The Boronia Road retarding basin, VIC will be upgraded by Melbourne Water in partnership with Knox City Council. The upgrade will provide a greater level of flood protection to the local area and increase the size of surrounding parkland.
The project is part of Council’s Boronia Park Master Plan, which identified the need to improve the capacity, landscape and amenity at the retarding basin on the corner of Dorset and Boronia road. The project also included works to protect Blind Creek from urban pollutants that make their way into waterways via stormwater.
Melbourne Water Waterways Manager South East, Greg Bain, said excavating the existing floor and extending the footprint of the retarding basin provided an additional 4,500m3 of flood storage.
“The extra storage capacity will protect downstream properties which were previously affected by severe storms,” said Mr Bain.
“The area has a history of flooding, most recently in the 2011 flood event when properties in and around Park Crescent and Cypress Avenue, Boronia, were affected.
“We welcomed this partnership project with Knox City Council as a great opportunity to address existing flooding issues and build on that to deliver multiple benefits to the local community.”
Knox City Council Director Engineering and Infrastructure, Dr Ian Bell, said Council had worked closely with Melbourne Water over the past two years to identify ways to increase the storage capacity of the retarding basin and reduce flooding to residents’ properties, without losing a much-valued park site.
Knox City Council designed and constructed the project works with Melbourne Water contributing funds for the structural improvements to the retarding basin.
Works to the retarding basin also included improving retaining walls to make them safer, and creating inlet and outlet structures to drain water more quickly.
