Waterway Protection and Restoration project

The Waterway Protection and Restoration project was implemented in October 2009. This project has an overall budget of $180,300, with Lotterywest as the major contributor to the funds. The aim of the project is to protect and restore riparian vegetation in the Wilson Inlet Catchment to improve the quality of the water entering the inlet by erecting fencing to exclude stock and revegetating degraded areas. Works within this project will focus on the lower catchment and include erecting fencing to exclude stock; revegetation with local native plants; and the establishment of deep rooted perennial pastures, with the aim of protecting and restoring riparian vegetation in the catchment to improve the quality of the water entering the Wilson Inlet. The project will also promote activities to increase landowners awareness of effective nutrient management through soil testing and a nutrient management workshop. The establishment of deep rooted perennial pastures will also improve the uptake of nutrients in the catchment and improve water usage reducing the recharge into the waterways.
The project will enable:

• the construction of 20km of fencing to exclude stock from waterways within the catchment.
• the construction of 8 alternate water points if the waterway was the prime source of water for the stock
• the construction of 10 stock crossings to allow the management of stock in paddocks on the other side of the waterway.
• The revegetation of 20ha of degraded waterways
• The establishment of 100ha of deep rooted perennial pasture
• 40 soil tests subsidised for landowners participating in the soil health workshop.
• Water monitoring to determine changes in the nutrient levels