Namadgi protects Canberra's main water supply catchment, which has been the lifeblood of this region for tens of thousands of years. Fires can severely impact the health of our catchment, impacting our drinking water which all Canberrans rely on.
The 2020 fires and floods have caused significant erosion to Namadgi leading to increased sedimentation entering our waterways. Sedimentation and erosion are caused by heat stress which reduces social stability as well as the loss of vegetation and litter that protects soil.
Following the fires, the recovery team have been working with ICON Water and other key partners to:
- control hillslope erosion adjacent to high priority streams
- stabilisation works where required
- conduct initial assessments of water quality
- install water filtering infrastructure in key catchment locations
- restore riparian habitat
- undertake weed control along key waterways.
The ACT recovery program will continue vegetation restoration, erosion control and monitoring activities to protect our drinking water for future generations.
More information:
- For more information on impacts to water quality following the 2020 bushfires and floods, see Rapid Risk Assessment Team Report (4.9MB)