Our Healthy Catchments Program has received a $2 million funding injection from the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation to keep up its work busting erosion. The funding means we can continue the many years of great work preventing erosion and improving water quality in SEQ.

		Cleaner water Containing and controlling erosion and sediment flowing downstream ultimately increases water quality.
		Flood resilience Stabilising gullies and reducing streambank erosion increases their resilience to erosion during major floods.
		Protects agricultural and environmental values Reducing gully and streambank erosion helps protect our region’s agricultural land and environmental values.

This extends our program for another 3-years, so we can strategically target gully remediation and maintenance of existing streambank repair sites which is critical to their performance. We will be complementing existing, related initiatives where ever possible in SEQ.

The Healthy Catchments Program has a long history of tackling erosion in the Warrill, Bremer, Mid Brisbane and Laidley catchments and beyond.

How? By implementing a range of innovative and green techniques and working closely and in collaboration with the community, landholders and regional partners, with whom we have achieved great results for our region!

Revegetation in action: healthy eucalypt growing.

This successful program improves community flood resilience, reduces the risk to agricultural assets and improves water quality. Reducing sediment and nutrient runoff from entering our region’s waterways also helps to decrease potential harm to a host of local ecosystems.

Severely eroded gully running through productive agricultural land.

The future of erosion busting

The program helps us to tackle streambank erosion which threatens vegetation and productive agricultural land.

Our team will build on the skilled, innovative approaches implemented up until now to maximise catchment repair across SEQ and increase community participation in the protection of local waterways.
We’ll keep working closely with landholders to design, fund and deliver a range of projects to repair or prevent erosion issues, protect land and reduce sediment in downstream waterways.

Our CEO Julie McLellan says that the forward-thinking program focuses squarely on building the health and resilience of our region, to help it better withstand the increasing impacts from natural disasters, litter and urban development.

“Funding is vital for us to be able to do so much more to protect ecology, flora, fauna and repair 150 years of legacy issues,” she says.

“We need to do this at scale with major restoration work in streams, creeks, rivers and gullies protecting receiving waters, place and property from further erosion, damage and pollutants. It also helps us protect our native species from invasive plants and animals so they can be restored and thrive.”

Great work has been done so far

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Healthy Catchments Program has enhanced understanding, techniques, and expertise in streambank and gully repair throughout South East Queensland, contributing valuable insights to environmental recovery efforts post-natural disasters.

Innovative cement chute installed at one property. This chute will eventually be grassed up.

A total of 32 new on-ground works sites and 32 maintenance sites across 26 properties have been implemented over the 2021-23 period and in 2023 alone, the team delivered 18 engineering projects across ten properties.

Check out two great examples of what we have done with landholders along the Warrill and Bremer Rivers.

Keeping sediment in the landscape and slowing water flow

The Healthy Catchments Program delivers a range of targeted on-ground works – from projects that restore streambanks following flooding events, to works that protect threatened species through revegetation projects.

Streambank and gully erosion pose significant threats to water quality by introducing sediment into our waterways. To address this issue, we prioritised gully and in-stream bank stabilisation efforts, aiming to mitigate sedimentation and increase water quality.

By retaining sediment within the landscape and slowing water flow in upper catchments, we help prevent it from entering the waterways, safeguarding downstream ecosystems.

Reducing streambank and gully erosion protects productive agricultural land and, through targeted vegetation planting, can also increase bank stabilisation, and rain infiltration, reduce surface runoff and provide a stable area for sediment deposition, improving environmental outcomes for landholders as well as flood resilience.

A leaky weir installed at one property along the Bremer is slowing down flood waters and allowing water to recharge paddocks and improve pasture quality.

Our approach to combating gully erosion involves a mix of hard engineering and green solutions. This includes installing rock chutes and leaky weirs to halt erosion, as well as Vetiver grass and cement mats. Additionally, fencing off gullies and replanting with native trees creates habitat refuges within grazing paddocks. It also includes increasing landholder capabilities in best-practice farm planning.

This program in all its phases has been funded by the Queensland Government's Department of Environment, Science and Innovation and runs in collaboration with all the landholders in the targeted areas.