Stormwater from Burrumbeet Creek will help fill Lake Wendouree
BALLARAT City Council has taken a $1.25 million step towards further ensuring Lake Wendouree’s future.
A pipeline will be built between Ring Road and Lake Wendouree to harvest excess stormwater from the Burrumbeet Creek.
Part of the Harnessing Ballarat’s Storm Water Project, the pipeline will be built by Ballarat firm Pipecon Pty Ltd.
Storm flows in the creek upstream of Miners Rest will be diverted to a Ring Road detention basin, delivered to the Monastery drain and gravity-fed into Lake Wendouree via the North Gardens wetlands.
In a report to the council, public spaces and environment manager Ian Rossiter said a consultation process had been undertaken to ensure water harvesting did not further reduce the Burrumbeet Creek’s summer flows.
While the contract is worth $1.25 million, a final cost will depend on how much rock is encountered during the construction period.
Voting on the proposal at Wednesday night’s Ballarat City Council meeting, Councillor John Philips said it was important to protect the Burrumbeet Creek.
“During the summer period, that creek generally stops flowing,” Cr Philips said.
“It’s important if water is being harvested, there is water still flowing through the creek.
“But this motion is a good way forward.”
The pipeline - to be called the Ring Road Detention Basin and Storm Water Harvesting proposal – will harvest an annual 400 megalitres of stormwater.
It will include a new detention basin, storm water diversion weir, pump station and pipeline.
The project comes after significant investment in ensuring the lake’s prosperity during the drought, including 600 megalitres of treated waste water from the Ballarat North Treatment Plant and up to 250 megalitres of stormwater from Paul’s Wetland being diverted into the lake annually and a $1 million project to harvest stormwater from the Redan Wetlands which began in 2010.
Earlier this year, The Courier reported that annual allocations from Central Highlands Water was being used to combat evaporation in the lead up to the 100th anniversary of the Head of the Lake regatta.
The Harnessing Ballarat’s Storm Water Project is being funded by Ballarat City Council, Regional Development Victoria, Sport and Recreation Victoria and the DSE.