Flooded golfers in creek opening call

Alex de Vos
Residents and golfers have called on authorities to physically open the mouth of Torquay’s Spring Creek during rising water levels to prevent damage to the town’s golf course and public infrastructure.
But Surfrider Foundation’s John Foss demanded that authorities leave the creek alone, saying manually opening the mouth would be against nature.
Rising creek levels from recent rain flooded paths and parts of adjacent Torquay Golf Course until the waterway eventually broke through to the sea this week, draining away water.
Torquay Golf Club president Greg Libbis said flooding was a “major problem” for the course.
He wanted authorities to draw up a policy to “address” Spring Creek.
“We’ve never seen it (flooding) to this extent and it’s now become a safety issue for those walking around Spring Creek and also for golfers,” Mr Libbis said.
“Authorities have an obligation with risk management and we really need to get the ball rolling and put something in place for the future.”
Surf Coast Community and Ratepayers Association president Spencer Leighton also called for action after inspecting the latest flooding.
“The creek, banked back to heights, is damaging the environment, particularly the paths along Spring Creek,” Mr Leighton said.
“Repair of these will be an unnecessary expense for Great Ocean Coast Committee.”
Mr Leighton believed that locals could solve the problem without employing costly bureaucrats.
“A small thing like sand blocking the flow of a river or creek, leading to a build-up of water, would be solved by locals when the water started to be a problem,” he said.
“They would dig a passage so the water could escape. But it seems that in our over-governed world, common sense management has gone out the window.”
However, Mr Foss said rising water levels were part of a “natural process” for Spring Creek.
He urged authorities not to tamper with the creek.
“The creek fills up with the water and that goes over the bank to feed vegetation, which is great for everything – I can’t see how it’s going to get worse,” he said.
“They shouldn’t be complaining about extra water during a drought. Anyway, the creek was here before the golf course.”