Koonung Creek

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Koonung Creek is a small tributary to the Yarra River in Melbourne's east. The creek originates in Nunawading, just near Springvale Road, and flows to join the Yarra at the border between Ivanhoe East, Bulleen and Balwyn North. The place the two waterways meet forms the borders between these suburbs. Bushy Creek (now carried by an underground pipe) is a tributary to the creek, joining near Elgar Park in Mont Albert North.

Melbourne Water rates the condition of the creek as 'Very Poor'. Also according to Melbourne Water, the river is the unhealthiest waterway in Melbourne. Melbourne Water's monitering station for the creek at Bulleen Road in Bulleen, detected an average E. coli count of 1800, this is nine times the safe swimming level (200). This was the highest level of E. coli measured in all of metropolitain Melbourne's waterways.

Five species of frog call the creek home, these are the Common Eastern Froglet, the Spotted Marsh Frog, the Striped Marsh Frog, the Eastern or Pobblebonk Frog and the Southern Brown or Ewing's Tree Frog.

The Eastern Freeway follows the path of the creek. This is because the freeway was built in the band of parkland surrounding the park that stretched the entire length of the creek.

Koonung Creek lends its name to many things, including many roads, the Koonung Ward in the Local Government Area of the City of Manningham, the Koonung Trail and Koonung Secondary College.

A shared use path follows the route of the creek (and therefore also the Freeway), known as the Koonung Trail.

External Links

[Melbourne Water Koonung Creek page]
[Warning plan on polluted Yarra] - Article from The Age.

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