General News
10 October, 2023
Slippery boat ramp closed
LAKE Bullen Merri’s boat ramp, which has claimed a number of vehicles, has now been closed for maintenance.
LAKE Bullen Merri’s boat ramp, which has claimed a number of vehicles, has now been closed for maintenance.
The boat ramp sent another car sliding into the lake last Friday, leaving Camperdown Angling Club and Better Boating Victoria (BBV) with no other choice but to close it.
Angling Club president Phil Russell said the club had been working with BBV, engineers and others to trial a variety of possible solutions to the problem.
“We had the boat ramp scabbled out of the water, we’ve had it scabbled in the water, we had it guerneyed, and we’ve scrubbed it,” he said.
“Even after having all those processes done, we still lost a car on Friday and the decision was made, in the interest of public safety, we really just need to stop.
“We tried everything that we could; we had signage up there warning people to be very careful and mindful.
“We decided we needed to close the ramp immediately and try and avoid any worse outcomes for vehicles.”
Mr Russell said the Angling Club recently held meetings with BBV, the ramp builder and others to try and find a solution.
“It’s just been an ongoing situation, and at this point it looks like we might have to keep the ramp closed for a couple of weeks,” he said.
“We’re getting some panels manufactured, and some other bits and pieces to be installed on the surface of the ramp, which, all indications are, will resolve the problem.
“We’ve been working particularly hard to get this resolved, and it’s been very challenging on a lot of levels; with the algae and the way the boat ramp was built, which was to stop the sand built up on the ramp.
“When we had the sand build up on the ramp, what that actually meant was that there was nowhere for the algae to adhere to, and now that we’ve fixed the problem with the sand, we might have created an environment where the algae can hold a bit better, which could be part of the problem.”
Mr Russell said the decision to close the ramp was not taken lightly.
“We don’t want to put anyone at risk; rest assured, we’ve been working on this for a long time to try to get this situation resolved,” he said.
“You can’t find out something works unless you try.
“It’s quite a unique situation at the moment, so that’s what we’ve been doing, and we’ll continue to do that until we get it right.”
The boat ramp is predicted to be open in two weeks’ time.