New plan is boost for river health

New plan is boost for river health

Canoeing on the Albert River

Logan City Council has endorsed the Albert River Vision (2019-22) Implementation Plan.

The Plan provides a framework to guide actions and drive investment to deliver Council’s Albert River Vision 2017-2067.

The Albert River Vision is based on ideas and feedback from the community and seeks to:

  • Create a healthy and clean river to support
  • Develop tourism and business opportunities
  • Improve recreation on the river and in riverside parks through providing better access points and better facilities
  • Inspire the community to value our rivers now and into the future as a key city asset

Over the next three years the Implementation Plan will focus on several initiatives including:

  • Improve park facilities and river access in Council parks through delivery of boardwalks, canoe launch sites, pontoons, boat ramps and signage
  • Rehabilitation of riverside vegetation in Council parks along the Albert River, including Belivah Creek and Windaroo Creek
  • Working with landholders on better rural land management and improve water quality entering the river
  • Supporting improved fisheries in the rivers through improving habitat, water quality and removing barriers to fish movement
  • Encourage more community activities in parks adjacent to or near the Albert River
  • Partnerships with riverside land owners to support sustainable farming practices

    Look at ways tourism can be encouraged on and along the river.

The health of the Albert River received a strong endorsement recently when a study commissioned by Logan City Council scientifically confirmed the presence of platypus in the upper reaches.

The Implementation Plan divides the Albert River into five different reaches, from Mundoolun downstream to Carbrook, based on the surrounding geography, land use and river features.

Three themes – health, destinations and play – are applied to each reach to identify 37 separate opportunities for sustainable use of the river.

These include restoring and improving the surrounding environment, recreational use, tourism, education and culture consideration.

Logan City Council Strategy and Sustainability Director David Hansen said the Albert River Vision, along with the similar Logan River Vision, are key elements of Council’s Logan Rivers and Wetlands Recovery Plan.

In November last year, the Healthy Land and Water annual report card gave the Albert River a C while the Logan River was rated C-.

“Those ratings compared favourably to previous report cards and indicated the health of our rivers is improving,” Mr Hansen said.

Council is also working closely with neighbouring councils and water managers, including Scenic Rim Regional Council, City of Gold Coast, Seqwater and Healthy Land and Water to focus on the mid and upper catchments of the city’s rivers to reduce the amount of sediment entering rivers before they enter the City of Logan.

“It is important we continue with our whole-of-catchment approach underpinned by strong community partnerships,” Mr Hansen said.

“Our goal is to have Logan and Albert river corridors that are healthy, accessible, connected and celebrated as iconic city assets.”

/Public Release. View in full here.