Stormwater greening Geelong Botanic Gardens and Eastern Park

Geelong’s Botanic Gardens and Eastern Park will be greener thanks to the construction of new stormwater irrigation infrastructure. The Australian Government is providing funding of $415,000 for the Eastern Park project, which is part of $2.79 million in Australian Government funding for the broader Stormwater Harvesting and Reuse - Geelong’s Plan project.

Senator Don Farrell, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water, said the stormwater project would improve water supply security for the Botanic Gardens and Eastern Park.

“The new stormwater harvesting infrastructure will capture approximately 30 million litres of water a year, reducing reliance on drinking-quality water and allowing the Botanic Gardens and Eastern Park to access water in all conditions,” he said.

“The project will also have benefits for the environmental health of Corio Bay as it will capture stormwater that is being discharged into the bay, treat it and hold it in a storage basin.”

The storage basin is in the form of a man-made lake and will be surrounded by thousands of indigenous plants. Harvested water will flow through a pond and into the lake, which will hold approximately four million litres of water.

Member for Corio, Richard Marles, said the Eastern Park project was a good example of how water-saving measures can benefit the community.

“Most importantly, this project helps save Geelong’s precious drinking water; it provides our much-loved and iconic Botanic Gardens with its own water supply; and, finally, the project has created a new plant and water feature in the landscape of Eastern Gardens,” Marles said.

Senator Farrell said the project was one of five stormwater harvesting projects being funded by the Australian Government in the City of Greater Geelong.

“$2.79 million has been provided for the five projects under the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative,” he said.

“Together, the five projects will save up to 222 million litres of water each year, saving our precious drinking water supplies.”