Written by: Lance Knox
2021
In October 2020, the City of Busselton started work on an upgrade to the Vasse Diversion Drain which will see increased flood protection for the Busselton Townsite. Preliminary work to protect the environment and prepare the site for construction included moving over 35,000 of the protected Carter's Freshwater Mussel to a section of the Vasse River that runs onto Busselton Golf Club.
Carter's Freshwater Mussels are known as nature's waters purifiers as they feed on small organic particles in the water such as bacteria and algae. Busselton Golf Club is lucky to have so many of these nearby, helping to clean the Vasse River. This native mussel species is only found in freshwater lakes, rivers and drains in Western Australia’s South West where the water is slow flowing and the banks are soft enough for them to burrow into.
