Testing the waters for quality solutions (joint media release)
04 April 2018
ACT Government: Two new
water quality research projects will shed
light on management actions to improve
water quality in Lake Tuggeranong
and the
ACT’s urban ponds and wetlands.
The research projects, jointly funded by the Australian and
ACT Governments as part of the $93.5 million ACT Healthy Waterways
Project, are being carried out by the Institute for Applied Ecology at
the
University of Canberra. Today, Senator for the ACT Zed Seselja and
ACT Minister for the
Environment and Heritage Mick Gentleman visited UC to see the
testing being carried out.
“The research of
water from Lake Tuggeranong will help us understand where the
nutrients that cause poor water quality, including blue-green algae
outbreaks, come from and how they behave once they are in the lake. Then
the project can determine what interventions will work best,” Senator
Seselja said.
“In the ACT, the
Australian Government is contributing up to $76 million
for the construction of key water infrastructure projects to improve
long-term water quality for communities right across the country.
“Not only does poor water quality prevent people from enjoying the lake,
it also adversely affects the lake’s ecosystem and the downstream rivers
that provide important inflows to the Murray–Darling system.
“The research complements the investment in water quality infrastructure
including new wetlands and raingardens that we can see across Canberra.
While the infrastructure aims to switch off the flow of pollutants from
the catchments, the research focuses on how pollutants are behaving in
our lakes and ponds,” Senator Seselja said.
Minister Gentleman said the learnings from the research would inform the
types of management trials considered most promising in improving water
quality in Lake Tuggeranong and reducing the number of lake closures. An
urban stormwater ponds research project is also underway.
“Urban ponds are designed to slow the flow of stormwater and allow
sediment and nutrients to settle out before the water enters our lakes
and rivers,” Minister Gentleman said.
“The ponds project is investigating how exposing sediment to the air
through natural seasonal fluctuations in the water level affects water
quality. The findings will help us better manage urban wetlands and
ponds.
“Residents will see the water levels progressively lowered as part of
the research project at Jarramlee Pond in Dunlop and School Pond in
Coombs over the next few weeks. The ponds will be left to naturally
refill and the process repeated during late summer and autumn this year
and next,” Minister Gentleman said.
The University of Canberra is using a range of methods to understand the
underlying physical, chemical and biological processes in Lake
Tuggeranong and urban stormwater ponds.
“When the new ACT Healthy Waterways infrastructure, including wetlands,
ponds and rain gardens are complete, we expect to see a reduction in the
level of nutrients entering our lakes and waterways that, in turn, will
have an impact on water quality downstream in the wider Murray–Darling
Basin,” Senator Seselja said.
--ENDS--
Source: ACT Government - www.cmd.act.gov.au
Contact: Cassandra Choake (Seselja) 0427 839 164 Brenton Sloane 0431 252 698
External Links: N/A
Recent news by: ACT Government