Shock Spit report: 'Substantial risk' of fire from $8 million project
Fire has emerged as a major risk with a major $8m project planned for the Gold Coast. READ THE FULL REPORT
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FIRE has emerged as the major planning risk as authorities spend $8 million of taxpayer and ratepayer money on creating a rainforest at the end of The Spit.
The Bulletin can reveal council officers in a report on the ocean park’s big ticket item warned “wildfire is a substantial risk for the site and targeted vegetation communities”.
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Councillors in a closed committee session were told council staff involved in maintenance would have to use irrigation facilities to create “wet” buffers.
Deputy Premier and State Development Minister Dr Steven Miles in March announced it would take approximately 12 months for plantings to become established and $8 million required across 10 years to restore 37 hectares of native forest.
The council report warns the site, at Federation Walk on the north eastern side of The Spit, has had several fires impacting on the work of volunteers regenerating the area.
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The most recent grass fire in 2019 forced police to create an exclusion zone as hundreds of people were stranded for more than four hours.
Detailed project planning would determine mown buffers around the restoration areas to minimise this risk of damage to the rainforest community, officers said.
“The presence of extensive areas of Blady Grass is also seen as a fire risk and would be managed as part of the site management to reduce fuel continuity and load,” the report said.
Officers warned the creation of vegetation communities would require a “regular and reliable supply of water during the establishment period”.
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Council helped by Federal Government funding was designing “a permanent or semi-permanent irrigation system within Federation Walk” but a timeline for the project had yet to be determined.
The other constraint on the project was the availability of plant supplies, and giving nurseries a long enough lead up time for delivery.
“Areas to be restored are in close proximity to Sea World Drive, illegal access by four wheel drive is a potential issue. The use of vegetated barriers and or fencing will need to be considered as part of the project planning,” the report said.
Officers said wastewater from the city’s water treatment plants was being pumped along the length of The Spit and discharged into the Seaway at the northern end.
Gold Coast Water had investigated the viability of using the site’s existing recycled water.
“An initial risk assessment confirmed that the use of the existing Class C water within proposed restoration areas was feasible. Details of mitigation measures to limit any exposure to members of the public are currently being prepared by Gold Coast Waterways Authority,” the report said.
The tender package to build the irrigation system was to be released to the market in April 2021 and completion of the system is scheduled for four months after the contract was signed.
A city spokesperson told the Bulletin: “The irrigation portion of the project is due to go out to tender at the end of May, with completion expected in December.”
The State Government is expected to fund the balance of the construction of the irrigation system, and council predicts ongoing maintenance costs beyond the ten year timeframe are expected to continue to decrease as the vegetation communities establish.
“The plantings are expected to be well established within the project timeframe with a greatly reduced need for supplementary watering beyond ten years, at this point parts of the irrigation system could be decommissioned. However, a stand-alone portion of the irrigation system will be retained for bushfire suppression and management purposes,” the report said.
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PLANNING is underway for The Spit’s newest and most promising tourism project – a rainforest at its northern end.
The council has earmarked $910,000 in funding for an irrigation system and creation of 35ha of rainforest at Federation Walk, which it predicts “will become one of the most popular attractions on the Gold Coast”.
In a report to the council’s transport and infrastructure committee, council officers said littoral rainforest was listed as a critically endangered threatened ecological community under the Federal Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The funding is judged as meeting the criteria under the Commonwealth’s community infrastructure program.
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“Large intact areas of this vegetation community are uncommon. The largest remaining intact area of 136ha is found within Iluka nature reserve in the Northern Rivers region of NSW,” the council report said.
Officers said the project would deliver “a cool canopy of littoral rainforest and other coastal vegetation communities” enabling tourists to “appreciate the amenity of a world-class ocean park destination at the Spit”.
“The irrigation will support the establishment of rainforest and at the same time reduce the potential for fires in a location that is subject to fires,” the report said.
“The Queensland Government as part of The Spit master plan have indicated an intention to commit $2.6 million to the rainforest establishment project, however that is assumed to be announced closer to the election (in October).”
Councillors did not discuss the proposal at committee.
State Development Minister Kate Jones, when contacted by the Bulletin, said the Government was working on the project.
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“Eco-tourism is the way of the future for Queensland,” Ms Jones said.
“More and more tourists want an eco experience when they travel. This will be a great drawcard for the Coast.”
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A literal rainforest was one of nine outcomes listed for Federation Walk in The Spit master plan report.
“The establishment of a littoral rainforest preserves this endangered ecological community for the benefit of future generations,” the report said.
The Bulletin understands creating the forest will involve the use of water tanks and feeder lines through the dunal areas.
Originally published as Shock Spit report: 'Substantial risk' of fire from $8 million project
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