Port Phillip Bay dredging confirmed
Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 4:20 pm- Port Phillip Bay.jpg (37.91 KiB) Viewed 25101 times
If the proposed 70 year lease of the Port of Melbourne or the development of Bay West (Geelong) go ahead, further dredging and blasting of Port Phillip Bay Heads will be inevitable. The original dredging was supposed to be a short-term fix while other avenues were explored. It has caused unforeseen damage to Mornington Peninsula beaches. How far would the damage extend if a further 2-3 metres were added to the depth of the channel? Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen by supporting any community action against future dredging.
Portland, a natural deep harbour, was excluded from past deliberations because of the poor maintenance of our country railways. Would it not be better to put the money needed for dredging towards the long overdue upgrade of our VicRail infrastructure – with the added bonus of another decentralization project to move jobs away from Melbourne to regional Victoria.
Here are some recent and earlier articles related to dredging and Ports.
July 2015 - Frankston City Council lobbies against port plans
http://baysidenews.com.au/2015/07/13/frankston-lobbies-against-port-plans/
July 2015 - Mornington Peninsula Shire Councillors have called for an urgent meeting with the state government to discuss their plans for the future development of the Port of Hastings and a long-term lease of the Port of Melbourne
http://www.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Whats_On/News/Council_seeks_urgent_meeting_with_state_government_over_Port_of_Hastings_future
July 2015 - Dredging threat to Port Phillip Heads
http://divevic.com.au/about/news-and-media-releases/article/16/dredging-threat-to-port-phillip-heads.html
July 2015 - MPs play footy with the bay
http://mpnews.com.au/2015/07/13/mps-play-footy-with-the-bay/
June 2015 - Victorian Government refuses to rule out blasting the Port Phillip Bay heads to allow bigger ships through
http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jun/26/greg-hunt-says-plans-to-lease-port-of-melbourne-environmental-vandalism
June 2015 - State government rejects claim port lease will lead to environmental damage
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/state-government-rejects-claim-port-lease-will-lead-to-environmental-damage/
May 2015 - Leasing the Port of Melbourne
http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/Infrastructure-Delivery/Leasing-the-Port-of-Melbourne
2014 - Bay West - Geelong
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/dredging-blow-to-port-plan-20140409-36djo.html
...... risking ''sea level rises in the bay (at least two centimetres)" ...
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/labor-floats-plan-for-giant-pier-out-into-port-phillip-in-its-bay-west-port-plan-20140730-zy7u5.html
November, 2014 - Minor dredging needed for Hastings port expansion, study finds
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-state-election-2014/minor-dredging-needed-for-hastings-port-expansion-study-finds-20141127-11ugjy.html
July 2013 - Beach loss linked to dredging
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/beach-loss-linked-to-dredging-20130706-2pj8b.html
2009 report - Contaminated sites - bund off Mordialloc
Heavy metals and contaminants were shifted from the Yarra mouth near Newport to a dumping zone off Mordialloc without major incident. Investigators found the dumping zone - known as a bund - was constructed properly, effectively sandwiching the contaminants between layers of clean sand on the bay floor. Experts say ongoing monitoring of the bund's stability will be needed.
Not nice to have the contaminated rubbish so close to Seaford. One wonders if it is being monitored and what will happen if it does leak.
Wonder where the next dumping site will be?
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/after-the-dredging-20090923-g2p1.html#ixzz3fqkioFIh
http://www.depi.vic.gov.au/forestry-and-land-use/coasts/marine/bays-inlets-estuaries-and-lakes/port-phillip-bay
http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/our-work/monitoring-the-environment/monitoring-port-phillip-bay
2009 revisited
http://www.theage.com.au/multimedia/dredge/main.html
Channel deepening Port Phillip Bay Blue Wedges Home against the dredge
Have you been to Portsea recently?
http://www.bluewedges.org.au/
The Liberal Party is against dredging
http://www.savethebay.com.au/
A student's dredging article
http://blogs.toorakcollege.vic.edu.au/katec1/tag/dredging/
Seaford Foreshore Erosion
http://www.seafordcc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=152
(Click on images to view & close)