Biodiversity and stormwater harvesting at Sefton Golf Course
Sefton Golf Course was transformed from a relatively plain and featureless golf course into an exemplar of water sustainability and urban ecology. The design was inspired by the Royal Melbourne Golf Course and its enhancement and management of significant heathland vegetation.
Instead of being the pride and joy of the golf course, the ponds had steep and unsightly eroding muddy banks. They were also a hazard to golfers attempting to retrieve golf balls. Every year in summer the ponds had severe algal blooms.
We developed a scheme which restored the ponds to a celebrated water feature on the course, significantly improved safety and planted significant areas of native meadow understories to the woodlands between the fairways.
The ponds are used as storage for stormwater, which is reused for irrigation at the golf course. The golf course relies on the storage for 100% of its water use. The works also included an innovative recirculating biofilter which allowed water to be circulated through a large raingarden to polish water and ensure high quality water in the ponds for both amenity and irrigation.
Scope
Landscape design / Stormwater treatment / Stormwater reuse / Civil design / Urban ecology
Phases
Feasibility / Concept Design / Detailed Design
Client
Canterbury Bankstown Council