The South Australian government has released vision for the planned regeneration of the final stretch of Breakout Creek in Adelaide, where the Karrawirra Parri (River Torrens) meets the sea.
Stage 3 of the Breakout Creek redevelopment is designed by TCL, the firm which kicked off the project to reinstate the riverine wetlands in 1998. It will transform what is now an artificial channel stretching from Tapleys Hill Road to the Torrens Outlet at West Beach into a healthier creek system, which will be opened up for community access.
“The Breakout Creek redevelopment has been a 30-year environmental project, transforming a total of 2.7 kilometres of river stretching from upstream of Henley Beach Road to the Torrens Outlet on the coast,” said SA minister for environment and water David Speirs.
“The project will see 15 hectares of public land unlocked for community use, while delivering significant environmental benefits including improved water quality and wildlife habitat.”
“Not only will the works create a healthier river and habitat for threatened fish and birds, it will also create an improved place to visit, with new paths and river crossings, picnic areas, as well as viewing decks and places for learning about biodiversity and the local environment.”
Breakout Creek Stage 3 redevelopment by TCL.
Image: TCL
The $12 million-dollar project is being delivered by the state government office Green Adelaide, together with the City of Charles Sturt, the City of West Torrens, the South Australian Attorney-General’s Department through the Planning and Development Fund, the federal government (which is contributing $2 million from the Environment Restoration Fund) and SA Water. The government said it was committed to working with the Taditional Owners, the Kaurna people.
Green Adelaide board presiding member Chris Daniels said that the final stage would continue the good work started in the 1990s and early 2000s, and would potentially make the creek habitable by platypuses.
“Since those sections have been improved, we’ve seen more native fish, more native birds and better water quality across the River Torrens system,” he said.
“The completion of the Breakout Creek redevelopment is a big rewilding milestone for Adelaide’s much-loved river.
“We know that the Torrens is and always will be brownish, like most of Australia’s rivers, because of the tannins in our vegetation and soil.
“We also know that there is a strong population of native water rats, or rakali, along the Torrens today, particularly at the revamped sections of Breakout Creek which demonstrates the healthier river environment.
“So, we are now thinking that if the River Torrens ecosystem is supporting these mammals already, platypuses may have a good life in the river too.
“That’s why Green Adelaide is now leading the development of a scoping study to better understand the possibility of bringing platypus back to the River Torrens / Karrawirra Parri.
“This potential reintroduction is an exciting next step in continuing the improvement of the Torrens we all love so much.”
