Bays and Coasts
EPA programs
EPA is involved in programs aimed at understanding and protecting our bays, coasts and oceans.
Bay Beaches
Beach Report provides the community with the latest information on water quality and beach conditions at 36 Port Phillip Bay beaches during summer. The Beach Report season has finished for the summer of 2007/2008. The Program will commence again in December 2008.
EPA is continuing weekly monitoring of Port Phillip Bay Beaches in response to the community's interest in greater information about water quality at Bay beaches.
Port Phillip Bay - Baywide Monitoring Programs
To minimise the environmental effects to the Bay from the Channel Deepening Project, a set of rules were developed to control when, where and how dredging could be delivered. Supporting these rules is a suite of 13 baywide monitoring programs, which collect information on the bay’s health from 2008 to 2012. EPA is delivering programs to measure water quality and contaminant concentrations in fish of the lower Yarra River.
More about the Port Phillip Bay - Baywide Monitoring Programs.
Better Bays and Waterways program
Better Bays and Waterways aims to improve water quality in the region’s bays, rivers, creeks and estuaries. It is a partnership at the local, regional, state and national level.
The program will integrate current water quality activities with new ideas to frame water quality improvements for the major rivers, creeks, estuaries and bays.
Investigation at Black Rock near Geelong
Following comments in the media in June and July 2006 about the impact of Barwon Water's ocean outfall at Black Rock on the environment, EPA Victoria conducted an investigation into water quality at nearby beaches.
Investigation at Boags Rocks
EPA Victoria has recently completed an investigation into community reports of discolouration of water and foam at Mornington Peninsula surf beaches in the vicinity of the Melbourne Water ocean outfall at Boags Rocks.
Western Port beach water quality
As a result of community concerns about beach water quality, EPA is involved with partners in a project on the Western Port Bay. Testing for indicator bacteria was carried out during the 2005-06 summer and will again be conducted in 2006-07.
Surf diatoms
From time to time, visitors to surf beaches along the coast of Victoria notice patches of brown discolouration along the shore line. Although oil may occasionally be washed up on our beaches, this discolouration may be due to natural accumulations of large numbers of microscopic plants called diatoms.