North Pine River 

Unitywater is trialling an oyster reef restoration project that will for the first time in Australia determine the value and effectiveness oysters have to filter nutrients in waterways.The restoration project will explore the effectiveness of restored shellfish reefs in the upper estuarine reaches of the Pine River (10 kms from the river mouth), at sites immediately downstream of the Murrumba Downs Wastewater Treatment Plant. Unitywater Executive Manager Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions Daniel Lambert said it was this fresh thinking that would help the water utility achieve its net zero sustainability goals.

Shellfish could hold the key to filtering nutrients in wastewater with a ground-breaking project in Queensland testing their effectiveness. OzFish Unlimited, Australia’s fishing conservation charity, has teamed up with Unity Water, The University of Sunshine Coast and Healthy Land and Water for a five-year, first-of-its-kind research project on the North Pine River, north of Brisbane.   The project, which began last year, is looking at how much nitrogen can be removed from the wastewater by the deployment of shellfish structures. These Robust Oyster Baskets (ROBs), which mimic natural shellfish reefs, provide a habitat for oysters and \supporting the growth of valuable shellfish populations.  

Researchers are hoping to uncover a nature-based solution to the problem of nitrogen in Australia’s waterways with a pioneering trial at the North Pine River, north of Brisbane.  Restoring oyster reefs could be the answer to removing nutrients in waterways and a joint project between OzFish Unlimited – Australia’s fishing conservation charity, Unitywater, Healthy Land and Water and the University of Sunshine Coast will study their effectiveness over the next five years.   OzFish has been dedicated to restoring shellfish habitat in Moreton Bay for several years and this project at North Pine River targets the removal of excessive nutrients in the waterway.