Work has started on an $850,000 agricultural drainage project aimed at improving the health of Peel-Harvey estuary waterways.
The two-year Better Collaborative Drainage Management project – aimed at building weirs and similar structures to control the flow of agricultural drains – is led by the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council (PHCC) with funding from the State Government’s Regional Estuaries Initiative (REI).
The installation of adjustable height weirs to hold back water in the landscape, enable sediments to settle and nutrients to be absorbed and will improve water quality in the Peel-Harvey catchment.
Read more:
“Our rivers are such core values to our community,” Murray-Wellington MP Robyn Clarke said.
“This work will help reduce the likelihood of algal blooms in our rivers and increase biodiversity at the weir sites.
“But it’s not just about the environmental benefits – the beef industry is an important part of our economy and the livelihoods of Peel region residents. This project is helping Peel farmers and supporting regional-based contractors to carry out works.”
“As climate change continues to impact our water supplies in the south west, our farmers are looking for new ways to secure water resources.
“This project is a win-win, with a reduction in nutrients flowing into our waterways while farmers have more water available for longer.”
The adjustable weirs are being increasingly used around the world to reduce nutrient and water losses from farms.
“The State Government recognises the importance of pairing environmental actions with outcomes that support and are supported by local industries,” Water Minister Dave Kelly said.
“This project will not only improve the health of waterways in the area, but should hold water for several weeks longer into summer, lengthening the growing season of pasture for landowners and improving farm productivity.”
A trial construction by the PHCC in 2014 showed the efficacy of this type of structure for both environmental benefits and for multiple benefits to farming communities.
Farmers in the Waroona area will be the first to have a weir installed, with construction beginning in June about 10km west of Waroona, where the drain flows through a wetland into the Harvey River and then Peel-Harvey estuary.
