The Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC) is located west of Canberra and falls within the Paddys River catchment in the south of the ACT. The complex is located within a rural property covering 130 ha at the foot of the Bullen Ranges. The property has historically been extensively cleared and used for livestock grazing and the cultivation of potatoes on the valley floor. This has led to the concentration of flows into Larrys Creek, creating a deeply incised creek channel and dehydrating the surrounding landscape.
Mulloon Institute was approached in 2023 after the team at the CDSCC observed the works we had completed on the adjacent Tidbinbilla Station. In August 2023, Mulloon Consulting was commissioned to explore and make recommendations to address gully erosion in Larrys Creek and active erosion in the channel floor. After extensive negotiations with CSIRO and funding from NASA, Mulloon Consulting was commissioned to prepare detailed designs, gain regulatory approval from the ACT Government and construct landscape repair interventions.
Peter Hazell, Jack Smart, Tony Wells, Erin Healy, Mitch Lennon, Ryan Badowski and Colby Soderberg all spent time on site over a six-week period in August – September to deliver stage one of the works with Coopers Earthmoving. The team constructed 9 log sill and rock weirs, 5 rock groynes, 2 rock baffles, 1 log-sill and rock access crossing and undertook bank reshaping at 2 sites. Revegetation works in the riparian area around the structures has also been undertaken as part of the project. Although wet weather caused some delays, it was fantastic to see the results immediately as the new ponds filled quickly, and although the flow in the channel stopped after a couple of days, flow further downstream continued to power on as a spring on the floodplain had been recharged!
This was a fantastic last construction project for Peter Hazell prior to his retirement and a great learning opportunity for the rest of the team. There are still another 14 structures and 3 bank stabilisation sites planned to remediate the lower reaches of Larrys Creek at the CDSCC, with the schedule for stage two currently being determined. A big thank you goes out to the CDSCC team for their hard work in getting the project off the ground and for their involvement throughout.
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