Rockhampton Regional Council will raise the Fitzroy River Barrage gates tomorrow as part of a planned water release to flush through an accumulation of water weeds that have built up behind Barrage from recent rain events.
Commencing in the morning, Fitzroy River Water will open several gates at a time over coming days.
Water Councillor Edward Oram said the timing of the release is crucial to effectively flush the weed downstream while there is sufficient flow in the Fitzroy River.
"It's important to release the weeds promptly, or it will continue to accumulate and then die and contaminate the stored water," Cr Oram said.
"The release will be controlled to reduce the impact to the downstream river users.
"Starting tomorrow morning, the release will be managed by raising two or three gates at a time to increase the velocity which will draw the weed through the gates.
"The operation will involve working back and forth across the barrage several times to gradually pass the current raft of weeds.
"The release might take several days and will only occur during daylight hours to allow the released weed to be shifted downstream."
Boat owners are urged to monitor their vessels closely and to exercise caution when using the Fitzroy River over the next few days.
"We ask boaters to remain vigilant as aquatic weeds drift downstream, regularly checking moored vessels for weed build-up, and we advise boat owners to be careful when launching," Cr Oram said.
