Gross Pollutant Trap Success
Gross Pollutant Trap Success: Regional Council has committed to installing these traps on all inflows into the Macquarie River, from the areas of Dubbo and Wellington, over a four-year period.
Taking Action - LLCI006-006
The issue
Storms in the area have been washing much rubbish into the Macquarie River, highlighting the need to have Gross Pollutant Traps installed to filter the rubbish out before it enters local waterways. It is astounding just how many tonnes of rubbish have flowed into and accumulated in the river over the years, due to a lack of these traps.
The solution
Mid Macquarie Landcare (MML) partnered with Inland Waterways Rejuvenation Association (IWRA), utilizing the scant resources from both organisations to lobby Dubbo Regional Council, until they eventually understood the importance of the GPT initiative and agreed to fund the roll-out.
From a zero start, with zero funding dollars, the advocacy work of MML and IWRA made this project happen, by demonstrating both the public and environmental good, as well as the broad-based community support for such a project.
The impact
Dubbo Regional Council has committed to install GPTs on all inflows into the Macquarie River from the areas of Dubbo and Wellington, over a four-year period. This will mean that massive amounts of rubbish will be diverted from polluting the river. This incredible success shows that community organisations, working together, even without resources, can drive significant proactive change in the Natural Resource Management (NRM) space.
Key facts
- Dubbo Regional Council has committed to provide Gross Pollutant Traps over a four year period and is expected to put a total of approximately $4 million into this project.
- Mid Macquarie Landcare and Inland Waterways Rejuvenation Association have combined to lobby Government about the need for the traps.
- Many tonnes of rubbish will be prevented from polluting the river.
- Recreational anglers across the region were overjoyed, as a lot of work in previous years has gone into highlighting just how bad the issue is.