The Australian Government has announced a new funding opportunity to help manage water quality risks from urban stormwater runoff and instream erosion within identified priority Great Barrier Reef catchments.
Under the Urban Stormwater Modelling project, funding is available to:
- develop whole of urban footprint stormwater runoff models for priority Reef catchments, and
- assess instream erosion risks caused by increased flow velocities from stormwater runoff.
This project will provide a complete urban-scale stormwater runoff model, along with a qualitative assessment of erosion risks, for major urban centres in Reef catchments with sufficient data.
With these tools, local councils will be better equipped to:
- track pollutants in stormwater
- understand how runoff affects water quality
- compare treatment options to reduce pollution
- assess the risk of instream erosion
- manage water in a more integrated and connected way
These outputs will support planning and investment decisions aimed at reducing stormwater pollution.
The project forms part of Phase 1 of the Reefwise Urban Program and will help ensure future investments under later phases are well targeted.
The initiative is funded through the Reef Trust, Australia's investment program for protecting and managing the Great Barrier Reef and supports delivery of the Reef 2050 Plan.
