Fraser Coast Regional Council | Burrum River Proposed Speed Change

Project Overview

The Fraser Coast Regional Council is currently investigating options for the management of boat traffic on Burrum Weir 1. One option is to introduce a speed limit of 6 knots on the river, which is the limit on Lake Lenthall. There are other options which may also be considered, such as limiting the types of water craft permitted on Burrum Weir 1.

Council is open to exploring ways to manage watercraft which are currently damaging our drinking water catchment on the Burrum River, as part of the implementation of the Drinking Water Catchment Management Strategy, endorsed in 2023.

This consultation has now been completed. Please check this page to stay up to date, and select the "Follow Page" on the top right of this page (under the banner) to be notified of any project updates.

Quick Facts

Partnering with MSQ

Council is working with Maritime Safety Queensland to deliver this engagement.

Implementing the Drinking Water Catchment Management Strategy

Previous consultation during the development of the Drinking Water Catchment Management Strategy suggests strong support for restriction of motorised watercraft recreation activities in drinking water catchment areas.

Speed limit on Burrum River

Lake Lenthall has a 6 knots speed limit; however, Burrum Weir 1 & Weir 2 have a speed limit of 40 knots.

Council endorses recommendation to reduce speed limit on Burrum Weir One

At its ordinary meeting in November 2024 (11/24), Council noted the Community Engagement report and delegated authority to the CEO to make a formal submission to Maritime Safety Queensland that the speed limit on Burrum River Weir No 1 be reduced to 6 knots.

Survey for proposed speed limit change to Burrum River Weir One has closed

Thank you for your feedback. A report on the community feedback will be forwarded to the project team for consideration.

Have your say on proposed Burrum River Speed Change

Community engagement on proposed speed changes to one section of the Burrum River, between Weir 1 and Weir 2.

The Fraser Coast Regional Council Planning and Environmental Services team is currently investigating options for the management of boat traffic on Burrum Weir 1.

The process for reducing speeds or restricting activities on the river is broadly as follows:

Following consultation with Council's internal stakeholders, a briefing note was submitted to Councillors outlining the proposed changes.
Further to any Councillor feedback, public consultation will be carried out to gauge the level of public support for any proposed changes. Public consultation will build on existing data gathered during the community engagement undertaken as part of the Drinking Water Catchment Management Strategy in 2023. Existing data suggest strong support for restriction of motorised watercraft recreation activities in drinking water catchment areas.
Following the consultation process, endorsement of any proposed changes will be required by the Wide Bay Water Advisory Committee and the Fraser Coast Regional Council.
The endorsement will be submitted to Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) for consideration, and if approved, MSQ will make the required changes to gazetted speed limits or allowed uses.

Background information on the Burrum River:

The Burrum River is a public waterway, and its use is regulated by the Queensland Government.
The boating speed limit for all watercraft on the Burrum River (freshwater Weir 1 section above the barrage) is 40 knots, as per all inland waters in Queensland where no specific alternative speed limit has been set.
The only public access to the Weir 1 portion of the Burrum River is through the Fraser Coast Regional Council owned recreation reserve on River Road, Howard. Council maintains an informal boat ramp at the reserve, which is utilised by staff to access the river for water quality sampling and maintenance activities. The informal boat ramp is also utilised by the public.
This part of the river forms part of Fraser Coast's drinking water catchment and contains our water off-take point just above the barrage wall (approximately 150m from the boat ramp and reserve). The river is accessed recreationally by a range of watercraft including motorboats, jet skis, kayaks and paddleboards.
The lower part of the river near the barrage and park reserve is frequently subject to hooning behaviour by jet skiers and motorboats that drive very fast and in circular patterns, causing erosion and environmental impact along the riverbanks, noise disturbance for local residents and safety issues for other river users.
The safety of boat passengers, skiers and swimmers is a significant concern due to the many submerged stumps and difficulty in identifying swimmers and other non-motorised watercraft by boat drivers on the waterway.
Several local residents complain to Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) regularly about hooning behaviour and noise. Weekends and school holiday times are the most problematic.
It is noted that very few areas of the river are currently able to be legally navigated at 40 knot speeds, due to ‘proximity to shore’ restrictions (60m for personal watercraft) or ‘proximity to built structure’ restrictions (30m for boats, 60m for personal watercraft), however MSQ expressed that it is very difficult to police speeding on the waterway.
Use of the recreation area where the boat ramp is located is problematic in other ways including illegal camping, unsafe rope swings, lack of toilets, litter, and general safety of swimmers in close proximity to the weir wall (barrage) during overflow events.
Long term options for managing access to the recreation reserve have been investigated in the past, and options are still being explored, however no short-term solutions for restricting access are currently considered easy to implement.
The Council's Planning and Environmental Services team is interested to instead explore reducing speed limits on Burrum Weir 1 from the current 40 knots to 6 knots, as per many other speed restricted waterways across Queensland. This is also consistent with the speed limit on Lake Lenthall (noting Lake Lenthall is managed by Council and is listed in Section 12 of the ‘Schedule of Speed Limits In Queensland’ as 6 knots).
A preliminary concept meeting was recently held with MSQ, which has expressed support for the potential to reduce the speed limit or alternatively to restrict certain activities (e.g. water skiing) on Burrum Weir 1, noting that MSQ have limited resources to police any illegal activities on the river.