Painkalac Creek Estuary

Overview

Estuary name	Painkalac Creek Estuary
CMA	Corangamite CMA
Description	Painkalac Creek Estuary is approximately 3.5km in length and has a catchment area of 318.1Ha. It is a beautiful coastal lagoon system which attracts the spotted green frog and the eastern banjo frog (Pobblebonk).
Estuary Values	the Painkalac Creek estuary has been identified as an Important Bird Area significant birds can be found on the Painkalac Creek estuary such as the Eastern Great Egret (Ardea modesta) Status: Vulnerable (Adv list), Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) Status: Near Threatened (Adv list), Royal Spoonbill (Platalea regia) Status: Vulnerable (Adv List) Riparian Forest Ecological Vegetation Class (Vulnerable) Swampy Riparian Woodland Ecological Vegetation Class (Endangered) Riparian Scrub/Swampy Riparian Woodland Complex Ecological Vegetation Class (Depleted) Sedgy Riparian Woodland Ecological Vegetation Class (Depleted) canoeing, kayaking and stand up paddling picnics and barbecues recreational fishing sightseeing swimming
Estuary Threats	Degraded estuarine vegetation Disturbance of Acid Sulphate Soils Artificial estuary openings Flow deviation Stock access Bed instability
Data	Site observations
Status	Active
Monitor group	Painkalac Creek EstuaryWatchers
Document	Painkalac_Estuary_Management_Plan.pdf
Document	Painkalac Creek Estuary Fact Sheet

Map

Sites

Site details	Options
P1 Estuary mouth area approximately 20m behind sand dune at estuary mouth Retired Physico-Chemical 23-05-2007 - 23-05-2007 Estuary mouth area approximately 20m behind sand dune at estuary mouth	Observations 1
P2 Great Ocean Road Bridge at Aireys Inlet Active Physico-Chemical 11-05-2007 - 12-03-2023 Great Ocean Road Bridge at Aireys Inlet - centre post	Observations 204
P3 Coastal Court Fishing Platform Active Physico-Chemical 14-07-2007 - 12-03-2023 Fishing platform adjacent to Coastal Court	Observations 147
P4 The Bend Active Physico-Chemical 19-10-2007 - 12-03-2023 Fishing platform at The Bend in the estuary	Observations 168
P5 Woods Property Fairhaven Active Physico-Chemical 23-05-2007 - 12-02-2023 Fishing jetty at private property. Property owner consent required for access.	Observations 160
PGB Painkalac Creek Water Level Gauge Board Active Gauge Board The water level gauge board, used in the mouth condition monitoring process, is located under the Great Ocean bridge. It can be read from the western bank on the inland side of the bridge.
PMC Painkalac Creek Observation Site Active Mouth Condition 23-05-2007 - 12-03-2023 Lookout platform on eastern side of estuary	Observations 260
Pp1 Painkalac Creek Photopoint Active Photopoint 13-08-2010 - 13-03-2023 Lookout platform on eastern side of estuary	Photos 660

Recent Events

Event Details
25-07-2022 Estuary Entrance Opening Dear Community members With the recent partial opening on July 15th, Council has been monitoring Painkalac Creek water levels. With a saturated catchment any inflows over the past 2 weeks have resulted in water level rise. The weekends 7mm of rain in the catchment saw river levels rise to 1.9 metres which results in minor drain flooding along roadsides in specific low lying areas. The reservoir is currently full and is therefore not able to hold back any upstream inflows. The sand berm at the river mouth is blocking the river flows and is approximately 0.65metres above the estuary water levels. With a further rainfall forecast of 20mm due and without removal of the sand berm, it is likely water levels will rise enough to cause flooding to houses. Council is therefore proposing to open the estuary mouth today with the support of CCMA, Barwon Water and DELWP. Sharna Whitehead Surf Coast Shire Council PS from Rod Brooks: The estuary had naturally closed on 13 August but naturally reopened on 14 August following rainfall and then naturally closed on 11 September 2022
21-07-2022 EstuaryWatch Monitoring Group notices & meetings Painkalac Creek fringing vegetation type maps from 2017 These maps have been made by one of EstuaryWatch team Evy Gomm using open source data collected by Sinclair and Kohout 2018 The online data source is: https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/index-of-estuarine-condition-estuarine-fringing-vegetation The report where the data collection methods are described is attached: Sinclair, S.J. and Kohout, M. (2018). Assessment of fringing vegetation for the index of estuary condition. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report Series No. 290. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg, Victoria. 21-07-2022 17:00
15-07-2022 Estuary Entrance Opening Dear Community members With the recent wet weather, Council has been monitoring Painkalac Creek water levels. River levels have risen to 1.89 metres which results in minor drain flooding along roadsides in specific low lying areas. The reservoir is currently full and is therefore not able to hold back any upstream inflows. The sand berm at the river mouth is blocking the river flows and is approximately 0.65 metres above the estuary water levels. With a further significant rainfall event due and without removal of the sand berm, it is likely water levels will rise enough to cause flooding to houses. Council is therefore proposing to open the estuary mouth today with the support of CCMA, Barwon Water and DELWP. Sharna Whiteheasd Coordinator Community Emergency Management Surf Coast Shire Council P.S. the opening was only partial and closed over in a few days.
17-06-2022 Estuary Entrance Opening Council digger artificially opening estuary mouth

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Estuary Snapshots

The EstuaryWatch snapshots provide a summary of estuary condition on a particular day. For all EstuaryWatch Snapshots, photopoint photos and a longitudinal water quality profile from the estuary mouth to the inland extent is displayed. Read more

Full estuary snapshots below use dates where samples at every active monitoring site were recorded. View full and partial snapshots

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