City of Moreton Bay waterways stay strong following floods
Published 22 December 2023
City of Moreton Bay has welcomed Healthy Land & Water’s annual report card as part of the Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program; one of the most comprehensive catchment health monitoring and modelling programs in Australia.
Following significant flooding events in 2011 and 2022, waterway and catchment health remains a key focus for Council.
Mayor Peter Flannery said he was heartened to see such strong results following the recent floods.
“Our waterways are the lifeblood of our city. Seeing them bounce back or maintain their strong results from last year is a testament to the work our officers are doing to build resilience in these fragile, yet important, ecosystems,” he said.
“Flooding and large rainfall events can cause an abundance of sediment to leave catchments and enter waterways around Moreton Bay. This impacts not only on water quality but has a flow on effect with key habitats including seagrass meadows.
“We’ve seen Pumicestone, Caboolture, and Stanley catchments, as well as the Central Bay and Eastern Bay, maintain their ecosystem score. Pine, Lower Brisbane and Western Bay have improved theirs and it’s something we can absolutely be proud of.
“But we won’t be resting on these results. There is always more to do to improve waterway health and with very dry weather predicted for 2024, we’re ready to face our next challenge.
“Preservation and restoration of our waterways was a community priority we heard loud and clear when drafting our Environment and Sustainability Strategy. The continuation and expansion of works to restore and regenerate our riparian areas, is an action under that Strategy.
“We are also developing a Biodiversity Plan to protect and manage habitats and the diversity of animals and plants in the region, including waterways, wetlands and coasts. You can find out more about this and other projects through the Your Say Moreton Bay Page.”
Healthy Land & Water CEO, Julie McLellan encouraged residents to view the results and educate themselves on the health of their waterways.
"We want to help people understand it’s getting more urgent every year. We are worried about tipping points, after which recovery will be near impossible or too expensive to contemplate,” she said.
“Whether it is protecting waterways, threatened species or increasing sustainable and productive land use and building developments, action is needed.
“Few regions in the world have this incredible wealth of long-term data on which to make impactful decisions and the timing for investment is right now.
“We have the data, the insights, and the solutions. Now, it's about scaling up efforts to protect the biodiversity, lifestyle values, and economic benefits that our waterways bring to the community.”
City of Moreton Bay’s 2023-2024 budget commits $31.3 million to maintenance and improvement of our waterways and coastal areas.
Visit our website to view our Environment and Sustainability Strategy.
Visit the website of Healthy Land & Water to see the full results.