Many of you will have noticed that extensive earthworks are proceeding where the Moremac housing development meets Swan Bay at Lakers Cutting. These earthworks will establish the input and discharge channels linking Swan Bay to the canal that runs through the development. There are several silt screens in place to minimise the spread of sediment disturbed by the earthworks from entering Swan Bay. My limited observations suggest these have been effective at preventing turbid water reaching Lakers Cutting.
My long-term concern remains the increased input of nutrients from the development as more houses are built. Reed beds are planned to trap some nutrients before they reach the canal, but we will
not know how effective these are for many years. We have established a 12-month nutrient baseline for Lakers Cutting, which shows that the highest nutrients in Lakers Cutting occur during periods of spring tides over summer. Further nutrient measurements in Lakers Cutting next summer would improve our baseline and make it easier to identify any slow increase in nutrient inputs to Swan Bay, at the time of year when detrimental algal blooms are most likely.
In other news: ‘Our new hothouse’; ‘Interested in getting involved?’ in Gardens for Wildlife; ‘Coastal activities and training’ with the Bellarine Catchment Network; information about the ‘War against Waste’