Warrnambool City Council will review its policy for cleaning mounds of seaweed that pile up on Lady Bay each year following a petition signed by hundreds of people.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Councillors voted on Monday night for a report to be prepared outlining options for cleaning the area in front of the pavilion.
The report on the cost, environmental impacts and challenges will be presented to a future informal meeting of council.
The petition, started by Tammy Good, attracted 250 signatures calling for seaweed in front of the pavilion to be removed because it was becoming a safety hazard.
Ms Good said seaweed was left to pile up to a metre-high between the pavilion and Worm Bay despite heavy machinery being regularly brought in to clear seaweed further along the beach towards the surf club.
The council said vehicles getting bogged and costs were behind reasons that section of the beach was not regularly cleaned.
MORE READS:
During public question time, Ms Good also asked if the council would consider using a purpose-manufactured seaweed rake - which is used worldwide - rather than the current heavy loader which she said removed massive amounts of sand off the beach along with seaweed.
"Could the seaweed at the front of the pavilion be removed completely with the same seaweed rake and tipper?" she said.
"Perhaps seaweed could be mulched and used as per the city of Kingston Seaweed Removal plan."
Acting chief executive officer Vikki King said she would refer the request to staff who would consider it as it put together its report for councillors.
The council agenda identified a number of challenges with removing seaweed at the front of the pavilion.
"There has been significant depositing of seaweed in this location at least as long as the breakwater has been in place," it says.
"Over many years this has led to significant organic material rotting down through the sand layer resulting in very soft and boggy geotechnical conditions."
Previous efforts to clear the area with the council's loader, like it does along the rest of the beach, had resulted in it becoming bogged, the council says.
The council says while the area could be cleared by hiring an excavator to load into trucks capable of travelling along the beach, it would be a slow and costly exercise.
The agenda also says removing the top layer of fresh seaweed exposes the rotting layers mixed with sand below, resulting in more pungent smell being released.
"The seaweed can also re-deposit in the area in large quantities in a matter of days with the right ocean conditions," it says.
The agenda also points out that permits do not allow the removal of seaweed from the beach.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.standard.net.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters.
- Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
- Tap here to open our Google News page.
- Join our Courts and Crime Facebook group and our dedicated Sport Facebook group.
- If you have subscribed, join our subscriber-only Facebook group.
- Subscribe.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.