Our waterways, our responsibility

The Creek to Coral program aims to maintain and enhance healthy waterways within the coastal dry tropics of the Townsville region.

This is a joint initiative by the Queensland State Government - Environmental Protection Agency, and Townsville City Council (TCC) towards a healthy waterways program. It is also supported by Townsville Port Authority and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

Our program focuses on Total Water Cycle Management (TWCM) and the provision of community education and involvement. TWCM is a partnership across a number of Townsville City Council sections including Integrated Sustainability Services.

For further information please contact the Creek to Coral Coordinator.

Water Sensitive Urban Design Guidelines for the Coastal Dry Tropics of Townsville

Council is required to manage stormwater quality in urban areas.  The Queensland Government's recently released State Planning Policy (SPP) for healthy waters comes into effect on the 2 May 2011.  This policy is designed to help improve urban stormwater quality and flow management across the state, through the adoption of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) and Erosion Sediment Control (ESC) measures.  To help ensure compliance with this policy, Townsville City Council has been proactive in developing locally relevant WSUD technical design guidelines (stormwater) for our region.  These draft guidelines have been developed to reflect the unique climatic, soils and vegetation characteristics in Townsville.

In this third and final stage of industry consultation, professionals have an opportunity to review the final draft documents and make recommendations prior to guideline finalization in May 2011. Any comments are to be forwarded to sustainable@townsville.qld.gov.au by 5.00pm April 29, 2011.

The draft guidelines have been produced by AECOM (Australia) for Townsville City Council with the approval of the Healthy Waterways Partnership. This publication was funded by the former Townsville and Thuringowa City Councils, the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency and the Australian Government’s Coastal Catchment Initiative through the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

•  Water Sensitive Urban Design Guidelines  

Reef Guardian Councils

TCC is proud to announce that it has become one of the first Reef Guardian Councils announced by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. TCC joins other councils along the Queensland coast whose efforts to protect, conserve, and enhance our Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area have been recognised.

Reef Guardian Councils is an innovative program which aims to protect and conserve the Great Barrier Reef for future generations by encouraging best environmental practice at the local government level. As improvement in land based management practices will lead to increased water quality for the Great Barrier Reef.

This will be achieved through:

• Identifying best environmental practice in daily operations and other core business of Council,
• Identifying best environmental practice principles in land use and infrastructure planning,
• Providing locally relevant environmental communication and education programs for staff and the community, and
• Identifying and developing key partnerships and collaborations that can help meet these objectives.

Reasons why TCC is involved:

TCC is committed to the protection, conservation and enhancement of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area for future generations. Council recognises the important link between land-based management practices and the health of our wonderful reef. The Reef Guardian Council provides the recognition of the roles local government play in the reef protection and it centres on recognising what council is already doing through activities, programs and initiatives relating to waste, water, land management, and community involvement.

What TCC will do as a Reef Guardian Council:

Council is committed to create an annual action plan on four focus areas as described below:

1. Water management: Mitigation and monitoring of pollution sources

Council is committed to implementing programs to manage and mitigate the impacts of land-based activities on the coral reef. For example reducing catchment based pollution sources (including suspended solids, nutrients, and soils).

Existing Council programs supporting this objective include:

• Creek to Coral: Our waterways, our responsibility
• Total water cycle management, including the development of a regional Water Quality Improvement plan
• Soil and erosion control plan

2. Waste management: Planning for the environment

Council is committed to implementing programs that will help reduce waste and land-based pollution sources from entering the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Areas.

Existing Council programs supporting this objective include:

• Don't Waste Townsville program
• WALOR (What a Load of Rubbish) recycling game
• Installation of gross pollution traps in various city-wide locations
• State-of-the-art water treatment plants in Horseshoe Bay and Cleveland Bay

3. Land management: Management plans for impacts

Council is committed to implementing programs to promote responsible land management and promote awareness of harms to the reef from inappropriate land management activities.

Existing Council programs supporting this objective include:

• Pest plants and pest animal management programs
• Greening Townsville program and local native plant giveaways
• Community awareness program for weeds recognition and eradication through Weedbuster Week, Weedswap (swapping weeds for local native plants)

4. Community engagement: Influencing and involving the community

Council is committed to engage the wider community in various environmental activities to raise awareness of environmental issues and to achieve on-ground activities that would contribute to protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

• Community Greening program
• School Shade Tree and Greentree Ants programs
• Eco-catchment education tours
• Creek to Coral program
• Supporting Creekwatch program
• Recognising this, the action should seek to achieve increased community willingness to change by targeting key social inhibitors (income, infrastructure, information, on-the-ground actions, and education).