Catchment Management
The Queanbeyan River is 70 kilometres in length and the river catchment is 96,000 hectares in size. The Queanbeyan River is part of the water supply needs of Queanbeyan and the Canberra region.
Queanbeayan River Corridor - Plan of Management
Queanbeyan River Corridor Plan of Management and Platypus Awareness and Conservation Strategy October 2011 - Part 1
Queanbeyan River Corridor Plan of Management and Platypus Awareness and Conservation Strategy October 2011 - Part 2
Queanbeyan City Council engaged specialist consultants Eco Logical Australia and the Australian Platypus Conservancy to prepare the ‘Queanbeyan River Corridor Plan of Management and Platypus Awareness and Conservation Strategy’. Funding of $95,000 for this project has been made available through the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative to establish the Strengthening Basin Communities program.
The new Plan of Management identifies actions to be implemented over the next ten years and provide a vision for the Queanbeyan River Corridor to be achieved by 2030. It will facilitate the long term protection and enhancement of the river. It will form the basis for future council and government agency policy for the long term management and maintenance along the river corridor.
The plan aims to improve environmental quality, amenity and recreational opportunities by reducing threats, and rehabilitating the river corridor and its tributaries. High priority actions will be incorporated into the plan which will improve the following:
-
Riparian habitat and amenity of the river and its tributaries through pollution reduction, erosion control, stormwater treatment, rubbish removal, weed removal, regeneration and revegetation.
-
Public access along the corridor by a network of sealed paths and unsealed tracks suitable for walkers and cyclists, allowing for circuits of variable length and condition.
-
Planning and development controls to ensure future development does not adversely affect the river corridor.
-
Coordination of rehabilitation activities within the corridor by government agencies and the community.
-
Education and involvement of the community.
The sightings of healthy platypus in the Queanbeyan River are comparable to the Yarra River in Victoria and is quite unique for an urban environment. The revised River Corridor Plan of Management is envisaged to include a strategy for better guiding management practices to incorporate actions which will provide a protective strategy for the platypus and other species such as the water rat in the river.
The community has been encouraged to participate in the project by providing information about the river corridor and ideas for future management.
For further information contact Council’s Sustainability & Better Living Group on 62856246.