Dredging - Office of the Environmental Monitor
Dredging Port Phillip Bay | ||||||
| Dredging of Port Phillip Bay to deepen the existing shipping channels began on 8 February 2008. Dredging and associated works were completed on 25 November 2009. The Office of the Environmental Monitor brings an added layer of scrutiny to the Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project. The Office provides an around-the-clock, independent and transparent view of the environmental performance of the dredging project to the regulators and the Victorian community. Led by the Acting Environmental Monitor, Don Hough, the Office uses a wide range of information and monitoring data to assess whether or not the project has followed the rules set by the Environmental Management Plan. | ||||||
| Environmental monitoring of the Bay will continue until the end of 2011. Data from more than 20 monitoring programs operating across Port Phillip Bay is routinely examined by the Office to detect any changes to its health. The results from these programs are available on this website, which aims to be a one-stop-shop for all data, information, reports and advice on the project. | ||||||
| The Office has investigated claims that erosion on Portsea Beach was caused by dredging. Reports on the stability of the Great Sands in the south of the Bay indicate that swell waves from Bass Strait reaching Portsea do not cross the portion of the Entrance that was dredged, making it implausible that the erosion of Portsea beach has resulted from increased wave energy due to the project. A history of changes to Port Phillip Bay's beaches shows that episodes of severe erosion have been a feature of the Bay for more than 100 years, and that Portsea is not an exception. All relevant reports are available here. The Office has concluded that the erosion at Portsea beach is not attributable to the Project. It was due to a series of natural events and has occurred in the past. | ||||||
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