Maylands Lakes

Edith Cowan University students are visiting the lakes on Monday 29 July as part of a site tour of Perth wetlands highlighting the challenges in managing urban waterways.

At its July meeting, Council voted unanimously to award the Maylands Lakes Environmental Restoration Masterplan tender to Alluvium Consulting.

Alluvium Consulting provides catchment, river and coastal analysis and advice, designing strategies and devising practical solutions to issues associated with natural and built environments.

Awarding the tender fulfills one of a range of new actions endorsed by Council for the City to undertake in its efforts to address environmental conditions at Maylands Lakes.

In April, Council endorsed the scope for the Maylands Lakes Environmental Restoration Masterplan, which was broadened to include the option to investigate mechanical pumping and filtration. Other options, including relevant case studies, will also be considered during the Masterplan process.

Development of the Masterplan will span the following 12 to 18 months, with stages including data review, stakeholder and community engagement, preliminary concept development, and detailed design.

In addition to stakeholder and community engagement, members of the Maylands Lakes Scientific Advisory Panel will oversee the development of the Masterplan.

The City has undertaken a larvicide treatment at Lake Bungana for midge. The City is monitoring midge numbers at Maylands Lakes in order to effectively target management actions.

The City of Bayswater is inviting community members to take part in the restoration and enhancement of the vegetated area around Lake Bungana as part of water quality improvement works at Maylands Lakes.

This program of works aims to improve water quality, provide habitat for native animals and improve the visual amenity of Lake Bungana. The area is currently dominated by Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) and River Sheoak (Casuarina cunninghamiana) tree species.

As part of the Maylands Lakes Restoration Plan, the City is seeking to replace these invasive tree species with native vegetation along the Lake Bungana shore to assist with nutrient stripping and create a more diverse environment to provide habitat for fauna.

A community planting day, seeking to add 2,000 native plants to the area, will take place from 9am to 12pm on Sunday 4 August 2024.

The workshop report, slides and action list from the Community Forum can be found below and in the Documents section to the right-hand side of this page.

• Workshop Report
• Slides
• Action List

To stay up to date, residents are encouraged to subscribe to this project by clicking the Subscribe button at the top-right of the page.

Next week, you may notice City staff onsite taking measurements at the Brickworks stream between Lake Bungana and Brickworks Lake.

This is to determine the shape of the land and to understand how water moves through the lake system.

No works are associated with this site investigation.

At its Ordinary Council Meeting held on 30 April 2024, Council considered a report regarding the management of Maylands Lakes.

In addition to other actions, it was resolved:

• "That Council: Requests the Chief Executive Officer to call for Expressions of Interest for the use of pumps and filtration at the Maylands Lakes and provides a report back to Council on the outcomes.”

Accordingly, the City has called for expressions of interest for pump and filtration solutions for Maylands Lakes.

Outcomes of this will be presented to Council as a report.

Submissions close at 4pm on Tuesday 9 July 2024.

The EOI document can be viewed by clicking here or by visiting the Documents section to the right-hand side of this page.

On Saturday 15 June, the City held its first Maylands Lakes Community Forum at the Maylands Sport and Recreation Club. Thank you to the 56 residents who attended.

The City is committed to finding a solution to the poor water quality and midge issues being experienced at Maylands Lakes.

The report and slides from the Community Forum will be published on this page within the next two weeks.

To stay up to date, residents are encouraged to subscribe to this project by clicking the Subscribe button at the top-right of the page.

The City of Bayswater is seeking an additional member with a background in engineering and/or environmental engineering to join the Maylands Lakes Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP).

The role of the SAP is to oversee the development of the Maylands Lakes Environmental Restoration Masterplan. The SAP currently includes:

• five experts in a range of relevant fields (including Applied Ecology, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Science, Environmental Biology and Hydrology), and
• two community members.

SAP workshops are undertaken during business hours and can involve site visits. It is expected there would be no more than 12 workshops in a given year. SAP members receive payment for meeting attendance.

To apply, please email alex.devine@bayswater.wa.gov.au with the following information:

• qualifications
• experience with similar projects
• identification of any conflicts of interest
• why you are interested.

Applications close Friday 12 July 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact Alex Devine, Environment Manager, on 9272 0660.

Following recent heavy rainfall, the City has noted a spike in midge activity around Lake Brearley through its ongoing monitoring regime and night inspections.

The City continues to actively work on reducing midge numbers through the application of larvicides to maximum permitted levels and through the mechanical disruption of midge breeding areas in the lake.

The City has arranged for the installation of a temporary mobile light tower to help attract midge away from residential properties, and is commissioning an additional 16 midge traps in partnership with the Bayswater Community Men’s Shed to assist in managing midge in the area.

Existing midge traps have been adjusted to turn on earlier in the evening to better intercept midge before they reach light sources on private properties.

To help minimise the impact of midge during these times of elevated breeding, residents can:

• Keep windows and doors closed at sunset and early in the morning
• Place blacklight traps outside their property
• Install fine mesh fly-screens
• Reduce the wattage of external lights
• Use yellow external lights
• Apply a registered residual barrier insecticide on external harbourage areas of your home. Impacted residents can obtain a barrier insecticide and supporting information free of charge by contacting the City’s Environmental Health team on 9272 0648.

Pictured: Mayor Filomena Piffaretti with Bayswater Community Men’s Shed members.