Cod hotels and 200,000 trees: The $30m plan to clean up our waterways

A $30 million deal has been reached to deliver one of the single biggest investments to clean up Queensland’s busiest waterways.

The funding, provided by the South East Queensland Council of Mayors and the state and federal governments, will kickstart more than 30 rehabilitation projects from Noosa to Logan and as far west as the Lockyer Valley.

The Resilient Rivers package includes funding to plant 200,000 native trees, release 30,000 cod fingerlings, and install 200 cod hotels, made of underwater logs, to provide a breeding habitat for the critically endangered Mary River Cod.

Dr Tamielle Brunt carries out an eDNA test to monitor for the presence of platypuses.

It will also establish the first-ever regional platypus-monitoring program using a simple water test known as eDNA, a non-invasive way to detect the presence of the mammals in creeks, rivers and dams.

Dr Tamielle Brunt, from Wildlife Queensland’s PlatypusWatch, said it would help identify “hot spots” where platypuses are under threat.

“We’re seeing a lot of change in our waterways,” Brunt said.

Tamielle Brunt sets nets during a platypus survey.Credit: Tamielle Brunt

“The way water actually comes into our waterways through stormwater drains is hard and fast: it will erode banks, which we now need to rehabilitate, and it can displace their food source, and if there’s no food, there’s no platypus.

“So, there are a lot of compounding threats that will impact their populations across the urban space.”

The entire program is aimed to prevent about 16,000 tonnes – more than 21,000 ute-loads – of sediment from entering local waterways each year.

The Council of Mayors chair, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, said it was a chance to enhance the region’s natural assets ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Brisbane River and Moreton Bay are some of our most important natural assets, generating billions in economic benefit for trade, tourism and transport, and we need to protect them,” he said.

“While other global cities are known for buildings and structures, south-east Queensland is known for its pristine landscapes, waterways and coastlines, and we want that to be the focus during the Brisbane 2032 Games.”

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