A new $24 million Great Barrier Reef Urban Technology and Innovation Fund will fast-track water quality improvements in urban and industrial sectors.
The Fund is a joint investment by the Australian and Queensland Governments.
Urban areas cover less than one per cent of the Reef catchment, but their impact is still significant. The Fund will tackle urban water pollution from stormwater, wastewater, and industrial runoff.
The Fund is part of the $192 million Clearer Water for a Healthy Reef package. It builds on the government's $30 million Reefwise Urban Program, which targets water pollution from urban sources within priority Reef catchments.
The Fund will support:
- the scaling up of piloted innovative management technologies
- new approaches that offer novel solutions
- proven technologies, applied elsewhere but yet to be tested in Reef catchments
- repurposing existing infrastructure to treat sediment or nutrients from other sources
The Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science, and Innovation will oversee its delivery.
