WA consortium to upgrade Busselton drain

Westforce Construction and JWI Contractors will complete $26 million worth of upgrades to the century-old Vasse diversion drain in Busselton to manage the risk of flooding.

The Perth-based consortium, Vasse JV, will widen a 5.5-kilometre section of the drain and rebuild dam structures, built in the 1920s, to increase the drain’s capacity.

The completed drain is expected to hold larger volumes of water during periods of heavy rainfall.

Vasse JV will complete the works on behalf of state-owned Water Corporation, which are expected to create more than 70 local jobs, as well as employ two Aboriginal subcontracting businesses based in the South West.

The upgrades are due to complete by July next year.

Water Minister Dave Kelly said unpredictable weather in the state’s South West region increased the risk of flooding in low-lying areas like Busselton.

"Climate change is having a real impact in WA,” he said.

"This project is not only improving flood mitigation for the town, it's supporting local jobs and boosting the economy in the South-West, which is especially important as WA continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.”

Further, more than 130,000 seedlings will be planted across 10 hectares of the area surrounding the drain under a $3 million revegetation plan.

That’s in addition to non-for-profit organisation OzFish having assisted with the relocation of more than 35,000 protected Carter’s freshwater mussels found in the drain earlier this month.