$6.2 million price tag on Lake Wendouree upkeep

The figures show $6.2 million has been spent on the lake since 2007-08.

Users say the money has been well spent, with the lake again attracting major events with flow-on economic benefits.

Ballarat City Council has spent almost $3.6 million on rowing course and foreshore works in the past six years.

A further $1.8 million was spent on weed cutting in just four years.

Details obtained by The Courier through a Freedom of Information request show water to fill the lake since 2009-10 has added another $805,000.

Ballarat City Councillor Samantha McIntosh said, while it was fantastic the lake was full, the cost blowout was disappointing.

In February last year, Cr McIntosh requested a financial report into all the lake works and received it in September, hours before the former council went into caretaker mode ahead of the October local government election. 

“The full lake looks exceptionally spectacular and it will have a positive effect on the health of our community,” Cr McIntosh said.

“But it’s a shame expenses did blow out.

“We were given a number of reasons why. Whether they were appropriate or not is up to the interpretation of them.”

Cr McIntosh said it would have been good to have received the report earlier to help curtail unnecessary costs.

But Ballarat Rowing Association president Eric Waller said, from a rowing perspective, the money was well spent in the long term.

“It’s brought Ballarat back as a national rowing facility,” Mr Waller said.

“Predominantly now the interest is in getting a lot of major events here.”

Deepening the rowing course, which included the start, the second 500 metres and the finish, cost $778,000 between 2007-08 and 2009-10.

Dredging and creation of elevated weed banks between 2010-11 and 2012-13 cost $1.7 million.

Foreshore works were $287,000 while a new buoy system cost $363,000.

Pontoons were $136,000, a judges’ box was $113,000, a risk assessment and heritage management plan cost $86,000, project management was $67,000 and course advice was $60,000.

The rowing course alignment cost a further $4260.

Weed cutting cost $1.37 million in 2012 and this year — above the budgeted figure of $1.27 million — but only $302,623 in 2007, with no cutting done between 2008 and 2010.

However, the report said the 2012 weather season resulted in more than two and a half times the normal amount of weed extracted from the lake.

Ballarat City Council spent $562,000 on class A recycled water from the Central Highlands Water Ballarat North Treatment Plant between 2009-10 and 2012-13.

It also paid out $60,000 for Gong Gong Reservoir water in 2010/11 and $150,000 for water from the CHW Ring Road bore.

A further $13,000 was spent on infrastructure maintenance and $20,000 on powering the Paul’s and Redan Wetlands pumps.

fiona.henderson@fairfaxmedia.com.au