Funding Secured for ACT Water Quality Projects

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government has been successful in securing the balance of $85 million of Australian Government funding, to significantly improve water quality in the lakes and rivers and downstream in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Commenting this, the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change Simon Corbell said: “Twenty-five priority water quality projects will be constructed across the ACT as part of the ACT Basin Priority Project.”  

“This initiative will reduce the level of sediment, nutrients and other pollutants entering the ACT’s lakes and waterways, including Lake Burley Griffin and Lake Tuggeranong, as well as downstream into the Murrumbidgee River,” Mr Corbell added.

“The ACT Government did a lot of work to make sure that we nominated projects that would make a real difference to water quality in our lakes and waterways.”

The ACT Basin Priority Project covers six established catchments:

  • Lake Tuggeranong catchment – nine projects ($27 million);
  • Fyshwick catchment – six  projects ($15.9 million);
  • Yarralumla Creek catchment – five projects ($16.3 million);
  • West Belconnen catchment – two projects ($6.5 million);
  • Upper Molonglo catchment – two projects ($3.4 million);
  • Lower Molonglo  catchment – one project ($9.6 million).

About an additional $6 million will be allocated to public education, catchment works including in-lake research, and water quality monitoring and evaluation.

The ACT Government will also contribute $8.5 million to other water quality improvement projects in the territory.

[mappress mapid=”22429″]