Bundoora Park dam

To irrigate the golf course, water from the dam is metered (measured) and transferred to a smaller dam, lower in the system and closer to the golf course. Due to the large storage capacity of the dam, water can be stored for months and used for irrigating the golf course when needed. Any overflow (during periods of high rainfall) can be released into the Darebin Creek.
If more water is needed for irrigation, Darebin City Council also has a licence to draw water from the Darebin Creek’s high flows for irrigation.

A ‘Toro’ computerised, water-efficient irrigation system monitors the amount of water released for irrigation. The system is controlled by sensors which can choose a targeted area to irrigate, or shut off irrigation when it is raining.
This project is a part of the holistic approach (an approach that considers all the things that affect something and all the things it is affected by) of water cycle management that Council has adopted. It achieves all the following aims:

• Potable Water Substitution – an equal amount of harvested water is used in place of potable water.
• Efficiency – the irrigation system and watering regimes for the golf course have been improved and Council abides by Melbourne’s permanent water saving rules.
• Demand Management – golf course fairways have been converted to a type of turf that has low water needs.
• Flood Mitigation – stormwater is collected and filtered through the dam and wetland system to slow its flow into Darebin Creek, mitigating (reducing) flood risks.
• Receiving Water Habitat Protection – in the past, during storms, stormwater from surrounding areas washed litter, hydrocarbons (oils) and other pollutants into the Darebin Creek, which is home to abundant wildlife such as fish, frogs and birds. The Bundoora Park dam and wetlands system reduces the amount of stormwater flowing into the creek and makes it much cleaner. This reduces erosion (loosening of soil on creek banks) and improves the quality of water in the creek, which is beneficial to the plants and animals that live in and around the creek.

• A large (49 megalitre capacity) dam for storing stormwater for use in irrigation of the golf course.
• An intuitive irrigation system that responds to dry conditions and shuts off when it is raining.
• An overflow system that channels excess treated stormwater into Darebin Creek.

Early 1990s

The dam system was constructed.

2007

Works to enlarge the dam from its original 8 megalitre capacity to a much larger 49 megalitre capacity commenced.

Approximately $435,000 was spent enlarging the dam in 2007.

City of Darebin’s Parks and Gardens team manage and monitor the irrigation of the golf course.

The Bundoora Park dam and wetlands system allows stormwater to be stored and used for irrigation year-round, keeping the golf-course and parklands in good condition in all seasons, benefiting the community. Running the system costs a lot less than it would to irrigate the grounds with tap water. This saves Council and rate-payers money and helps preserve the community’s drinking water supply.

The project benefits the environment in the following ways:

• Any excess treated stormwater that is stored in Bundoora Park dam can be released from the lower irrigation dam into the Darebin Creek to provide an environmental flow when needed (eg. to flush out pollutants, or boost water levels during droughts).
• The enlarged stormwater storage dam, as well as its banks and surrounding areas, provides habitat (homes) and water for wildlife that live in the park. The dam may even offer a refuge for threatened species during drought periods.

Many animals and insects such as platypus, fish, frogs, birds, native water rats and water bugs live in and around the Darebin Creek and our other local creeks, waterways and wetlands. The Bundoora Park dam and wetlands system reduces the amount of stormwater entering these waterways which flow into the Yarra River and eventually into Port Phillip Bay. It helps to make sure the water that does enter the waterways is relatively clean. The wetland system also provides much needed habitat for wildlife in Bundoora Park.

Darebin City Council acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners and custodians of this land and pays respect to their Elders past and present.

Approximately $200,000 was provided by the Victorian State Government for this project in 2006, through the Stormwater and Urban Water Conservation Fund.