Draft Kennett River Precinct Plan Survey | Improvements to Tourism Infrastructure at Kennett River

Draft Caravan Park Master Plan Survey

This survey will take about 15 minutes to complete, and the feedback will influence the final Kennett River Family Caravan Park Master Plan.

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Draft Kennett River Precinct Plan February 2025

DRAFT PRECINCT PLAN:

The draft Kennett River Precinct Plan does not allow for large tour coaches to enter or stop within the precinct.

GORCAPA will work with the relevant authorities to determine the most appropriate process to implement these restrictions.

The Draft Precinct Plan includes plans to enhance the precinct’s usable public open space and increase green zones along the service road, riverbank, and in front of Kafe Koala.

Designated parking spaces have been provided for a range of vehicle types and sizes (excluding large tour coaches), and traffic calming measures such as zebra crossing have been included, resulting in a more efficient and safer use of existing space.

Expanded public open space: Enhanced usable public open space, including green zones along the service road, riverbank, and in front of Kafe Koala.

Central hub: The roundabout will serve as a connecting point for key features, while the enhancements in front of Kafe Koala, including the creation of a vibrant gathering space and increased landscaping, complement Kennett River’s coastal charm.

Designated Parking: The parking plan provides for one long vehicle (such as motorhomes and car towing vehicles), four medium vehicles (such as small buses and motorhomes,) 24 cars, ten motorcycles, and six bicycle hoops.

Improved traffic flow: A one-way roundabout to simplify traffic flow with designated long-vehicle parking to eliminate reversing, and line-marking and landscaping to discourage ad-hoc parking and reduce congestion.

Safe pedestrian pathways: Purpose-built all-abilities pathways and crossings safely connect key areas, including Kafe Koala, the beach, the river, the caravan park, public amenities, and recreation zones.

New public toilets: Four toilet stalls (two accessible), positioned in the caravan park to consolidate infrastructure, improve pedestrian access (including from the beach), connection to the wastewater treatment plant and open views near Kafe Koala with the removal of the existing temporary amenity block.

Upgraded Wastewater Treatment Plant: Planned upgrades reflect current EPA requirements, protecting soil and groundwater quality while enabling water reuse within the caravan park.

DRAFT CARAVAN PARK MASTER PLAN:

We are preparing a Master Plan (10-year vision) to ensure the Kennett River Family Caravan Park continues to provide a comfortable, relaxing stay while maintaining its natural essence.

This Master Plan will sit alongside the wider Kennett River Precinct Plan, delivered by the Geelong City Deal.

Caravan Park changes: The re-location of camping sites is proposed to accommodate the changes and is included in the draft Kennett River Family Caravan Park Master Plan.

Key Features Include:

Construction of new amenities block (expanded shower and bathroom facilities)
Construction of new kitchen inclusive of outdoor eating area
Upgraded cabin precinct including accessible cabins
Improved internal road network
Four outdoor showers
Infrastructure for water harvesting and re-use
Construction of nature-based playground
Fire infrastructure upgrades
Improved swale drainage

Download a copy of the FAQ here!

Are you interested in finding out more about the proposed new amenity block and upgraded wastewater treatment plant? Please find below an overview.

A new public toilet

A new public toilet is proposed near the caravan park entrance, strategically positioned to effectively utilise Crown land, position assets with existing buildings and infrastructure (building, utilities and wastewater treatment systems), minimise environmental impact, and enhance the aesthetic of the area around Kafe Koala where the current temporary toilet is located.  

What is a wastewater treatment system?

Kennett River does not have access to a sewerage system like larger towns and therefore wastewater needs to be treated and disposed of onsite. Wastewater includes water from showers, kitchens and toilets. The wastewater at the caravan park is currently treated in an onsite Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP) and treated Class B wastewater is disposed via sub surface irrigation lines.

What is the source of water for the current wastewater system, and proposed wastewater system? How is water quality monitored? 

The current source of water for the wastewater system is from Kennett River, under a licence from Southern Rural Water (SRW), with additional water trucked in during peak times and for potable water. This is expected to continue, with increased demand offset by a range of water sensitive initiatives being investigated by GORCAPA including efficient water appliances, roof top capture and other long term sustainability initiatives including using grey water captured from shower blocks to flush the toilets.

The Kennett River Family Caravan Park has a water licence from SRW to harvest water from the river and follows the advice of the SRW, Colac Otway Shire and the EPA in managing water quality. This river water is treated and used for toilet flushing, showers and irrigation etc. and is not used for drinking (potable) water at the Caravan Park. Potable water is trucked into the caravan park.  

Colac Otway Shire, the EPA and the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority are responsible for monitoring river health and water condition, and we receive alerts should the water quality be of a concern.  

How will the new public toilet’s wastewater be treated?

The Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP) in the caravan park, which was originally approved by the EPA in 2007 is being upgraded to accommodate the use for this purpose and meet modern standards in line with current EPA requirements and approvals (Environment Protection Act 2017).

The existing system treats wastewater to a Class B standard. Upgrades to the existing infrastructure and additional new infrastructure including treatment tanks, balance tanks, treatment equipment and will increase its performance, life span and capacity. These upgrades and new infrastructure will ensure the system meets modern design requirements and will continue to treat the wastewater to a minimum of Class B standards.

This upgraded system will reduce risks of contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water; and will aim to improve options to reuse treated wastewater onsite via sub surface irrigation, thereby offering solutions to reduce use of water at the caravan park and public toilet. The EPA will need to approve the upgraded system and disposal areas and reuse options.  

What needs to be considered in design and approvals for installing the public toilet and the potentially the wastewater treatment plant’s dispersal field?

To have the system approved by the EPA several studies are required to be undertaken including but not limited to a groundwater monitoring program and assessment, Land Capability Assessments, soil properties, considerations of local climatic conditions, and flooding constraints on the site. The findings of these studies and known site constraints will be used to determine the extent of the dispersal system and the method of treated wastewater disposal.

These will need to address several issues such as: water quality outputs, flow paths to surface water areas (wetlands, Kennett River and the beach), groundwater interactions and groundwater flow direction, odour, human health and what controls and monitoring we will have in place to protect all these values. 

A Health and Environment Management Plan, together with a Risk Management and Monitoring Program for the WWTP will need to be developed by specialist consultants and approved by the EPA prior to the system being approved and operating.

These will include;

monitoring of the performance of the system (including checks that the treated wastewater is meeting water quality specifications, and the dispersion systems are operating effectively),

Preventative maintenance regimes

monitoring of the surrounding environment including groundwater, surface water, soil and odour.

the management plan will also need to include contingencies in the event that the system has a failure.

Our Stormwater and Flooding Strategy and detailed design will need to assess these flooding requirements.

No works on the WwTP and effluent fields will be able to begin without all necessary approvals being in place.

How does the Effluent Disposal Field work?

The proposed Effluent Disposal Field extent is indicative only and methods of disposal options are currently being assessed by GORCAPA and consultants.

The design and related approval documentation will need to meet all the above-mentioned EPA requirements and the planning requirements such as the Land Subject to Inundation Overlay prior to it being approved.

These flooding requirements are also considered in the EPA approval requirements, as well as understanding the interactions with groundwater and surface water (including flow paths from the effluent disposal areas to the caravan park drainage system and to sensitive receptors such as the wetlands and ultimately Kennett River), a Land Capability Assessment that assess local soil conditions, local climatic conditions such as rainfall and evapotranspiration rates at the site all need to be addressed and met through the design process and reflected in the approvals.

Additionally, we will be progressing options to increase efficiency of the existing field and disposal system in the design process to reduce the need for this additional extent, this will also hopefully have additional benefits to promote reuse of treated wastewater and reduce reliance on water extracted from Kennett River. When we progress to this stage, we will be presenting in more detail how all these elements will be addressed.   

No works on the WwTP and effluent fields will be able to begin without all necessary approvals being in place.

What happens next?

During the design and approvals stage of the project including the development of the detailed risk assessment we will keep the community updated to ensure all risks that relate to EPA approvals and planning approvals (such as the LSIO) are addressed.

We will also provide updates on how the system and disposal field will work and how we will be monitoring compliance of the system (i.e regular quality water testing, groundwater testing, preventative maintenance and regular reporting requirements to the EPA).

A concept plan for the WWTP will be developed as part of the next phase of the project and information on the plan provided via project updates.

Would you like to understand more about traffic within the precinct?

Download a summary here.