North Harbour Continues River Water Study

9 April 2010

Internationally respected aquatic ecologist Marcus Lincoln Smith is continuing to monitor the quality of the Caboolture River as part of Northeast Business Park’s commitment to improving the river system.

Dr Lincoln Smith has 30 years experience in the field of aquatic ecology, with extensive tertiary training and a wide practical knowledge of the flora and fauna, occurring in coastal, estuarine and freshwater habitats.

His detailed sampling of the river’s water reveals a degraded river system that has been substantially compromised by the presence of the weir upstream from the North Harbour site and inflows of elevated nutrients.

He has found high levels of plankton growth within the estuary and highly fluctuating levels of dissolved oxygen in the water but says these problems can be addressed by proper management and monitoring of the estuary.

Dr Lincoln Smith said approval of the North Harbour project would lead to improvements through:
• The rehabilitation and ongoing protection of creeks flowing into the river from the North Harbour site;
• The control of overland flow across the North Harbour site;
• A general clean up of the river itself; and
• The establishment of a 100 m wide vegetation buffer on the development site that shields the river environmentally and visually.

Dr Lincoln Smith said any improvements to the flushing of the river system through the removal of built up sediment would also improve water quality.

Northeast Business Park proposes to the dredge a 5.5 km section of the river to reduce sediment build-up caused by the earlier removal of mangroves and other riverbank vegetation.

The proposed dredging area starts approximately 1km east of the mouth of the Caboolture River.

The process would be carefully managed through a Construction Environmental Management Plan that involves detailed monitoring commencing before and continuing throughout construction and best practice storm water management.

“North Harbour is committed to long term monitoring of the river system and that’s one of the most important strategies to ensure healthy waterways – identifying and responding promptly to any problems,” Dr Lincoln Smith said.

For further information please refer to the dredging please refer to the Draft Dredge Management Plan in the EIS. Click here