NEWS / BLOG

Fitzroy Basin Association: Drain Buddies, guardians of the reef Humans are responsible for 100 per cent of marine debris. To tackle this problem, three of central Queensland’s largest towns (Rockhampton, Yeppoon and Gladstone) installed ‘Drain Buddies’ at key locations to capture debris before it could enter local waterways and created source reduction solutions. Drain Buddies are heavy-duty baskets installed at litter hotspot locations that only allow water to pass through, collecting all other matter including litter, organic debris and sediment. Matter collected is emptied quarterly, then sorted, analysed and recorded in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative database administered by Tangaroa Blue. The project, which commenced in June 2019 concluded its sixth servicing and audit cycle in November 2020. Since this time, the Drain Buddies have discovered some significant results: 40,079 pieces of litter were stopped from entering the Great Barrier Reef across 27 drains with a total weight of 1,002 kilograms (over 1 metric tonne). To date, the project has implemented four source reduction strategies based on the data collected from the Drain Buddies audits. The data collected from the Drain Buddies has provided unrivalled insight into what was getting thrown away, where it came from and what types of source reduction campaigns provide [...]

Origin Energy & Hewitt Cattle Company: partnership delivers beneficial use of water As the upstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG, Origin understands how important water resources are to the communities where it operates. That is why Origin seeks to protect water resources in the natural environment, responsibly manages water consumption and makes water available for other users near its coal seam gas (CSG) operations in Queensland’s Surat and Bowen basins. To produce natural gas, Origin extracts water and gas from underground coal seams. The gas is bonded to the coal seams by water pressure, so a well is drilled to extract enough water to reduce the pressure and allow the gas to flow. This gas is supplied to Australian customers and also converted to LNG for export. At home, Australia Pacific LNG continues to be a significant contributor to the Australian east coast gas market, supplying approximately 30 per cent of annual demand. The Coal Seam Gas Water Management Policy 2012 sets out the Queensland Government’s framework for the management of CSG water. The objective of the policy is “To encourage the beneficial use of CSG water in a way that protects the environment and maximises its productive use as a valuable resource” (Queensland [...]

Rockhampton Regional Council: improving water quality Rockhampton Regional Council is responsive to the fact the Fitzroy River estuary is a vitally important waterway supporting an abundance of aquatic wildlife and provides significant recreational value to the local community. Historically, all of the effluent from Rockhampton’s three Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) was discharged to the Fitzroy River estuary. Implementation of the STP Strategy for Rockhampton over recent years has delivered a significant reduction in nitrogen released to the Fitzroy River estuary. The STP Strategy included the upgrading of the South Rockhampton STP through the installation of a new aeration system and dedicated anoxic zones to improve nitrogen removal. This upgrade work and the construction of a new pipeline enabled the ageing West Rockhampton STP to be decommissioned and its sewage inflow directed to the upgraded South Rockhampton STP. The completion of other renewal and upgrade works at the nearby North Rockhampton STP have also improved the performance of this STP. In addition to the upgrades mentioned, work is ongoing to complete the establishment of recycled water schemes and improved biosolids management at the North Rockhampton and South Rockhampton STPs. 90% reduction in ammonia released from South Rockhampton STP to estuary; Up to ~1,000 kg reduction in total Nitrogen released to the estuary each week [...]

FBA: a growing movement towards regenerative agriculture Central Queensland’s natural resource management champion, Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) works to support landholders to implement more sustainable practices that consider the triple bottom line – people, profit and the planet. With the agricultural industry subject to ongoing market and climate volatility, landholders are increasingly interested in alternative farming practices. Regenerative agriculture focuses on rebuilding, restoring and regenerating farming landscapes. Through improving soil microbiology, enhancing biodiversity on a broader scale, reducing chemical use for cleaner air and water, valuing social capital, respecting natural process, landholders ultimately produce more nutrient-dense food. FBA embarked on a peer-to-peer mentoring program off the back of two 2018 RegenAG Biofertiliser workshops. The workshops were delivered by regenerative agriculture expert, Kym Kruse from RegenAg®. The enthusiastic response to the events (and the underlying principles of regenerative agriculture) indicated a high demand locally for the natural and holistic way of farming. Facilitated by FBA’s Regional Landcare Agricultural Facilitator (RALF), Vicki Horstman and Kym Kruse, the peer-to-peer program quickly attracted participants. The project aimed to equip participants with the skills, tools and connections to succeed, and step away from traditional project delivery models. To this Kym said, “What we want to see is [...]

Cotton Australia: a sustainable cotton industry Sustainability for the Australian cotton industry means running profitable and efficient businesses while creating environmental, economic and social value. It also means being accountable to stakeholders for the industry’s actions and impacts. The Australian cotton industry has been actively working to do this for over 30 years. Now, the industry is seeking to improve even more as it works to its vision of being a global leader in sustainable cotton production. An Australian cotton sustainability framework called PLANET. PEOPLE. PADDOCK. has been created to guide work to: set sustainability targets in the areas most important to industry and stakeholders; coordinate a whole-of-industry strategy to achieve these targets; and engage effectively with stakeholders on actions and progress. Through a process of consultation and review, eight environmental, economic and social topics have been assessed as being most important to customers, cotton growers, industry organisations, regional communities and other stakeholders. Each topic aligns with relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In regards to waterway health and the environment, the topics of most importance include: water, less drops per crop; carbon, acting on climate change; biodiversity, benefiting from biodiversity; and pesticides, efficient responsible pesticide use. Australian cotton has the reputation of being the most [...]

Stanmore Coal: Reduce and reuse Stanmore Coal installed a new pumping system at its Isaac Plains processing plant in 2019 which uses mine-affected water instead of raw water, saving up to 200 megalitres of raw water per year. The pumping system assists in reducing the inventory of mine-affected water on the site, while also consuming around 1,000 tonnes of salt per year associated with the higher salinity mine water. Prior to the installation of the new pumping system, the Isaac Plains processing plant sourced water from external raw water suppliers to make-up for water  that remained in coal as a result of the washing process. After washing, the moisture content of coal is increased by around 5 per cent and this additional  moisture remains in the coal when it is exported.