Brisbane City Council Artificial Wetlands

Bridgewater Creek Wetland - Water by Design

The Bridgewater Creek Wetland was constructed on Bowies Flat, Bridgewater Creek at Coorparoo to improve the quality of stormwater leaving this urban catchment. Council worked closely with the community during the project, which converted a concrete channel to an artificial wetland that treats stormwater, mitigates flooding, improves the recreational amenity of the area and provides educational and research opportunities. The wetland also offers a range of aquatic and terrestrial habitats for local wildlife. The Bowies Flat Wetland was a pilot study of the effectiveness of wetlands in removing pollutants from urban run-off before they reach Moreton Bay.

This Council project commenced in March 2001 and was officially opened March 2002. The wetland plays a significant role in removing pollutants such as sediments, nutrients, heavy metals and bacteria from Bridgewater Creek. The project involves a partnership arrangement with the N4C, which takes the form of ‘on-site’ community and school field day inspections and environmental education extension work espousing of the benefits of the wetland throughout the course of its construction.

• High extended detention depth (1m), low hydrologic effectiveness (i.e. wetland is undersized for its catchment area, coupled with an outlet structure that is prone to blockage by floating debris, have resulted in prolonged periods of high water levels which lead to excessive inundation stress on the wetland vegetation. Some zones were also over-excavated, further increasing water depths in the system. A lack of topsoil and water birds are also thought to be contributing factors to the poor vegetation coverage. In the planning stages, thorough consideration was also given to public access and amenities with the help of a community reference group. The layout incorporates pedestrian pathways around the perimeter, a children’s playground, footbridge, viewing platform and boardwalk, and fully landscaped surrounds. Here local residents can enjoy the range of aquatic and terrestrial habitats created for local wildlife, including birds, fish, reptiles and frogs. The wetland has transformed featureless, barren, concrete channel dissected park into pools, reeds, ephemeral marshes with large wetland trees and an ecological haven for aquatic wildlife. The wetland has interpretive signage describing its functions and value.

Recycling the Resource, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Ecological Engineering for Wastewater Treatment, School of Engineering, Wadenswil-Zurich 18 22 S

The University of Queensland has just completed construction of a set of pilot scale gravel bed wetlands in conjunction with the Brisbane City Council. ...

Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association

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The South African journal of environmental law and policy

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Australian national bibliography

Oral histories documenting changes in wheatbelt wetlands . ... Onions, artificial curing systems and objective quality assessment . ...

Water quality international

A report of Armidale City Council. Centre for Water Policy Research, Universiry of New ... Department of Geographical Sciences and Planning, in Brisbane. ...