Our port environment
The Port of Brisbane is located at the mouth of the Brisbane River and next to the Moreton Bay Marine Park, an area of high ecological and conservational value that provides a variety of wetland and intertidal habitats.
The marine park contains a variety of habitats, including seagrass, mangroves, and nursery and feeding areas for a variety of fish and crustaceans. The intertidal flats provide resident and migratory shorebirds with a feeding habitat. As a result, the Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd's total commitment to world’s best environmental management is key to its everyday business decisions.
All port operations are conducted in accordance with strict environmental guidelines, and the company regularly measures the impact of port operations on mangroves, seagrass, stormwater, groundwater and sediment quality.
Shorebirds and roosting sites
The Port of Brisbane has a permanent 12 hectare roost site to protect the resident and migratory shorebird populations that live in, and visit, the port every year. Migratory shorebirds from Siberia, Alaska, China and Mongolia feed and rest in Moreton Bay from September to May, when food becomes scarce during the Northern Hemisphere winter. Each year up to 15,000 shorebirds visit the port.
The Port of Brisbane Shorebird Roost was constructed with variable landforms, favourable to shorebirds. These include:
- dry open areas surrounded by moats where birds can roost free from predators
- broken, rough ground with low lying marshes
- shallow water/wet margins that enable birds to cool off
- bund walls, which enclose the area.
ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING
Stormwater
Stormwater can carry sediments, nutrients and contaminants, such as oils, greases and heavy metals, into our waterways. Removing these containments can be difficult and costly.
Effective planning for new port developments and managing stormwater appropriately, minimises the impacts of the port's operation on Moreton Bay.
Stormwater-quality immprovement devices, such as gross-pollutant traps, and water sensitive urban design features, like grass swales and retention ponds, help remove contaminants from stormwater run-off.
Groundwater
Groundwater quality needs to be monitored regularly to detect if there has been any seepage of contaminants resulting from spills, leaks or leaching.
There are more than 20 groundwater wells across Fisherman Islands, which are used to measure groundwater levels and the rate at which water in the ground is replenished.
By managing new development at the port, and groundwater discharge, the groundwater quality at Fisherman Islands has remained consistently good.
Watching our waste
A composting toilet is now located at the Whyte Island Boat Ramp. This modern facility uses natural processes to break down waste, with no odour and little electricity use. It treats 100% of the water and sewage into water suitable for irrigating the surrounding landscape.
Sediments
Sediments are dredged from the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay to maintain shipping navigational channels and berths. Before dredging commences, sediments in the river and bay are sampled and analysed to detect contaminants and minimise dredging of contaminated sediments.
Once dredged sediment material has been placed ashore in the Future Port Expansion area, sediment samples are analysed once more, to ensure contaminants have not been transferred into the reclamation ponds.
Water efficiency
Over recent years the port community has been working on ways to reduce its overall water consumption. We have found alternative water sources for 95% of construction activities, and many port operators have also installed systems to capture rainwater.
Green buildings
The first office building in the new Port Central precinct, Port Central 1, was awarded a 5-star green rating for design by the Green Building Council of Australia. The next planned building is aiming for similar goals.
Developers on port land must adhere to a set of sustainable guidelines, which set high standards for sustainable design and building criteria.