Unitywater’s measures to reduce nutrients
UNITYWATER has begun planting seagrass across seven sites in Moreton Bay’s Marine Park including Coochin and Bells Creek, to determine its effectiveness in reducing nutrient levels that enter the local waterways.
The project will aim to find suitable solutions to restoring the threatened plant habitat to provide essential food, shelter and nursery for green turtles, fish, and other local fauna, whilst measuring the plants’ ability to absorb and process nutrients.
Unitywater Executive Manager Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions, Mike Basterfield, said the project was expected to enhance waterways across the planting locations, which would contribute to the organisation’s sustainability goal of net zero nutrients to waterways by 2040.
The project was born from an idea presented by a Unitywater Project Engineer in 2023 as part of an annual ‘Innovation Challenge’, which asked employees to submit a solution or idea to positively contribute to waterways across Unitywater’s service region.
Since its conception, the project has been designed and undertaken by the water utility’s ‘Graduate Development Program’ cohort, who deliver a ‘Team Innovation Project’ during their time in the two-year program.
The seagrass meadows will be installed at Beachmere, Bells Creek, Toorbul, Scarborough, Caboolture River, Coochin Creek and southern Bribie Island, to be complete by the first half of 2025.