Council building wetlands to manage North Lismore stormwater

CONSTRUCTION of an artificial wetland on Slaters Creek in North Lismore is being seen as a pilot that could be applied to other creeks in the Lismore area.

Lismore City Council Co-ordinator of Environmental Strategies Nick Stephens at the Slaters Creek Stormwater Treatment Wetland site in North Lismore. Picture: Cathy Adams

CONSTRUCTION of an artificial wetland on Slaters Creek in North Lismore is being seen as a pilot that could be applied to other creeks in the Lismore area.

They are about halfway through the construction process and Lismore council's co-ordinator of environmental strategies, Nick Stephens, said it would improve the quality of the water going into Wilsons River.

"The wetland will be made up of two independent cells that will be revegetated with wetland plants. As water comes down the creek, it will be diverted into the wetland system that will essentially act as a filter to remove sediment and nutrient from the creek before it ultimately goes into the Wilsons River," he said.

The project links with significant restoration work already undertaken by the Banyam/Baigham Landcare Group. The area holds cultural significance for Aboriginal people as it was a wetland hunting ground.

The $180,000 project will include "a rough path" from Bridge St to the Showgrounds and bird-watching areas.

Mr Stephens said if the North Lismore Plateau residential development went ahead, a paved cycleway would be constructed from the plateau, past the Showgrounds, along Slaters Creek into the CBD.

He said the construction of the wetlands would let them assess management and maintenance issues before applying them to other possible areas including Browns Creek, which has been earmarked for a "naturalisation" as part of the Lismore Park Masterplan.

"This is clever and best-practice management of our stormwater and will give us an excellent indication of whether this can be used more widely in our 16 urban catchments," he said.

"Improving the quality of Wilsons River was one of the things identified in the Imagine Lismore community consultation."