A BIO-INFILTRATION swale is replacing a dirty old storm water drain at Rye, to become the first of its kind on the Mornington Peninsula.
Friends of Rye Foreshore worked in partnership with Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Chris Lyne, Jessica Wingad and Mel Burridge and contractors to weed the swale and plant about 11,000 indigenous, water tolerant plants as part of a natural filtration system.
The plants will clean stormwater of pollutants as it flows through the sand dunes. Street litter will be collected via a gross pollution trap. A timber boardwalk along the swale leads to the beach. The group hopes that in 12 months the site will be visually appealing with no polluted storm water going into the bay.
Rye Community Group Alliance initiated the project, financed by the shire, the state government’s Port Phillip Bay Fund and Melbourne Water.
The alliance’s Mechelle Cheers said the group could now “close the books on this great collaborative project”.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 23 November 2021
