Bellingen Shire Council has received grant funding from the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust to stabilize 500 meters of eroding river bank and rehabilitate a priority erosion site on the Kalang River.
The project site was identified as a priority for management in the ’Bellinger and Kalang River Estuaries Erosion Study 2010’, the council said.
It was further prioritized by the opportunity to improve condition of a remnant of Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest, an Endangered Ecological Community, which is located at the western end of the site.
Council, in partnership with Office of Environment & Heritage (OEH) and adjacent land owners plan to start works in the following days, weather permitting. The land owners are making financial commitments towards implementation and maintenance of this project, according to the council.
The first two stages of construction will include rock revetment and rock and timber fillets.
Rock revetment will place rocks at the toe and part-way up the slope of the bank to protect it against erosion.
Fillets will be constructed parallel to the river bank, about one to two meters from the toe of the bank.
The embayment area between the bank and the fillet becomes a ‘slack water environment’, which is protected against erosive forces and promotes the growth of mangrove seedlings.
When construction is completed, the next stages of this project include fencing the river bank to remove stock impacts, planting native trees and managing weeds.