General News
22 June, 2023
Cacti removed from Cairn Curran’s Woolshed Bay
Goulburn-Murray Water’s (GMW) recent weed treatment works at Cairn Curran have had positive outcomes for both the environment and recreation users. For several years, the southwest of Cairn Curran’s Woolshed Bay had been largely inaccessible due...
Goulburn-Murray Water’s (GMW) recent weed treatment works at Cairn Curran have had positive outcomes for both the environment and recreation users.
For several years, the southwest of Cairn Curran’s Woolshed Bay had been largely inaccessible due to being heavily infested with Opuntia cactus, more commonly known as wagon wheel.
These cacti had made the area south of the boat ramp at Woolshed Bay difficult to access for local anglers, who frequently utilise the area.
Recently, GMW has completed significant works to remove the wagon wheel from Woolshed Bay and open the area up to recreation once more.
Cairn Curran senior storage officer Jack Beeby said removing the cacti was a substantial undertaking.
“Wagon wheel is challenging to remove. Their thorns make them difficult to deal with manually, and they are also incredibly resilient,” he said.
“Chemical control is an effective option, but we determined using an excavator to dig the cacti out to be the most efficient and cost effective approach.”
The result of the excavation works has transformed Woolshed Bay from an area that was inaccessible to a well-used recreation area.
“Wagon wheel is a significant problem in the region, so it is good that GMW has been able to set a positive example by actively addressing the problem,” Mr Beeby said.
“Since we removed the weeds, we have had a lot of visitors to the reservoir start using Woolshed Bay for fishing and boating, so it is a fantastic result for people who come here for recreation.”
GMW is now investigating further options for treating the remaining wagon wheel on the land it owns around the reservoir.
For more information about Cairn Curran, including a map of the storage, head to www.g- mwater.com.au/water-operations/storages/loddon/cairncurranreservoir