The Future Freshwater Lake

Published 29 June 2022

The future lake at the Batesford quarry site is an exciting project that plans to transform the quarry into Australia’s largest freshwater lake this century.

The quarry/future lake is about 250 hectares in size (approximately 1.6km, east-to-west, by 1.3km, north-to-south).  Since 1888, Batesford Quarry has been a major supplier of limestone and fine sand products. Up until 2001, Batesford Quarry supplied Limestone to the Geelong Cement Manufacturing Works. The Batesford Limestone is formed from an ancient coral reef that was laid down between 5 and 23 million years ago.

The quarry floor, and what will become the bottom of the lake, is approximately 27 metres below sea level and is currently kept dry by large pumps for extraction purposes. Approximately 10 megalitres of water from the quarry is pumped into the Moorabool River system each day. At the conclusion of mining, when the rehabilitation of the quarry walls is complete, the pumps will be switched off and the quarry will gradually fill with groundwater.

As the groundwater is coming through; the limestone will act as an excellent filter, which will result in a bright, turquoise-coloured body of water. The quarry will start to fill rapidly and will be 75% full within 5 years, although it will not reach its final level for quite a few years beyond that.

The future lake that AdBri has planned, involves the rehabilitation of the quarry site and is part of one of the most significant rehabilitation projects in the Southern Hemisphere. The lake perimeter will become part of a link to three significant local waterways and form a recreational asset for the community.

The finished lake will contain over 60,000 megalitres of water and provide a home for aquatic life and waterfowl. Significant plantings of trees, understoreys, shrubs, lilies and herbs are all part of the Revegetation Plan that will rejuvenate the quarry site and return it to the landscape as a natural asset.