and quality improvement options, however we believe additional funding will be required to cover all of the works needed in the coming years,” Cr Kate Gazzard said.

The shire says it is also focused on the problem of sediment washing into the stormwater system by monitoring developers and builders more regularly.