Stormwater education (both community and industry) has been highlighted as one of the five priority implementation projects under Councils voluntary mechanism for stormwater quality management. Councils approach has been two fold – installing Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) signage at strategic locations and also delivering Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) training.
Stormwater run-off contains many pollutants, including litter, oil, paint, cement, dog droppings, fertiliser and garden waste. Left untreated, these pollutants will enter our waterways and cause harm to wildlife and aquatic plant life. Some examples of this include algal blooms, exotic weed outbreaks and de-oxygenation of the surrounding waterway, which may ultimately lead to fish kills and poor ecosystem health.
Council has designed and installed two signs to help educate the public on the importance of stormwater management.
They have been installed at a constructed wetland at Blacks Beach Cove and a bioretention basin in Royal Sands Estate so that the community may draw the parallels that those devices are actually there to protect water quality in the downstream waterway.
In March 2015, Townsville City Council in conjunction with consultants – Soil Horizons and Revegetation Contractors delivered a 2 day ESC training course to a total of 52 consultants, contractors and Council staff.
This training was commissioned by Mackay Regional Council and was aimed at large scale development sites. For more information contact Mackay Regional Council.
