Basin set on natural path

BARWON Water is transforming its Bellarine Basin site at Wallington into public open space, providing more than 30ha for the community.

The three-year project, which begins this month, will see removal of the old reservoir and associated infrastructure at the site on the corner of Grubb and Swan Bay roads, enabling the natural headwaters of Yarram Creek to be restored and wetlands established.

Barwon Water received $650,000 funding under the state government’s Distinctive Areas and Landscapes program and will contribute the same amount to the $1.3m project to begin remediating and revegetating the site.

Barwon Water managing director Tracey Slatter said it was delighted to work with the Wadawurrung traditional owners, community and key agencies to significantly improve the site’s environment.

“We want to transform the disused basin site into an area that enhances the unique and natural features of the Bellarine Peninsula so that it becomes a place people, birds and native animals can enjoy for generations to come,” Ms Slatter said.

The Bellarine Basin rehabilitation project would be delivered in stages over the next three years, with input sought from the community, she said.

The pine tree plantation, which contains trees nearing the end of their natural life, will be replaced in stages with indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses, and the security fencing on site will be dismantled.

“We have already been liaising with a number of local community and environmental groups, including the Bellarine Catchment Network and the Geelong Field Naturalists Club, who have welcomed the opportunity to be involved in this important project,” Ms Slatter said.

Bellarine Catchment Network program manager Matt Crawley said the project was an amazing opportunity for the community to improve the local environment.

“As an organisation focused on projects that protect and enhance the Bellarine environment, we couldn’t be more excited by this project,” Mr Crawley said.

Geelong Field Naturalists Club life member Craig Morley said the site was a place of beauty. “It’s important that we take the time to get this right so we can protect the flora, fauna and environmental value that has been retained or developed at the site because of its seclusion for more than 80 years,” he said.

Early stages of the project are under way, including a biodiversity assessment.

The basin was the main balancing storage for drinking water across the Bellarine Peninsula and was used from the 1930s until it was decommissioned in 2011.