One of the contributors to the poor health rating of Hays Inlet (consistently the poorest water quality rating in the entire Moreton Bay area) is sedimentation. Some of this is no doubt due to the drainage system built mainly in the 60’s and 70’s. They are straight cut drains in tidal areas designed to quickly dispose of stormwater in the low lying areas of the Redcliffe peninsula. Unfortunately this means that any sediment loading from erosion is also displaced quickly into the bay.
Wherever we have development involving the clearing of on ground vegetation we immediately increase the exposure of the substrate to erosion. It is therefore important that wherever possible we mitigate the effects of erosion. One such method is a sediment control fence.
Adjacent to the Green Army site is the Redcliffe Golf Club who recently conducted some ground works including the clearing of vegetation in an area adjacent to a channel which flows directly into Hays Inlet. If you look at the first image (photo A) you can see that there is a lot of loose sediment which would be washed into the channel in the next rain event. The club installed sediment control fencing in the “nick of time” (photo B). Just days later there was a significant rainfall event and if you look at photo C you can see how the sediment was trapped at the bottom of the fence. This sediment would have been washed directly into Hays Inlet if not for the fencing. Thus the fencing reduced the impact on topsoil loss and water quality. It’s not a perfect system, we still lose soil through erosion, but it does mitigate some of the effects of ground works.
Wherever we have development involving the clearing of on ground vegetation we immediately increase the exposure of the substrate to erosion. It is therefore important that wherever possible we mitigate the effects of erosion. One such method is a sediment control fence.
Adjacent to the Green Army site is the Redcliffe Golf Club who recently conducted some ground works including the clearing of vegetation in an area adjacent to a channel which flows directly into Hays Inlet. If you look at the first image (photo A) you can see that there is a lot of loose sediment which would be washed into the channel in the next rain event. The club installed sediment control fencing in the “nick of time” (photo B). Just days later there was a significant rainfall event and if you look at photo C you can see how the sediment was trapped at the bottom of the fence. This sediment would have been washed directly into Hays Inlet if not for the fencing. Thus the fencing reduced the impact on topsoil loss and water quality. It’s not a perfect system, we still lose soil through erosion, but it does mitigate some of the effects of ground works.
Its important to control erosion and sedimentation, especially around wetland areas and waterways
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