Washpool Creek Naturalisation

The Washpool Creek Naturalisation is an exciting and innovative project which will deliver an integrated public open space that balances its technical stormwater drainage function whilst also delivering significant water quality, ecological and environmental benefits.

Between Ford St and Bundaberg Creek, the Washpool Creek corridor is currently comprised of a concrete channel (which is at the end of its serviceable life) and large open grassed areas with sparse mature trees.

The site has been heavily modified and altered from the creek’s natural state due to urbanisation and there are currently limited facilities to attract public use of the area.

The project will involve replacing the existing concrete channel and returning the Washpool Creek corridor back to a natural state.

Returning the creek back to a natural state will provide significant stormwater quality improvements for runoff entering the sensitive receiving waters of both Bundaberg Creek and Baldwin Swamp Environmental Park.

It will see the creation of a green, shaded and ecologically focused space that will become highly activated and connected to some of the city’s major public open spaces, including Lake Ellen playground and Baldwin Swamp Environmental Park.

Additionally, the project will create an attractive and usable recreational space for residents by providing several new footpath connections, park facilities, waterway crossings, additional trees for shade and grassed open spaces for active play.

As an active and connected place, the Washpool Creek corridor will become a pleasant place to walk, run, play, and explore.

A rehabilitated, reconnected, and revitalised Washpool Creek will play a vitally important role in delivering Council’s vision, “building Australia’s best regional community”.

The project is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Queensland Government’s through the Local Economic Recovery Program (LER), to help drive the economic recovery of Queensland communities impacted by the 2019 bushfires.

Project objectives:

To transform the Washpool Creek corridor into a resilient, integrated open space which delivers a function for stormwater drainage, stormwater quality, environmental and ecological needs, and active transport and public open space needs;
To reinstate ecological biodiversity and habitat connections along and across the site;
To treat urban runoff in several ways by encouraging runoff to interact with and be filtered by the natural systems;
To re-establish a hydraulic connection between Washpool Creek and Baldwin Swamp;
To increase moisture availability, plant growth, and shade to create an attractive and cool environment;
To provide an active transport network through shared connections that will activate, encourage, and promote use of the area and provide access to key public precincts;
To provide a diverse ecosystem that is able to adapt to climatic and hydrologic extreme events through growth and recovery which requires limited maintenance by Council throughout the life of the system.

The previous condition of Washpool Creek prior to Naturalisation

The current condition of Washpool Creek (February 2024)