SIMON Corbell says Canberrans and residents of surrounding councils are being asked to complete an online survey on how they use their lakes and waterways and what they think of water quality.
The ACT Basin Priority Project is a joint Australian Government and ACT Government project that is improving long term water quality in the ACT and the Murrumbidgee River catchment, with funding of up to $85 million from the Australian Government.
“The University of Canberra is conducting this important survey, and the results will feed into their research on social expectations for our waterways and the ACT Basin Priority Project,” Simon said.
“The findings will help us improve waterway management and water quality; and ensure the aspects we value most in our waterways are maintained.”
Federal Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment Bob Baldwin said the capital’s clean water project was part of a wider program to improve water quality in the Murray–Darling Basin, one of the country’s most important agricultural and environmental corridors.
“Canberra is the largest city in the Basin, so how Canberrans and surrounding farmers use and manage water and runoff has a major influence on downstream water quality,” Bob said.
“This survey will help the ACT understand the best way to improve Canberra’s water quality in terms of infrastructure requirements and behaviour change, and this information will influence the final business case from the ACT Government.
“Through this Basin Priority Project the ACT will be able to provide significant downstream benefits by improving water quality and river health in the Basin.
“To manage our waterways effectively, we need to know how residents of the ACT and upper Murrumbidgee catchment experience their waterways—what they value most about them, how they view water quality, and behaviours that can affect water quality.”
“The findings will also form a baseline measure from which we can track community attitudes and behaviour change over time,” Mr Corbell said.
The survey can be found at betterwater.net.au or go to timetotalk.act.gov.au.
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