Prepare your watercourse works for an emergency

Queensland endures more natural disasters than anywhere else in Australia.

Emergencies and severe weather can damage watercourses and surrounding infrastructure.

Take steps to prepare your property and infrastructure for when disaster strikes.

Before you start

Protect your home and business. All Queenslanders should first:

• understand your risk
• have a plan
• pack an emergency kit.

Find out more at Get Ready Queensland.

Prepare your property and watercourse

There are certain works you can do around a watercourse to limit the damage from a natural disaster.

Rehabilitative works can happen:

• before a disaster to improve resilience
• after a disaster as part of recovery.

This can include:

• excavation
• clearing debris
• placing hard, natural fill in a watercourse.

Follow these 3 steps to stay safe and compliant.

Step 1: Plan for minimal disturbance

As you plan out your repairs and rehabilitation work, remember to only do what is necessary.

To protect the environment and watercourse, we advise you to:

• always aim for minimal disturbance
• use existing access tracks for any works
• avoid disrupting the natural flow of a watercourse.

Step 2: Check permits and approvals

Specific works need approval to protect water sources and related ecosystems. Always check permit requirements before you start.

You need to:

• understand any vegetation clearing requirements
• determine if any excavations require a riverine protection permit
• or
• check to see if you meet the riverine protection permit exemption requirements (PDF, 227KB).

Some unavoidable or necessary repairs to authorised works can be done without a permit.

Step 3: Rehabilitate your watercourse or infrastructure

After you have relevant approvals or exemptions, you can progress with construction.

When you don't need a permit

You can clear, desilt and excavate around authorised infrastructure for essential repairs.

The work must be minor in nature and minimise any potential damage.

This includes:

• pumps
• weirs
• dams.

When you need a permit or exemption

The following rehabilitation activities require you to:

• have a riverine protection permit
• or
• meet riverine protection permit exemption requirements.

Rehabilitative activities include:

• placing rocks or other natural fill in a watercourse to stop erosion or bank slumping
• excavation of sediment, such as:
  • desilting waterholes
  • removing deposited sediments in, on or around road crossings, culverts or other infrastructure
  • redistributing accumulated sediment outside the banks of the watercourse.

River improvement trusts

A river improvement trust may carry out activities within a river improvement area to enhance disaster resilience.

As a landowner, you can contact a trust to:

• get advice or assistance for works you are planning
• find out if the trust has a program of works planned near you.

Alternatively, a trust may contact landowners as part of their regular protection activities.

For more details and contact information, read more about river improvement trusts.

Next steps

• Learn more about works during an emergency.
• Get advice to recover after an emergency.