Review the proposed Irrigation Guide
Background
Community feedback on green spaces
Feedback received from the community has demonstrated how important good quality open spaces are. Our Asset Management Strategy feedback results indicated that Open Space Assets are the most important asset category for Council to focus on over the next 10 years.
Feedback received on our Strategic Plan made it clear that ‘green’ spaces are a top priority for the community, who aspire for the City of Marion to be green and sustainable, with inviting spaces.
Building on this community support, we are proposing to expand irrigation and natural landscaping across our community's open spaces to enhance the usability and appearance of our public reserves and support community health.
We have developed an irrigation plan to guide the development of our green spaces. New irrigation in open space will also include natural landscape plantings to improve biodiversity and contribute to urban cooling.
Irrigation Guide
The Irrigation Guide (the guide) is proposed to be incorporated into our Open Space Plan. It has been developed to guide future irrigation planning, to enhance community health and wellbeing and strengthen neighbourhood amenity and liveability.
Council currently has 121 irrigated reserves and is now seeking to include irrigation and natural landscaping in 'non-active' reserves designed primarily for passive recreation, such as walking, picnics and relaxation.
This would result in an additional 41 reserves being irrigated. Council has included a further 8 reserves to be planted with natural landscaping under the new guide.
The guide provides the methodology for choosing which open spaces will be irrigated and considerations for the amount of irrigation at each reserve, as well as a portion of natural landscaping which will enhance biodiversity.
Open Space Plan
The Open Space Framework incorporates the Open Space Plan, Open Space Methodology, Open Space Service Levels and the Open Space Policy. The Irrigation Guide has been developed as a key component of the Open Space Plan, to guide future irrigation planning.
The Irrigation Guide aligns with Council’s Open Space Classifications and supports the following broader objectives:
- Enhancing community health and wellbeing through access to green spaces.
- Strengthening neighbourhood amenity and liveability.
The Irrigation Guide replaces the previous Irrigation Management Plan and Irrigation Decision Support Tool, ensuring future irrigation investment aligns with Council’s vision for a greener, healthier, and more liveable city.
View the proposed 10 Year Plan
Frequently Asked Questions
Irrigation can enhance community health and wellbeing through the provision of access to green spaces. The provision of green spaces can strengthen neighbourhood amenity and liveability.
Irrigation helps deliver diverse and inclusive places where people can be active, connect socially and experience nature, supporting physical and mental health across all ages.
Prioritising greening in disadvantaged areas can also help reduce health inequities, ensuring everyone benefits from safe and welcoming public spaces
We have heard how valued green spaces and irrigated areas are by the community.
Over the proposed 10-year program (49 reserves) the capital cost to deliver irrigation and natural landscaping is expected to be $6 million.
Council will be seeking to secure State Government funding as part of the upcoming State election.
The Irrigation Guide factors in a number of important criteria during the assessment process. This helps to ensure that the irrigated spaces delivered are prioritised to be as accessible for as much of the community as possible and delivered within annual budget restrictions.
Council provides a range of open space environments.
Reserves that have remnant vegetation or have been designated for biodiversity may be negatively affected by irrigation (changing soil conditions, increased weeds) and may not be irrigated.
Smaller reserves will generally not be irrigated (unless additional criteria are met) due to high infrastructure costs required to establish irrigation.
Council prioritises alternative water sources (on site retention, recycled water, groundwater) when it is feasible to do so.
Councils main source of alternative water is through the Oaklands Wetland distribution network.
The majority of the new irrigation sites will require the use of drinking water as the Oaklands Wetland does not currently extend to the Southern suburbs.
The provision of natural landscaping within reserves can increase and levels of biodiversity which plays a crucial role in maintaining the health and resilience of ecosystems including regulating the climate, purifying the air and water and providing natural resources such as food, medicine and shelter.
More information on this can be found in Councils Biodiversity Plan 2024-2029
