A range of revitalised free visitor areas are now available at Coliban Water’s main storage reservoirs thanks to work completed by reservoir staff.
Acting Manager Community Operations Leon Stackpole said about $400,000 has been invested over four years to create dedicated visitor areas at Lauriston, Malmsbury and Upper Coliban reservoir.
“We encourage the public to make use of these great areas. Some include parking spaces, picnic tables, views of the storages, access to the water’s edge and new toilet facilities in some locations,” said Mr Stackpole.
The visitor areas are clearly marked in Coliban Water’s Discover Our Reservoirs guide.
The Shepherds Hill Visitor Area has reopened at Lauriston Reservoir with three main parking areas. At Malmsbury Reservoir, the Portwines Road Visitor Area is available, and at Upper Coliban Reservoir the Kyneton-Springhill Road Visitor Area is now available, boasting great views of the spillway and storage.
On the eastern side of Upper Coliban, three main parking areas are available on Premier Mine Road and the Beggs Lane Visitor Area is available too from Kyneton-Springhill Road.
Until now, visitor areas at Malmsbury, Lauriston and Upper Coliban reservoirs existed but were needing improvement works and better signage. In some cases, driving areas were hard to identify which led to some visitors causing environmental damage by driving off the dedicated tracks and roads.
“We’ve had visitors who have caused four-wheel drive damage, been bogged, left rubbish, lit fires or even dumped cars at our drinking water storages. It’s a shame this anti-social behavior happens,” said Mr Stackpole.
“We think these dedicated visitor areas and associated signs allow the community better access and a chance to enjoy the surroundings, whilst respecting these beautiful areas.”
Many areas are seeing natural regeneration of native species now that vehicles are not moving through them.
“We’ve got a dedicated team who enjoy improving and maintaining these facilities for visitors,” said Mr Stackpole.
“It all comes back to protecting the environment and providing clean drinking water for our communities. The more we can do to protect the water storages by having these dedicated visitor areas, the better.”
The Kyneton-Springhill Road Visitor Area at Upper Coliban Reservoir has been flagged as one of the best revitalised places for visitors to check out.
“It features a new shelter and wheelchair-friendly table from a fantastic vantage point overlooking the spillway. It is a great place for a picnic or for artists to come and use for inspiration,” he said.
Fine gravel has been used around the new viewing area to make it accessible to all visitors.
Last updated on 08 Jul 2019