Streambank Remediation Program

Streambank erosion and sediment flow to the Reef will be reduced through the Queensland Government’s Streambank Remediation Program.

The Queensland Government is providing $6 million for three projects in the Burdekin, Herbert River and Fitzroy River catchments to repair and remediate streambanks along rivers and waterways.

The Australian Government is co-investing $6.4 million in three projects in the Burdekin, Mackay Whitsunday and Burnett Mary regions to reduce sediment run-off from eroded streambanks and gullies.

Works will include revegetation, fencing, bank reprofiling and pile fields to reduce sediment loss. Activities will be guided by the Queensland Government’s River Rehabilitation Guidelines and the Australian Government’s Reef Trust Gully and Streambank Toolbox.

This work builds on the joint efforts by both the Queensland and Australian Governments into sediment management through landscape repair initiatives. Projects such as the Innovative Gully Remediation Project which was jointly funded under Greening Australia’s Reef Aid program and the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program play a crucial role in helping protect the Reef. This $4 million project directly remediated 17.41 hectares of gullies and restored ground cover to 44 hectares at Strathalbyn Station in the Burdekin.

It demonstrated that eroding gullies can be cost-effectively restored, delivering benefits for landholders and the Great Barrier. The results from 10 gully remediation trial sites reduced fine sediment reaching the Reef by an average of 98 per cent.