“Retained water is great for the
landscape and good for the Reef.”
Mr Watts said once the diversion banks
were pegged out, construction was
straightforward, and cost and time-
effective.
Construction took seven days.
“Using a 27 tonne excavator and
grader we cut the earth, cut the batter
across the floor, ruled it up and then cut
the top,” Mr Watts said.
“The top is about as wide as the
grader, about three metres, which gives
the bank stability so that if cattle pad it,
it doesn’t cut lines in it.”
About 750 metres of banks have
been built, consisting of a series of
four diversion banks about a kilometre
apart, with the deepest one being three
metres.
Banks have been seeded with a mix
of silt sorghum, legumes and native
grasses.
The ridges situated behind the
diversion banks have been keyline
ploughed.
The keyline ploughing pattern follows
the contours of the landscape, creating
a water flow system to move water from
wet to dry areas.
NQ Dry Tropics and soil conservation
expert John Day surveyed the
catchment and designed the
strategically-placed, cost-effective
diversion banks to capture runoff.
Below: Planning gully remediation work are (from left) Collinsville grazier
Shane Watts, of Sonoma Station, NQ Dry Tropics Soil Conservation Officer
Neil Cupples and Landholders Driving Change Senior Grazing Support Officer
Brendan Smith and, pictured left, Neil and Shane scoping one of the sites.
ISSUE 1, April, 2018 | P31