Rains at last

[Isac]

Several inches of rain lately has filled the lake and with it came the ducks.
The swans may stay, who knows? The city slashed all the reeds and left them to rot, so the lake isn't looking that healthy at present.

[David_MC]

Nice shot of the swan. Shame about the reeds.

[Isac]

Thanks David. I thought the unusual curve of the neck was a bit different than normal and that's what inspired the shot. The City knows nothing about the reeds (we call them Bullrush (Typha orientalis) and they have been here for over 20 years and have never needed slashing. The lake now stinks, not pleasant.

[HansE]

I hope someone will question the council for the need to slash the rushes.

[Isac]

A few of us did and this is the reply we got. They have no idea. Our suburb is downhill from the City of Kalamunda and the council spend most of the rates collected "Up the Hill", so very little goes to looking after the "Down the Hill" suburbs, unless you're a councillor who lives in a particular area near our other small lake, which is always pristine with lovely manicured lawns, regularly mulched gardens and beautiful pathways.
Comment from City of Kalamunda.
"First off, thank you for writing in and explaining your situation and experience. We understand the smell can be offensive and the works look intrusive, and for this we apologies.

To answer your questions; the reed, Typha orientalis, were slashed due to how they spread and block up the flow of water. Left without control, they become very difficult to manage and would cause further degradation of the wetland ecosystem as they push other native sedges out.

Due to the high costs involved in the removal and that the area slashed only measured 1/8 of the lake, we had hoped the reeds left in situ would degrade sufficiently prior to the lake being filled again. Having had visited the site today (19/06/2024), we acknowledge there is an odour present which indeed is not too pleasant, but however is not too overbearing. We estimate the smell to dissipate soon as there is not much surface debris left. Regarding water quality, please note that degrading ecological matter is a natural process, and with the water flow cleared, this would not be degrading to the wildlife at present. Numerous water birds were witnessed today, all taking advantage of the reeds left in the water as a place to hunt for food.

We will continue to monitor the lake and the wildlife, and welcome further suggestions or updates. For your information, we do aim to forward plan future Typha works, as it has proven to cost us a significant amount of money, which can not be taken out from our maintenance budget - which was done this time.

(Regarding the wildlife signage, these are some standard signs we have which are utilised throughout the City. They therefore have a range of wildlife present on the signs).

Kind regards,

Karl Kjaerheim Senior Projects Officer Natural Areas
City of Kalamunda"

[HansE]

Those swans are beautiful and I am fixated on the white stripe across the beak.

[Isac]

Thanks Hans. That white patch looks a bit like someone put a bandaid on it. It just looks out of place - but who are we to argue about what mother nature gioves us?

[wigz]

Very nice Isac and that is an interesting curve in the neck.

Pity about the reeds but at least you have water. The main lake at Eagleby is still full of dead plants but you can now see a bit of water in places. The water is slowly receding so I'm hoping it doesn't dry out and generate another crop before we get more rain. From now until October is our dry season.

[Isac]

Thanks Alan, I hope it doesn't dry up for you. We've had 7+ months of completely dry lake, so it's a great spectacle to see the water return.