Bayswater Brook (formerly known as the Bayswater Main Drain) was a natural brook in the north-eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, which discharges into the Swan River in the suburb of Bayswater. In the 1920s, due to urban development, the brook was turned into a network of drainage channels, which are partially covered and partially open. The brook's water source is runoff and groundwater. In the 1970s, the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary was built near the mouth of the brook. Water from the Bayswater Brook flows through the wetlands at the bird sanctuary before continuing to the Swan River. It has an average annual flow of 7.5 gigalitres (260 million cubic feet).
The Bayswater Brook catchment is the largest urban catchment in the Perth metropolitan area, with an area of 27 square kilometres (10 sq mi). The suburbs which are in the catchment area are Bassendean, Bayswater, Bedford, Dianella, Eden Hill, Morley and Noranda. There are several lakes and parks along the Bayswater Brook. They include Browns Lake Reserve, Nora Hughes Park and Russell Street Park in Morley, and Waverley Pola Reserve in Dianella.
The Bayswater Brook is the fifth highest contributor of nutrients into the Swan–Canning river system. The catchment area is on Bassendean Sands, which are poor at keeping nutrients. In 2015, the Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary underwent a rehabilitation project to reduce the amount of nutrients and rubbish entering the Swan River from the Bayswater Brook.
The City of Bayswater is working to create "living streams" and "micro wetlands" along the Bayswater Brook in order to improve water quality, attract wildlife and create new public open space. The City of Bayswater won an award in the 2018 Local Government Honour Awards for this.
References
- ^ "Bayswater Brook Catchment". City of Bayswater. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ "Bayswater Brook" (PDF). Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- "Bayswater Brook Local Water Quality Improvement Plan" (PDF). Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- Myers, Zoe. "More than just drains: recreating living streams through the suburbs". The Conversation. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- "Bayswater drain to be transformed". Media Statements. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- "Bayswater Brook Brochure" (PDF). Urban Bushland Council WA Inc. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- Lim, Kristie. "City takes home 2018 Local Government Honour Award for Bayswater Brook Catchment Management Project". Perth Now. Retrieved 30 August 2020.