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 [...]