…from authorities and local wildlife
Downer is partnering with Logan City Council (LCC) in the Logan Water Infrastructure Program Alliance to plan, design and deliver water and wastewater infrastructure for the Logan region in south-east Queensland.
The program includes the construction of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Logan, which showcases how councils can meet community expectations and deliver essential services that also protect the environment.
The Department of Environment and Science (DES) granted LCC an environmental authority to lawfully operate the WWTP which will initially have capacity to service 20,000 people. The WWTP will also include constructed wetlands and riparian restoration areas (vegetation corridors along streams and rivers). Healthy riparian ecosystems will help to improve the water quality that is released back into the Logan River.
The site, named the Cedar Grove Environment Centre, will include community facilities, a Landcare nursery, a solar farm and 34 hectares of biodiversity offsets.
And it appears that the DES aren’t the only ones who approve of the new centre. With the wetlands starting to grow, native birds and frogs are starting to call the new environmentally sustainable WWTP home. So far, more than 50,000 native trees and shrubs have been planted. This includes 34 hectares (37,000 plants) to offset vegetation removal by developers elsewhere in Logan.
So, who maintains all these trees and shrubs? Recently the Cedar Grove project team and local businesses presented the Belong trainee group with $11,000 worth of tools and equipment to assist them with their continued hard work. The Belong trainee group has been working at Cedar Grove since early 2019, helping to maintain planted areas and remove weeds. The trainees, who are studying Certificate 1 in Conservation and Land Management, were thrilled with the new tools and equipment.
“This project and these initiatives demonstrate our commitment to providing a positive legacy for our people, the community and the environment,” Downer’s General Manager, Water Services North, Chris Yeats, says. “Well done to Matt Thomson, Gus Trabolssi, Daryl Kretschmar, John Holden and the team.”
Construction work on the Cedar Grove Environmental Centre is about 85 percent complete and the facility is expected to be operational by mid-2020.
Content provided by Downer Group.