SEQ Catchments works with partners to build capacity for restoring degraded watercourses and building natural watercourse resilience. One of the ways we are acheiving this is through the Healthy Country partnership. SEQ Catchments also works to influence policy changes that enable better riparian, streambank and reach management.

What is Healthy Country?

The Healthy Country project is a four year project that focuses on ways to reduce sediments and nutrients entering our waterways locally and in Moreton Bay from three priority catchments, Logan and Bremer Rivers and Lockyer Creek. Project partners include SEQ Catchments, Healthy Waterways, Queensland Government and SEQ Traditional Owners Alliance. For more information, visit the Healthy Country Website. Alternatively, download the Healthy Country Booklet distributed at the International River Symposium 2011 or the Healthy Country Final Report 2012.

Soil Erosion

Hillslope and gully erosion are prominent landscape issues across South East Queensland (SEQ) that have been recorded in the SEQ Catchment Atlas. Studies by the Healthy Waterways partnership and Griffith University have identified 3500 tonnes/yr of sediment being exported into Moreton Bay from the Lockyer, Bremer and Logan/Albert Catchments alone. The mid Brisbane and Upper Brisbane/Stanley Catchments are also prominent contributors of sediment into large river systems.

Improving the health of our landscape by reducing hillslope and gully erosion will protect production lands from soil and nutrient loss, reduce the impact of sediment in Moreton Bay, improve the resilience of rural lands to erosion forces and ultimately protect the region’s rural, tourism and dependent industries. 

Streambank Erosion

Streambank erosion is an ongoing issue across SEQ depositing large amounts of sediment into the river systems, typically en route to Moreton Bay. Improving river systems by reducing streambank erosion will reduce the major source of sediment pollution of Moreton Bay.

Riparian (river) vegetation is widely recognised as important for increasing the stability of streambanks and providing numerous ecosystem services to waterways.

• Plant roots hold the soil together and vegetation reduces the strength of the river flow, whilst also reducing soil moisture content.
• Riparian vegetation helps moderate stream temperature, retains nutrients and contaminants, and also traps sediments
• Riparian vegetation influences the quantity of dissolved organic carbon reaching streams and raises the retention of benthic (found on or near the bottom of the river/creek) organic matter.

SEQ Catchments has responded to numerous landowner enquiries regarding bank and bed erosion following the 2011 storms/floods, with bank failure being the greatest observed degradation. Bank failure is commonly associated with scouring and/or slumping and typically occurs when banks become saturated, often associated with flooding. This can be exacerbated when there is a lack of riparian vegetation.

Best management practice for degraded watercourses involves rebuilding natural resilience through revegetation.

For futher information of the impacts of the 2011 floods, take a look at the flood newsletters prepared by Healthy Waterways.

Healthy Waterways South East Queensland Floods - Number 4 (4245 KB)

Healthy Waterways South East Queensland Floods - Number 3 (2808 KB)

Healthy Waterways South East Queensland Floods - Number 2 (2342 KB)

Healthy Waterways South East Queensland Floods - Number 1 (2711 KB)