Hundreds of people have signed a petition calling for the whole of Warrnambool's Lady Bay beach to be urgently cleared of stinky seaweed because it has become a safety hazard.
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But the city council says machinery getting bogged and the cost of moving the seaweed were part of the reason it was not regularly cleaned there.
Tammy Good, who is behind the petition, said seaweed was left to pile up to a metre high between the pavilion and Worm Bay despite heavy machinery being regularly brought in to clear seaweed further along the beach towards the surf club.
Paramedics, tourists, bay swimmers and diners at the pavilion are among the 300 people who have signed the petition since Ms Good started it about four weeks ago.
"We had a couple of incidents with horses getting tangled up and a couple of quite significant injuries to people handling them and riders. One young girl had a broken jaw," she said.
"But this is not just about the horses. The bay swimmers are falling in potholes left by the seaweed when the tide takes it out."
Between 30 and 100 swimmers a day have to climb over the seaweed for their bay swim, some of them with disabilities are having to be carried to the water's edge because of the danger, Ms Good said.
"It's a big issue," she said ."It's just terrible. Something needs to be done. It's a horrible eyesore and really smelly."
Councillor Max Taylor raised the issue at Monday's council meeting and said that if the council had permission to clear from Worm Bay to the surf club, it didn't stand to reason why the rest of the beach couldn't be cleared.
Ms Good said that if the whole beach couldn't be cleared, as a compromise they would be happy if the council cleared two access paths about five metres wide in front of the beach ramps to make it safer for swimmers and horses.
She said paramedics had signed the petition because they had concerns about their ability to quickly and safely access the water's edge if there was an emergency.
Ms Good said it added insult to injury when the trucks, which arrive clear seaweed further down the beach, have to drive over what's piled up in front of the pavilion.
She said she was happy to be part of the conversation about what could be done with the excess seaweed - which at the moment was not trucked away and was just pushed up against the sand dunes.
Mr Good said it could be collected and used for mulch.
She said no one could control the seaweed being there in the first place because it was part of nature, but something needed to be done about the seaweed which piled up.
The council said it had recently cleared a path through the seaweed near the ramp adjacent to the pavilion which has allowed better access to the water.
"Council will continue to monitor and maintain this path through the weed as conditions allow," it said.
The council said the stretch of beach near the pavilion quickly accumulated seaweed and has done so at least since the breakwater was constructed.
"While the seaweed helps retain sand it has also resulted in a soft sand base as the organic material breaks down," it said.
"The council loader cannot operate here without getting bogged. Council has occasionally cleared the area with an excavator but the weed must also then be trucked down the beach to be placed against the dunes.
"This sort of operation can cost upwards of $10,000 and the seaweed is usually redeposited within days.
"At other sections of beach further east, the council equipment can clear seaweed efficiently and effectively due to firmer sand conditions and proximity to the dune face where the seaweed is placed."
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