Dawesville Channel

32°36′26″S 115°38′28″E / 32.607097°S 115.64106°E / -32.607097; 115.64106 (Dawesville Channel)

Dawesville Channel (also known as Dawesville Cut) is an artificial channel between the Peel-Harvey Estuary and the Indian Ocean at Dawesville, about 80 km (50 mi) south of Perth in Western Australia. It is south of the regional city of Mandurah and north of Yalgorup National Park.

The channel alleviated a serious environmental problem, by allowing seawater from the Indian Ocean to move in and out of the estuarine system using the daily tidal movements, preventing the build-up of algae. Before the construction of the canal, much of the estuarine system, which is approximately 131 to 136 km² (51 to 53 sq mi) and about 1 to 2 m (3 ft 3 in to 6 ft 7 in) deep, had become eutrophic. The ability of the system to support the natural flora and fauna had become seriously degraded, and the smell of rotting algae, particularly during the summer months, had caused increasing complaints from residents. Stocks of normally-abundant fish and crabs had become depleted and recreational use of the estuaries was adversely affected. The deteriorating conditions became a major political and environmental issue for the Government of Western Australia during the mid-1980s.^[1]