Cod Hotels, 200,000 tree plantings and platypus monitoring is part of a $30 million plan to clean up our waterways.
This week, SEQ Council of Mayors received a funding boost for the Resilient Rivers Program from the state and federal governments.
The program has been in place since the 2011 floods.
The trees will be planted along kilometres of river bank and 30,000 cod fingerlings to be released into South-East Queensland waterways to boost native fish populations.
The platypus monitoring program using eDNA, which essentially is a water test to detect the presence of native animals, will be introduced for the first time in many of the regions.
The Resilient Rivers program will also allow for 30 plus projects to continue from Noosa to Logan and as far west as the Lockyer Valley over the next two years.
Photo: Minister for Environment and Tourism Andrew Powell, Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding and Minister for Local Government and Water Ann Leahy. SEQ Mayors. Supplied
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said its about protecting the whole region’s catchment.
“Rivers and creeks flow across council boundaries so by working together as a region we have the best possible chance to address issues that impact the whole catchment.
“One of the projects will improve riverbank vegetation and water quality along Black Snake Creek here in Ipswich, which flows into the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay.
“We will also benefit directly from the first regionally coordinated environmental DNA (eDNA) survey to detect threatened species such as platypus, freshwater turtles and endangered lungfish, gathering vital data to guide future conservation work,” she said.
Photo: Mayor Jason Wendt at Twin Bridges, Fernvale.
While Somerset Mayor Jason Wendt said that our rivers, creeks and waterways are the lifeblood of the land – they fill Brisbane’s taps, provide water for farming, and offer residents and visitors places to rest and play.
“Together, through Resilient Rivers SEQ, we’re working as one region to protect them for generations to come.
“We will be installing large fish habitat structures and releasing up to 30,000 fingerlings across SEQ.
“In Somerset we will construct 200 new ‘cod hotels’, underwater log structures which will provide shelter and breeding habitat for the critically endangered Mary River Cod,” Mayor Wendt said.
