WATER QUALITY IS A KEY ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS AT THE PORT OF BRISBANE
The Port is located directly adjacent to the Moreton Bay Marine Park and close to the Moreton Bay RAMSAR site. These protected areas include a number of sensitive habitats such as seagrass, mangroves, salt marsh and coral reefs.
Research has identified sediment as a major factor that negatively impacts water quality in Moreton Bay. The majority of sediment in the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay comes from the regional catchment – mostly from degraded creek banks and beds.
The Port of Brisbane has the potential to impact on local water quality through stormwater runoff, dredging, and general vessel movement. These potential impacts are all managed and minimised by our internationally-accredited Environmental Management System and in accordance with relevant State and Federal legislation.
Stormwater runoff has the potential to carry sediment, nutrients and other contaminants such as oils, greases and heavy metals into the surrounding environment. A variety of urban sensitive stormwater design principles and stormwater treatment systems are used at the port to ensure that the impacts of stormwater runoff on the receiving environment is minimised.
Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) monitors the condition of the port's stormwater to assess the effectiveness of control measures and the quality of waters discharged into the environment.
Find out more information about our Offsite Stormwater management projects here.
GROUNDWATER
PBPL implements a program that monitors the chemical and physical characteristics of the port's groundwater. This monitoring can assist in identifying any activities at the port which may have caused an impact on local groundwater (e.g. leaks or spills) and allows action to be taken to address any issues.AMBIENT WATER QUALITY
PBPL conducted a long term monitoring of ambient water quality adjacent to the port which demonstrated that our land based operations are not having an impact on water quality around us. The funding for this monitoring program has now been diverted to Healthy Waterways who aim to improve water quality through a holistic catchment management approach.DRINKING WATER QUALITY
Via the Queensland Urban Utilities’ water supply, PBPL is responsible and committed to maintaining the onsite potable water reticulation network to ensure zero harm to employees or the public.
Find out more about our Drinking Water Quality Management Plan and reports here.