Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands

The Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands are a group of two principally freshwater swamps, totalling 261 hectares (640 acres), lying in the suburbs of Aspendale, Edithvale, Chelsea Heights, and Seaford in south-eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Together they form the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Ramsar Site. With the nearby Eastern Treatment Plant, they form the Carrum Wetlands Important Bird Area.

The wetland group is divided into the northern Edithvale Wetland 103 hectares (250 acres), and the southern Seaford Wetland 158 hectares (390 acres), by the Patterson River and the Patterson Lakes housing development. They lie about 30 km south-east of Melbourne City Centre, close to the eastern shore of Port Phillip, between the coastal Nepean Highway to the west and the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Freeways to the east, and are largely surrounded by houses and golf courses.

Both wetlands are seasonal floodplain systems deriving most of their water as runoff from their local catchments, the areas of which are no more than 500 ha each. They are mainly freshwater wetlands underlain by peat beds that limit the entry of saline groundwater. They are essential components of the regional drainage system in receiving, retaining and naturally treating stormwater and other surface runoff, thus protecting surrounding areas from flooding as well as helping to protect the water quality of Port Phillip. Hydrological management of the wetlands is aimed at enhancing their natural values and controlling the ingress of saline groundwater.

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