Mt Wickham Gully Rehabilitation
Service: Gully rehabilitation
Client: North Queensland Dry Tropics Pty Ltd (NQ Dry Tropics)
Location: Burdekin, North Queensland
Start: Oct 2017
Completion: 2021
Verterra completed a full site assessment and managed on ground delivery of gully rehabilitation at Mt Wickham.
NQ Dry Tropics identified the property, 38km WNW of Collinsville, for implementation of an initial pilot gully rehabilitation project.
Historic grazing practices in combination with fragile, dispersive soils have led to the development of large-scale erosion gullies throughout the Burdekin catchment. Export of this fine sediment to surface waters flowing into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, can lead to stress of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem, particularly inshore reefs, seagrass beds.
Verterra undertook spatial site characterisation using EM and UAV-based multispectral surveys of the target erosion gully, followed by targeted soil sampling. A conceptual model of erosion processes was developed, and interventions and soil amendments designed for each landscape erosion component. Verterra also managed the on-ground delivery phase.
Earthworks and rehabilitation works completed in both Phases included: landform of major erosion areas, amendment of scalded, dispersive catchment areas, construction of graded control structures and revegetation of the site to achieve a stable, resilient landform, and limit future fine sediment export.
