Speakers

Speaker 1 (S1): Mark Arnold, Principal Dam Engineer - Melbourne Water

[Uplifting music]

[On-screen visual: Melbourne Water logo, with tagline "Enhancing life and liveability"]

[Aerial footage of a retarding basin, showing drain outlet]

S1: A retarding basin embankment is an engineered structure and it retains water during flood events.

[A Melbourne Water employee inspects a tree]

[View of houses in a built-up suburban area]

[Close-up view of Mark. On-screen text: "Mark Arnold, Principal Dam Engineer - Melbourne Water. Treasurer - ANCOLD"]

S1: Removing trees is necessary because if we allow trees to grow on embankments they can cause the embankment to fail, and cause issues downstream in terms of property damage and potentially even loss of life.

[Two Melbourne Water walk along the retarding basin embankment]

S1: During extreme storm events they can topple out of the embankment taking a root ball and part of the embankment with them. Their root systems can also cause defects and they also prevent appropriate maintenance and inspection activities for our own staff to make sure the embankments are performing in a safe manner.

[View of grassy area]

S1: A lot of our retarding basins are public reserves and parks and we understand the value of trees at these sites for local community values.

[Close-up view of Mark]

S1: Melbourne Water only removes trees at these sites when absolutely necessary, when they're planted in inappropriate locations, and we always try to maintain and retain trees where they're appropriately planted.

[On-screen visual: Melbourne Water logo with tagline "Enhancing life and liveability". For more information go to: www.melbournewater.com.au]