During the wet season, effective erosion and sediment control is more important than ever. Prevent contaminants from running off your building site and into waterways by quickly stabilising exposed surfaces and diverting clean stormwater away from disturbed areas, installing and maintaining sediment barriers, covering material stockpiles, and ensuring waste is securely contained on site.

		Effective erosion and sediment control during wet seasons Wet season brings heightened importance to erosion and sediment control.
		Protecting waterways Appropriate ESC measures on building and development sites prevent waterway contamination during heavy rainfall.
		Effective on-ground strategies Strategies include avoiding earthmoving activities, stabilising exposed surfaces, and implementing sediment control measures like silt fences and sediment basins.

With the wet season now in full swing, the implementation of best practice erosion and sediment control is more important than ever. Over the past couple of months, Queensland has experienced record-breaking rainfall and a series of extreme weather events, including the devastating Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the severe storms that lashed SEQ over the Christmas period.

To prevent waterway contamination during heavy rainfall, building and development sites need to be adequately protected with appropriate ESC measures. This means ensuring all onsite ESC measures are correctly installed and securely in place at the end of each workday.

The best way to stop sediment from reaching waterways during the wet season is to avoid doing any major earthmoving or land disturbance activities between November and March. Additionally, staging your development to minimise the amount of exposed area is good practice all year round.

For both building and development sites, it is important to progressively stabilise any exposed surfaces (e.g. with turf or mulch) as soon as possible and divert clean stormwater away from the disturbed area using temporary pipes and drains.

Other key measures include installing and maintaining sediment controls (e.g. silt fences, filter strips), protecting stockpiles, and ensuring waste is stored securely and appropriately disposed of.

Sites over 2,500 m2 should also have a sediment basin to capture, treat and test site-generated dirty water runoff prior to release.

Preventing contaminants from entering drains and waterways is vital to safeguard the health of our creeks, rivers, lakes, and coastal environments. Planning and implementing effective erosion and sediment control measures and checking that they are in good working order, particularly during the wet season, will ensure your site remains compliant and help protect the natural values that make Queensland such a desirable place to live.

For more information on how to protect your building site: https://waterbydesign.com.au/esc-house

For more information on ESC for development sites: https://www.austieca.com.au/publications/best-practice-erosion-and-sediment-control-bpesc-document

Healthy Land & Water gratefully acknowledges the support of our funders and partners, including the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science, Australian Government, and local governments of the South East Queensland and Great Barrier Reef region.