Little McCreadys Creek Rehabilitation Project

Little McCreadys Creek is a 720m long modified urban waterway corridor at the headwaters of McCreadys Catchment, surrounded by residential development.    Aquatic habitat improvement works included the installation of four wetlands, four fishways, refuge pools, and instream habitat features (including wetland and instream planting).  Works will enhance the waterway corridor by providing habitat connectivity, increasing biodiversity, reducing runoff velocities and improving the amenity of the creek. Terrestrial revegetation and weed control works will also improve water quality (filtration and reduce runoff velocities), improve instream environments (shade, ph, leaf litter inputs, filtration capacity etc.) stabilise sediments (mitigate erosion), increase habitat and structural complexity, and improve the visual amenity, community connection and ecosystem service values. Instream vegetation intercepts marine debris and pollutants and prevents future deposition into the downstream environments.

Project aims also included:
• Improve and treat water quality runoff from built up urban areas and improve the quality of water flowing into estuarine and Great Barrier Reef habitats.
• Increase in the amount of habitat available for biodiversity including the provision for Fish Passage.
• Local costed out example of naturalised/vegetated waterways versus mown swales in the provision of water quality and ecosystem services, as well as ongoing maintenance and operational costs.
• Improved visual amenity of the local area, and opportunities to engage with the community.
• Re-establish riparian vegetation and ecosystem service values in the McCreadys Creek catchment, including Channel Stability.
• Increased coordination between terrestrial and aquatic land managers and improve the knowledge of local government to better manage naturalised waterways that drain urban areas.

During the construction period Little McCreadys Creek was subject to water quality testing as a means to assess erosion settlement control efficacy. This assessment was one of three assessment types considered in a water quality monitoring proposal developed between Reef Catchments, Mackay Regional Council and North Queensland Bulk Ports. The water quality monitoring program was proposed as a means to assess water quality across a range of urban environments and included the assessment of the performance of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) structures, urban land management practices and general catchment sites. Little McCreadys Catchment was chosen for general catchment assessment to inform the Urban ABCD framework of the efficacy of erosion settlement control in planning/construction versus development/building phases. Recent results conclude that in general, sediment loads were comparable to other sites. Future monitoring will be undertaken through the water quality monitoring proposal.

Photopoints were installed to monitor works throughout the project.