Perth Voice Interactive

BAYSWATER council will attempt to rejuvenate the ailing Lake Bungana in Maylands using an experimental dredging technique.

Bungana and nearby Lake Brearley are artificial lakes constructed from abandoned claypits at Maylands Peninsula, and they’ve been plagued with toxic levels of algae for years because of nutrient buildup.

The lake’s wildlife is also suffering – except for the mosquitoes who love the stagnant water – and the stench is often unbearable.

A report on the lake by council staff states “this project is relatively unique” because of the depth of the lake and the need to “precisely remove a large volume of sediment”.

At this week’s council meeting, councillors unanimously voted to spend $251,000 to hire Drainflow Services to perform the precise, experimental dredging.

To further fight the funk accumulating in the lake, they’ll apply “Phoslock”, a CSIRO-developed absorbent clay that binds with phosphorous; one of the major feeders of algae.

If the dredging is successful at Bungana, it will be carried out at Lake Brearley.

by DAVID BELL