Each year, we maintain approximately 4155 hectares of grassed land around our waterways and catchment areas. This is the equivalent of over 2000 MCGs!
What do we cut?
Grass cutting around Melbourne is conducted in partnership with several organisations. We all cut for different reasons, with varying lengths to support numerous activities. This is why the grass is not all the same length after we mow.
Grass cutting is a year-long scheduled maintenance program targeting areas around:
- waterways and drainage reserves
- pipe tracks and aqueducts
- tank sites
- service reservoirs
- retarding basins
- closed catchments roads and fire breaks.
Why do we cut the grass?
Our programmed maintenance grass cutting is important to:
- minimise fire hazard risks
- protect assets
- allow access to land and assets.
When do we cut the grass?
We generally cut grass 4 to 6 times a year.
The frequency varies: from remote areas with low levels of activity, to areas with very high levels of activity and public access.
How do we cut the grass?
- We use large heavy mechanical mowing equipment to mow the open grass areas.
- Edge treatments are used to create defined boundaries near hard standing installations, obstacles and fence lines. This is usually conducted 2-3 times per year.
- Brush cutting is also used in small areas not suitable for mowing equipment.
- We don’t mow along structures, trees, shrubs, plantations, fences, signs and any other obstacles. Along these areas we use edge treatments.
- Edging can be done either at the same time or separate to the mowing.
Why does grass cutting sometimes get delayed?
Melbourne weather can be very unpredictable, and often impacts on our grass cutting schedule.
- Heavy rains and flooding delay grass cutting, as it can make some areas inaccessible to our machinery.
- Warm, wet weather increases grass growth across all areas. This can result in grass growing taller than normal between cuts.
- Inclement weather can sometimes result in patches of grass not being mowed, due to certain areas being too wet. We avoid mowing in these conditions, as we do not want to damage the grass.
If there has been rubbish dumped or other hazards present, cutting can be delayed for safety reasons.
More information
For additional information on reporting rubbish please refer to our webpage, Help make litter extinct.
If you are concerned about an area of grass, please contact our Customer Service Centre.