Unfortunately, the club is in the path of the new drain, which does mean there will be some impacts. Due to the constrained nature of the area, the clubhouse and playing courts will need to be demolished, and a new clubhouse and courts will be built by 2027. We’re working with the Elwood Croquet Club and City of Port Phillip Council to investigate options to support the club’s operations during construction of the project.

From June 2025 to February 2027, parts of Elwood Park will be impacted by construction of the new drain.

Council is identifying alternate arrangements for sporting clubs that use Elwood Park, and Melbourne Water is supporting Council with these relocation efforts. We’ll continue to work with Council and the sporting clubs to minimise impacts as much as possible.

We anticipate the Wattie Watson Oval and soccer pitch next to Ormond Esplanade will continue to be available while we’re working in the area.

Sporting clubs can contact the project team directly by emailing [email protected]

From April 2026 until early 2027 we’ll be working in the Elwood foreshore area, which includes widening the pier to accommodate the new drain.

The beach and foreshore area will remain open to the public, with temporary fencing to help ensure beachgoer safety while we’re working on the outlet.

The shared user path will remain open throughout works, and traffic management will be in place to safely guide pedestrians and cyclists through the area.

The public gym equipment will remain available for public use and will not be impacted by works in the foreshore area.

A limited number of car parking spaces may be temporarily impacted while we’re working on the pier.

While we’ll work closely with local residents to mitigate impacts as much as possible, during construction local residents can expect:

• some odour, noise, dust and visual impacts due to construction activities
• some impacts to vegetation
• temporary impacts to parking such as Head Street on-street parking near the roundabout
• changed traffic conditions, including detours and traffic management, to safely direct road users.

Some walking trails will be impacted in Elsternwick Park and the dog park. Signage will be in place to safely redirect pedestrians while we’re working in this area.

Residents nearby might notice some odour, vibration, and changed traffic conditions such as traffic detours and relocating the Ormond Esplanade / St Kilda Street bus stop.

There may be impacts to the Brighton Gate complex driveway from St Kilda Street, but we will work with the owners corporation to provide advanced notice and ensure the secondary driveway on Head Street remains open.

Works in the road crossing at St Kilda Street may need to occur overnight, subject to Department of Transport and Planning approvals. We will provide impacted residents with advanced notice of works in the area.

We’ll be doubling the width of the pier to accommodate the new drain outlet, but we’re keeping the same look and feel. Elwood Pier’s heritage status means the existing features like the look of the balustrade walls will be retained.

Melbourne Water is committed to keeping the community updated as the project progresses.

There are many ways you can learn more about the Elwood Main Drain Duplication project, or contact the project team directly, including:

• Dedicated project 1800 phone number (1800 841 444)
• Project email address [email protected]
• Social media posts targeted to the Elwood and Brighton communities
• Door knocks to discuss the project with local residents and businesses
• Community bulletins, newsletters and postcards delivered to letterboxes
• Community pop-up events
• In-person meetings
• Promoting the project through Council communications channels.

We'll continue to maintain contact with directly impacted residents, businesses, sports clubs and community groups, and will keep them informed of our project timelines and impacts as more information becomes available.

Have a read of our latest community bulletin here Elwood Main Drain Duplication project - Community bulletin January 2025

This project focuses on enhancing the efficiency of the regional drainage system by increasing the capacity of the drainage network to deal with larger stormwater flows. The project will reduce flood impacts primarily for Elwood and to a lesser extent in Brighton.

The stormwater generated in the Head Street area is managed by the local drainage system, operated by Bayside City Council. This local drainage network discharges into the Elwood Main Drain.

Bayside City Council is planning a drainage upgrade project to address flood impacts in Head Street. We’re working closely with council to ensure our drainage projects are integrated where feasible to provide a wholistic approach to reducing flooding in the area.

We’re aware there have been ongoing flooding and drainage issues in Head Street.

This area is very complex in terms of drainage, and there is no simple long-term solution to the localised flooding issues in Head Street. The highly developed nature of the area, along with multiple underground services, means available options are severely constrained.

Bayside City Council is planning a drainage upgrade project to address flooding issues in Head Street. We’re working closely with council to ensure our drainage projects are integrated to provide a wholistic approach to reducing flooding in the area.

Please contact Bayside City Council on 9599 4444 for more information on their drainage upgrade project.

During the commissioning phase for the flood mitigation project, Melbourne Water will run a further refined flood model, incorporating the final infrastructure designs (e.g., structure heights, levee banks, throttles). This will allow us to finalise the number of properties that will benefit from the project. Based on the current detailed design completion and works program schedule, this is expected to take place in the 4th quarter of 2027.

When we have a lot of rain, or there are storms or floods, a new drainage structure in Elster Creek will redirect floodwater through the existing culvert under Bent Avenue, then through the Elsternwick Park retarding basin, and into the new inlet structure in the southwest corner of Elsternwick Park. This will help reduce the likelihood of flooding in areas downstream of Elsternwick Park. Low and mid-flows will continue to flow down Elster Creek and Elwood Canal and only high flows will be redirected into the new drainage infrastructure. We are working with Bayside City Council to make sure our project fits well with the new wetland system they are creating in Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve, as well as the existing Elsternwick Park and retarding basin.

As part of the preliminary Business Case for the Elwood Main Drain Flood Mitigation project, approved in 2022, a flood model was created to evaluate and achieve the greatest flood risk reduction benefits from a proposed flood mitigation solution.

These benefits primarily apply to Elwood, specifically to the area located west of St Kilda Street and downstream Elsternwick Park along the Elwood Canal. They can be summarised as following:

- Reduction of flooding impact for more than 500 properties in the 1% AEP.

- Reduction of floor inundations for approx. 200 properties in the 1% AEP.

During the commissioning phase for the flood mitigation project, Melbourne Water will run a further refined flood model, incorporating the final infrastructure designs (e.g. structure heights, levee banks, throttles). This will allow us to finalise the number of properties that will benefit from the project. Based on the current detailed design completion and works program schedule, this is expected to take place in the 4th quarter of 2027.

The City of Port Phillip has developed a masterplan for the Elwood foreshore to ensure it meets the demands of a growing community and a changing climate. This will be implemented over the next decade.

We’re working in partnership with the City of Port Phillip to ensure our projects are integrated and achieve the best possible outcomes for the community.

It is likely that the Elwood Main Drain Duplication project will be completed before the implementation of the Elwood Foreshore Precinct Masterplan begins.

For more information on the masterplan, visit the City of Port Phillip website.

Bayside City Council is transforming the former Elsternwick Park golf course into a natural oasis to bring nature back into the urban area, providing refuge and tranquility for both wildlife and visitors. The new wetlands and water bodies will improve the quality of water flowing into Port Phillip Bay and provide a diverse habitat that, along with new trees and vegetation, will encourage native wildlife back to the area.

Melbourne Water and Bayside City Council are working closely together on the planning and design of a new wetland system (southern area of Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve) to ensure our projects are integrated and complement one another.

For more information on the Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve project, visit Bayside City Council's website.

The Elwood Main Drain Duplication project will be designed so that it avoids significant native vegetation (eg. Australian native Port Jackson Figs in Head Street Reserve, River Red Gums in Elsternwick Park). Tree protection zones will be put in place for significant trees and other native vegetation to be protected. Unfortunately, not all vegetation can be avoided. In some areas, we will need to remove or trim some trees and shrubs to undertake the works. Once works are complete, we will replace lost vegetation by re-planting in the local area and rehabilitate disturbed areas in accordance with plans approved by City of Port Phillip and Bayside City Council.

An integral part of our design process will include an assessment of the outlet with modelling of hydraulics and sand movement of the coastal system. The primary objective is to ensure no change to the sand movement patterns along the beach in the Elwood Foreshore Precinct will occur.

Project-specific environmental management plans will be in place throughout the works to protect the Bay and the plants and animals in the area.

We will work closely with City of Port Phillip, Bayside City Council, Parks Victoria, Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA) and community groups to manage the works and to ensure the significant environmental values of the local area are protected.

There are cases in which a storm can cause winds pushing water onshore, creating what is called a storm surge.

The project has modelled the drainage system (including the new drain) under different conditions, including the case in which a rainfall event concurs with a storm surge.

This type of events can hinder the drainage system function, and they need to be considered in the design phase.

Storm surge is the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, measured as the height of the water above the normal predicted astronomical tide. The surge is caused primarily by a storm’s winds pushing water onshore.

Storm tide is the total observed seawater level during a storm, resulting from the combination of storm surge and the astronomical tide.

http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/tropical-cyclone-knowledge-centre/understanding/storm-surge/ (BOM)

https://ocean.weather.gov/defining_storm_surge.pdf (NOAA)

Like you, we don't like seeing litter and pollution in our waterways and the Bay.

There are a few things we’re doing to look at litter entering into waterways such as Elwood Canal; including a review of the functionality and effectiveness of existing litter traps.

Melbourne Water is also establishing a collaborative partnership with councils in the Elster Creek catchment on a whole-of-catchment analysis and action plan for litter. This will look at where litter is coming from (including mapping major generation sources and accumulation hotspots), how it's transported, what threats it poses to our waterways and identifying the most effective solutions.

Learn more about how we’re managing litter and pollution here.

The total volume and quality of water that will enter Port Phillip Bay will not change as a result of the project.

The total volume and quality of water that will enter Port Phillip Bay will not change as a result of the project.

We appreciate that there are many factors that impact water quantity and quality, however the Elwood Main Drain Duplication project is not an influencing factor on either of these aspects. The project will simply redirect flows away from the Elwood Canal, which currently does not have enough capacity to carry large volumes of water in storms and high rainfall events, which is why the Elwood area currently floods so extensively.

Stormwater that currently enters the Bay via the Elwood Canal will be reduced through the construction of a new diversion structure in Elster Creek which will divert overland floodwaters through the Elsternwick Park retarding basin and into the new drain. The stormwater will be discharged into Port Phillip Bay through the new outlet structure (which sits under Elwood Pier).

Given that the project is redirecting water from being discharged into the Bay where it currently does (via the Elwood Canal outlet) to an expanded outlet at Elwood Pier, the volume and quality of water will remain the same as it is now, with the only difference being that it will instead pass through the Elsternwick Park retarding basin and into the new inlet of the duplicated main drain. This means that the only change as a result of the project is that the same amount and quality of water will be entering the Bay approximately 1.6 kilometres further south of where it currently does.

Water quality will remain unchanged to the current situation. There are water quality improvement benefits to be delivered under Bayside City Council’s Masterplan for Yalukit Willam Nature Reserve, including a new wetland system which is designed to help treat baseflow and stormwater entering the wetland from Elster Creek. This will help filter pollutants out from the water which passes through it on a day-to-day basis, before it enters Port Phillip Bay. More information on this project can be found here: https://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/yalukit-willam-formerly-elsternwick-park-nature-reserve

Part of the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) role is to forecast water quality for beaches in Port Phillip Bay. The EPA also issues alerts when there is an issue affecting a water body in Victoria. Their Beach Report includes a map of Port Phillip Bay with information on the water quality of the beaches. We recommend always checking this prior to swimming in the Bay. The EPA advises people to avoid swimming near stormwater or river outlets 24-48 hours after heavy rain, and always check for signs of pollution before swimming, for example, stormwater drains flowing, murky water, bad smell, and rubbish.

EPA Beach Report: https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/summer-water-quality/beach-report

Different sea levels have been considered during the design works of the project. Low, mean and high tide water levels have been modelled to check the drainage system's performance.

This project will provide flood mitigation benefits in the Elster Creek catchment.

Many properties in Elwood will experience a reduction in their flood risk after the project is completed.

The new drain will be part of the regional drainage system and it will be 'activated' during large rainfall events.

Melbourne Water has established a collaborative Working Group with catchment councils and EPA to deliver a whole-of-catchment Elster Creek Litter Action Plan.

The collaboration has analysed litter being generated across the catchment including understanding why littering occurs, where it comes from, how it’s transported, what management measures are already in place (and how well they are working) and identifying the best-bet improvements and new solutions.

The Action will explore opportunities to improve education, enforcement, maintenance and infrastructure where those actions will have the most impact.

The Elster Creek Catchment is a highly urbanised area that drains through the Elster Creek into Port Phillip Bay. In all urban catchments, litter management is an ongoing challenge, with litter from shopping strips, parklands, construction sites, and industrial areas being carried by rainfall or winds into local drains that meet our treasured waterways.

Sometimes there are opportunities to collect litter along the stormwater system. But litter infrastructure like gross pollutant traps and floating litter traps are expensive to install, expensive to maintain, and are designed to get bypassed or overtopped in heavy rains to avoid the risk of flooding. In the Elster Creek catchment this is a particular challenge, where the low-lying land is subject to flooding and the flows from the upper catchment can come down suddenly and waterways near the Bay are impacted by incoming and outgoing tides. Those catchment conditions make an end of system trap especially challenging.

To protect our Bay and waterways, it's better to stop litter at the source rather than just catching it at the end. This way, we prevent it from getting into our stormwater systems in the first place.

Councils within the catchment are investing in more litter traps in the drainage system such as Gross Pollutant Traps (GPTs) and grates on stormwater pits. That infrastructure can be expensive and given the extensive development in the catchment there are too many drains to install litter traps in all areas. Our investment in infrastructure needs to be complemented by maintenance of streets and open spaces where litter comes from, and education and engagement work.

Melbourne Water has increased the frequency of manual litter collection along the Elster Creek canal; Glen Eira City Council is installing litter baskets on 20 drains across the municipality to both intercept litter and gather auditing data to better understand where we need to take action, and a new waste officer role at Glen Eira will focus on better management of dumped rubbish and construction site waste.

No, the diversion drain project will not increase the overall volume of stormwater carrying litter that enters Port Phillip Bay; it will move stormwater out to the Bay faster and more safely in high flow events.

All litter trapping infrastructure is designed to bypass in high flow events (to not increase any flooding impacts) so even as new litter infrastructure is built across the catchment; litter will still flow through the stormwater system in high flow events. That’s why it is so important to also address littering behaviours as part of our litter management work.