Working Wetlands in the Burdekin Delta will use a ‘treatment train’ remedy
The Working Wetlands in the Burdekin Delta project, funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, will use a whole-of-system ‘treatment train’ approach to restore three wetland systems, while improving water quality flowing to the Great Barrier Reef.
Watercourses in the Burdekin Delta are working wetlands whose natural ecological and agricultural values are inextricably linked.
They deliver and receive irrigation water and provide vital ecosystem services such as helping to capture and remove pollutants.
Multiple interlinked interventions will treat and “polish” water within Sheepstation, Plantation and Kalamia creeks, to deliver significant reductions in fine sediment, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, and pesticides.
The project will also deliver improvement in working wetlands condition and function.
This project will contribute to the Reef 2050 Plan targets, substantially reduce the levels of herbicide used to manage aquatic weeds, and improve wetland condition.
The investment presents an opportunity to permanently embed water management practices that reduce pollutants and improve water quality without compromising agricultural needs.
NQ Dry Tropics will partner with Lower Burdekin Water, Burdekin Shire Council, and Bindal Traditional Owners, to deliver the project which builds on achievements from current and previous investments.
The project’s “treatment train” approach will be based on the outline in the Reef 2050 Wetlands Strategy.
To reduce the possibility of nitrogen, pesticide and sediment in runoff from farms flowing to the Reef, this project will conduct multiple interventions at the source to prevent pollutants entering the waterway.
The project will complement on-paddock activities undertaken through another Reef Trust project, Burdekin Tailored Automation, which will refine irrigation practices to ensure water applied to the crop matches what it needs.
Restoring more natural wetland patterns through drydown, revegetation and improved fire practices will help wetlands to function in their closest-to-natural state, supporting their inherent water treatment capability.
Monitoring
The project will be supported by a scientifically robust monitoring framework, delivered with the support of water quality experts, to measure the impact of treatments, with results integrated into the “Wetlands Hydrology and Nutrient Model,” informing future management.
Extensive wetland condition and validation monitoring will contribute to the broader body of wetland repair knowledge, and be used to explore the potential for Reef Credits and Carbon Credits (blue carbon) to be used as a mechanism for project longevity and expansion beyond 2030.
Success in this project will inspire uptake of the water and wetland management practices by demonstrating the economic, social and environmental benefits achievable.
Photographs taken before work began on Plantation Creek in the Lower Burdekin, and after the weeds were removed.
The Reefwise Wetlands Grant Program project is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust.
