Townsville Water Quality Improvement Plan Activities
Introduction
Creek to Coral is coordinating a broad range of actions that have emerged from the Black Ross (Townsville) WQIP as well as continuing with some great activities that have been so successful in the past.
The major Creek to Coral coordinated project that emerged after the preparation of the Townsville WQIP was funded through the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country program [external website]. The project titled “Increasing community engagement in Townsville coastal catchments for biodiversity” was actively involved in promoting and supporting community based natural resource management projects in the Townsville WQIP coastal catchments. Have a look at the project to see what was achieved.
Other actions related to the Townsville WQIP include:
- The final [graphically enhanced] version of the Black Ross (Townsville) WQIP was printed in 2012;
- Partnered with RUSMIG and Water by Design to deliver the Collaboration to the rescue project (2013-2014);
- Investigation and actions to incorporate the State Planning Policy (SPP) Healthy Waters (SPP 4/10) into Council activities and planning instruments. SPP 4/10 was included in the single SPP (2013), which has subsequently been reviewed and revised (see State Planning Policy 2016 [external website]). The most recent update of the SPP was in conjunction with the commencement of the Planning Act 2016 on 3 July 2017 (see State Planning Policy 2017 [external website]);
- Preparation of additional Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) documents to complement the WSUD products developed in conjunction with the preparation of the Townsville WQIP;
- Ongoing coordination of the Reef Urban Stormwater Management Improvement Group (RUSMIG), formed in 2009 (see First meeting), partly in response to the impending release of SPP 4/10 (Healthy Waters);
- Provision of advice during the preparation of the Townsville City Planning Scheme (City Plan) [TCC website] especially with regard to water quality, waterway and wetland management, WSUD guidelines [TCC website], urban stormwater management and environmental values (Natural Assets Overlay). Provision of ongoing assistance and advice with City Plan updates and amendments;
- Townsville City Council is a Reef Guardian Council Reef Guardian [TCC website] and implementation of WQIP actions is the key to achieving outcomes for local waterways and the Great Barrier Reef;
- Gazettal of Environmental Values and Water Quality Objectives under the Environmental Protection (Water) Policy 2009 [external website], as determined during preparation of the Townsville WQIP;
- Involvement in the Dry Tropics Watersmart program [TCC website];
- Concept planning, design and management of the expansion of the Lakes Savanna Wetlands [TCC SOE website] treatment train;
- Assistance with the update of the Eco-catchment Tours Interpretive Plan [TCC SOE website] and accreditation as a certified Ecotourism Australia tour provider;
- New and updated interpretive material for the 'greater' Townsville Town Common and Rowes Bay Wetland reserve [TCC SOE website] including the Rowes Bay Wetlands Interpretive Guide and the Townsville Town Common Concept Plan;
- Involvement in the IBM Smarter Cities challenge [external website] in 2011/12 led to a range of innovative ideas and partnerships including the idea of using cheaper sensor technology to gather near real time data to inform management decisions. One of these partnerships has resulted in the Sensor-Q project [external website], which is developing low-cost technology for the monitoring and analysis of water quality in Townsville's urban water bodies to better inform management decisions;
- Providing input to the draft Sustainable Townsville Plan and Eco-city Strategy.
