Creek troubles start to trickle into burnett

1st August 2009

GREEN Army leader John Waters can still remember pulling nine tonnes of rubbish from Saltwater Creek.

Fourteen shopping trolleys and 21 garbage bags of trash were among the pollutants populating the central Bundaberg waterway when Mr Waters led the now defunct Green Corps through the creek last year.

So it was no surprise when heard this week the Burnett River, which receives water from Saltwater Creek, was in dire need of assistance.

The confirmation came from a Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) report which gave the Burnett River an “D-” mark in its water assessment.

“It is a wake-up call to us all,” Bundaberg Regional Council natural resource spokesman Danny Rowleson said.

“It's a wake-up call for the community that we've got to do better.”

The report comes from a two-year study of the region's estuaries by the BMRG and Department of Environment and Resource Management as part of the Natural Resource Plan.

A BMRG spokesman said the report would give government agencies detailed information about the region's estuaries that would be valuable for future investment into environmental work.

“Our organisation will now be looking to deliver mechanisms such as the Australian Government's Caring for our Country Reef Rescue Program and state government-assisted fish biopass activities to prioritise estuarine investment over the next two years,” BMRG chief executive officer David Brown said.

Of the almost 20 estuaries rated, the Burnett River was the most at risk, grading “F” in the risk category and “D” in water health.

Cr Rowleson said the flow of pollutants coming from Bundaberg contributed to poor water quality.

He said previous council's decisions had not helped water quality.

“We have to learn from this and act differently in the future,” he said.

As his first order of business after receiving the report, Cr Rowleson will recommend on Monday that Bundaberg becomes a reef guardian council.

“This will allow us funding that we have not had access to in the past,” he said.

Yesterday, students from St Joseph's Catholic School joined WetlandCare Australia Co-ordinator, BMRG and council at Saltwater Creek yesterday as part of a National Tree Day initiative that will protect the Burnett River.

Bundaberg Regional Council manager of natural resources Nick Maclean said the students, Green Army and Australian Conservation Council volunteers were planting more than 2500 trees over 2.5ha.

“This will provide a buffer for the creek,” he said.

For more on National Tree Day activities go to page 2.

“It is a wake up call to us all.”

Councillor Danny Rowleson