By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
A SILT and rubbish riddled creek in Berwick has been slammed as “disgraceful” by a local resident who says it could be the scene of a drowning in the future if it is left un-dredged.
Irene Phillips said the creek, which runs under Parkhill Drive between Warrawong Drive and Pinewood Crescent, had become unsafe and unhygienic as a result of a silt build-up and dumped rubbish.
“It’s disgraceful; we cleaned it up last year for Clean Up Australia Day so imagine what it was like before!” Ms Phillips, from the nearby Timbarra Estate, said.
“Since it (the creek) has been put in, they have never dredged it once.”
Ms Phillips said the silt build-up in the Melbourne Water-maintained creek was its most hazardous element and could lead to tragedy.
“Its unhygienic, it’s revolting and dangerous. We are forced to put fences around our pools, why can’t the creek be a clean area?” she asked.
“If a child goes down there and slips in the creek, you’ll never be able to see them to pull them out.”
Melbourne Water Manager of Waterways for the south-east region, Greg Bain, said there was only a small amount of silt in the creek and that it was not causing any issues to the water flow.
He said the creek was a man-made channel with the primary role of draining water away from the water catchment.
“Any need for silt removal will be prioritised among other works across the 8400 kilometres of waterways that Melbourne Water manages,” Mr Bain said.
“Rubbish dumping is illegal and punishable by fine under local council laws, so we encourage people to report such incidents to the City of Casey.”
Mr Bain said Melbourne Water maintained the creek at regular intervals throughout the year and had since removed the rubbish from the channel.
“Litter poses a threat to the health of the surrounding environment,” he said.
“It’s always frustrating to have to remove dumped rubbish as it detracts time and resources away from more important activities like revegetation and habitat maintenance.”
Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan said the state of the creek was an ongoing problem for Timbarra residents and was being ignored by authorities.
