Transition The Grove

...transitioning to thriving resilience in a low-carbon low-oil-dependent future

in Ferny Grove, Upper Kedron, Ferny Hills, Arana Hills, Keperra & Woolshed Grove
and the mountain catchments of Kedron Brook

Water Resources


What's your water story?
We all have stories to tell about water, whether its a family holiday at the beach, seeing a waterfall for the first time, growing up on a farm, watching a storm rolling over, or living through a flood or drought  Share your water stories

Think before you print:  3 sheets of A4 paper = 1 litre of water

Observed Weather Observations (compared to long term averages LTA for Brisbane since 1840)

2009
 Aug
Sept
 Oct
 Nov
Nett precipitation
(Rainfall minus Evaporation)
 -126.4mm
 -154.4 mm
 -178.0mm
 -199.2mm
Total rainfall for month
 41.9mm down
(91.2% down)
 22.3 mm down
(48.8% down)
 18.0mm down
(27.9% down)
 65.6mm down
(68% down)
No. days with rainfall>=1mm 2 days
(50% down) 
2 days
(54.5% down)		 7 days
(18.6% up)		 5 days
(23% down)
9am relative humidity 1% down 7% down
 12% down
 5% down
3pm relative humidity
 average
 7% down
 6% down
 1% down


My Neighbourhood Map
To build a picture of the waterways of The Grove, you can use this tool by selecting the suburb, and then checking the Waterways box. It shows how greatly our waterways define The Grove.

Queensland Water Commission: Permanent Water Conservation Measures
No watering between 10am and 4pm
No watering on Mondays
Please use only what you need - Target 200  (OR LESS!)
Information line: 1300 789 906
Business restrictions apply to all businesses
Efficient sprinklers and hoses can be used to water gardens and lawns as long as it’s in accordance with guidelines
Use only a hose with a trigger or twist nozzle
Irrigation systems (drippers, micro-sprayers, pop-up sprinklers, drip lines) with sprinklers that deliver less than 9 litres per minute and have a timer (electric timer with either rain or moisture sensor)
Buckets and cans anytime
Stop water from falling on buildings and hard surfaces
Don't water in windy conditions
Mulch garden to reduce evaporation
Calculate your garden's water needs
Ensure soil is dry enough to warrant watering - don't water after rain
Don't allow water to pool or run off
Vehicles and outdoor areas can be washed at any time – as long as water is used efficiently
Rainwater can be used at any time
Please use only what you need
New pools can be filled with town water and existing pools can be filled as long as efficient fittings are in place
Water Efficiency Calculator
Water Use Today (Residential Consumption, Dam Levels)
South East Queensland Combined Water Supply Dam Levels
South-East Queensland Water Supply Strategy
This site includes an email link for you to have your say by 12 February 2010.
We have submitted a suggestion saying that planning SE QLD's water supply should include having an excellent mathematician responsible for modeling rainfall, evaporation, population growth predictions, climate change, and key resource depletion (oil). Only by taking all these factors into account in a model can we be said to be planning SE QLD's water supply.

News Item 8 December 2009 The Courier Mail.  Recycled sewage pumped into drinking water of more than 600 Coomera homes from Pimpama Waste Water Treatment Plant. Pumped into wrong pipes for 48 hours. Not potable. Caused nausea and diarrhoea.

Water Catchments Wiers Lagoons

What is a catchment? A catchment is an area of land bounded by natural features such as hills, from which all water flows to a common low point, such as a creek, lake, river or bay. A waterway can be a river, creek, drain, brook, tributary, bay or estuary. It may even be dry for part of the year.
Cedar Creek and Kedron Brook in The Grove are the first part of the Kedron Brook Catchment Area.  They ultimately drain into Moreton Bay at Nudgee Beach near the Brisbane Airport, after flowing through the suburbs of:
Our streets and gardens drain into the creeks, and the water from our gutters also flows into the creeks. If we backwash our pools this goes into the creeks. Any pollution also washes into the creeks. You can help protect the creeks by:

Water sensitive urban design

We are very close to Enoggera Reservoir (just south of the Mt Nebo Rd border of The Grove, and our drinking water comes from there. At present we are not catching drinking water in The Grove from the river catchments. Many residents are catching water on their own properties in tanks or swimming pools. Some are using swales to get the water to soak into the ground rather than running straight off. Local schools and clubs are installing big water tanks (Ferny Grove Bowls, Sports and Community Club, Ferny Grove State High School, Ferny Grove State School, ?St Andrew's Catholic School, ?Patricks Road State School)

The Grove has a fair number of lakes (old quarries filled with water), dams, and lagoons, including to beautiful ones on Cedar Creek), but none on Kedron Brook.
Wish list:  A small weir on Kedron Brook to make a lagoon to keep some water in the catchment for wildlife, and for the pleasure of walking besides.

The quarry in The Grove (on Upper Kedron Rd) has a finite life. The Brisbane City Council's Cityplan 2000 suggests that upon completion of quarry activities, the site is to be stabilised and rehabilitated for potential to accommodate recreation uses.
This is to be encouraged. There is a beautiful lake with birds and rushes in the grounds of the quarry, and it would make a wonderful site for having a walking track around, or even putting small dinghies on to messabout in.


Cedar Creek

Brisbane City Council's Cityplan 2000 has a section on planning for Upper Kedron and Ferny Grove (in Chapter 4), and it includes a map of the Waterway Corridors (both publicly and privately owned).

Kedron Brook

Kedron Brook Catchment Network

Flooding

Brisbane City Council provides Floodwise Property Report for your property (free) and information on how to be floodwise.

Rainfall

16 million tonnes/second of rain are falling on Earth.

Summary statistics (long-term averages) for The Grove are not available, but those for Brisbane are, giving things like monthly average rainfall, evaporation, and emperatures.

Tanks Wells Springs

Water Statistics


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