Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways Integrated Monitoring Program
Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways is a joint initiative of the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) and Reef Catchments Mackay Whitsunday Incorporated.
The initiative began at the inaugural Healthy Waterways Forum in 2002 with the development of an integrated monitoring program to coordinate management of aquatic resources in the Mackay Whitsunday region to meet the region’s environmental, economic and social needs.
Reef Catchments Mackay Whitsunday Inc. began developing a regional water quality improvement plan to reduce pollution in waterways and the marine environment and to protect their environmental values.
Since 2004, Reef Catchments Mackay Whitsunday Inc. has provided DERM with funding to conduct several projects under the integrated monitoring program and the water quality improvement plan.
Project areas included the following:
- Community ambient volunteer network
- Regional baseline water quality monitoring
- Regional flood event and plume monitoring
- Improved management practices in cane farming
- Results and Outcomes
Community ambient volunteer network
The aim of this project is to define the ambient water quality in-situ in relation to a range of parameters and land uses relevant to water quality in the region.
The results will be used to support outcomes required under the integrated monitoring program, as well as to develop regional water quality guidelines and define water quality targets and objectives for the water quality improvement plan.
The objectives of the project are to:
- maintain a quality-controlled program for sampling ambient water in-situ, which is driven by well-trained volunteers from the community
- monitor water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, electrical conductivity, filterable reactive phosphorus and clarity on a monthly basis across various land uses and stream orders (i.e. watercourses of varying sizes).
- provide input to the water quality improvement plan, including information for setting water quality guidelines, targets and objectives for fresh water.
The Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways Ambient Monitoring Program Regional Report 2008 (PDF, 1.7M)* provides an overview of the ambient physico-chemical parameters which were sampled from various freshwater rivers, streams and creeks in the Mackay Whitsunday region.
The report is also provided in sections.
- Part 1 - Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways Ambient Monitoring Program Regional Report 2008 (PDF, 953K)*
- Part 2 - Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways Ambient Monitoring Program Regional Report 2008 (PDF, 831K)*
Regional baseline water quality monitoring
The aim of this project is to define baseline water quality condition in relation to a range of parameters and land uses relevant to water quality in the region.
The results will be used to support outcomes required under the integrated monitoring program, as well as to develop regional water quality guidelines and define water quality targets and objectives for the water quality improvement plan.
The objectives of the project are to:
- monitor parameters in-situ and collect samples for total suspended sediments, nutrients and herbicides on a monthly basis
- develop ambient water quality guidelines for fresh water in the Mackay Whitsunday region
- provide input to the water quality improvement plan, including information for setting water quality targets and objectives.
The Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways Baseline Monitoring Program Regional Report 2008 (PDF, 1.8M)* provides an overview of the major findings for the first 12 months (July 2006 – June 2007) of baseline sampling.
The report is also provided in sections.
- Part 1 - Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways Baseline Monitoring Program Regional Report 2008 (PDF, 1.0M)*
- Part 2 - Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Waterways Baseline Monitoring Program Regional Report 2008 (PDF, 818K)*
Regional flood event and plume monitoring
The aim of this project is to assess the quality of water running off the land after rain in catchments dominated by various major land uses (for example, sugar cane farming, grazing, forestry, urban development), and the resulting flood plumes in the near-coastal Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
The objectives of the project are to:
- determine the concentrations and loads of sediment, nutrient and herbicide from sites near the ends of catchments (defined by the location of gauging stations), including the priority O’Connell and Pioneer catchments (under the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan)
- investigate differences in water quality discharged from sub-catchments with different land uses, including sugar cane, grazing, urban and forest
- investigate the fate of sediment, nutrient and herbicide discharged into the Reef lagoon in flood plumes
- provide data for event-based fresh and marine water quality objectives and targets for the water quality improvement plan.
The Fresh and Marine Water Quality in the Mackay Whitsunday Region 2004–05 to 2006–07 (PDF, 2.5M)* report provides an overview of findings for the event-based water quality monitoring program.
The report is also provided in sections.
- Part 1 - Fresh and Marine Water Quality in the Mackay Whitsunday Region 2004–05 to 2006–07 (PDF, 428K)*
- Part 2 - Fresh and Marine Water Quality in the Mackay Whitsunday Region 2004–05 to 2006–07 (PDF, 1.1M)*
- Part 3 - Fresh and Marine Water Quality in the Mackay Whitsunday Region 2004–05 to 2006–07 (PDF, 776K)*
- Part 4 - Fresh and Marine Water Quality in the Mackay Whitsunday Region 2004–05 to 2006–07 (PDF, 359K)*
Improved management practices in cane farming
Using current cropping and controlled-traffic farming practices, as well as simulated and natural rainfall events, the aim of this project is to assess how different ways of applying fertilisers and herbicides affect the quality of run-off water. The results will be used in the water quality improvement plan to promote adoption of cane farming management practices to improve water quality.
The project was conducted with the use of a rainfall simulator and a paired flume trial on the Deguara “Back on Track” BSES Ltd project site in the Sandy Creek catchment in 2006 and 2007.
Objectives:
- The objective of the field-based plot-scale rainfall simulation study was to assess the difference in water quality of run-off from a simulated 1 in 10 year (average return interval) storm event by:
- applying rainfall at different stages before and after the application of nitrogenous fertilisers and residual herbicides
- measuring run-off and collecting samples for sediment, nutrient and herbicide analysis
- calculating and comparing total run-off, run-off rate, time to run-off and event mean concentrations and loads of sediment, nutrients and herbicides from each treatment.
- The objective of the paddock-scale paired flume study was to:
- monitor the water quality of run-off from natural rainfall on two of the practice treatments studied in the plot-scale study
- determine total run-off, run-off rate, time to run-off and event mean concentrations and loads of sediment, nutrient and herbicide from each event monitored
- compare results between treatments and, in turn, compare those with plot-scale results and determine the decline in nutrient and herbicide availability since application.
The Sediment, nutrient and herbicide run-off from cane farming practices in the Mackay Whitsunday region: a field-based rainfall simulation study of management practices (PDF, 952K)* report provides an overview of the field-based rainfall simulation study of management practices in the region.
Results and Outcomes
The major outcomes and achievements were:
- increased awareness of water quality and aquatic ecosystem issues within the Mackay Whitsunday region through the involvement of the community in water quality sampling
- identification of regional water quality issues:
- low flow (ambient)—low dissolved oxygen, elevated dissolved nutrient levels from some sugar cane and urban land uses, and detections of low concentrations of some herbicides at some sites
- high flow (flood events)—elevated concentrations of dissolved nutrients and herbicides from sugar cane land use; elevated dissolved nutrients from urban areas; and elevated sediment concentrations from areas undergoing urban development
- flood plumes—discharges of significant quantities of dissolved nutrients and some herbicides to the marine environment; persistence of some herbicides above detection limits for at least nine days.
This has been the first study to comprehensively examine herbicide concentrations in flood plumes within the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
The above findings led to the development of the plot-scale trial to address these water quality issues from sugar cane farming.
Rainfall simulation studies were undertaken on two farming systems (1.5 metre current practice beds and 2 metre controlled traffic beds) and with two nutrient types (surface applied Liquid One Shot dunder and sub-surface applied Nitra King (S) granular fertiliser), along with herbicide (broadcast and banded applications of Ametryn, Atrazine, Diuron and Hexazinone) treatments. The main findings from this study were:
- reduced total run-off and peak run-off rate from controlled traffic beds compared to current practice beds. This led to reduced sediment, nutrient and herbicide loads in run-off
- reducing the application of residual herbicides by banding reduced the herbicide concentration in run-off
- no clear difference in total nutrient loads between surface- and sub-surface-applied nutrients, but surface applications of dunder produced high ammonia levels in run-off one day after application.
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Last updated 23 April 2009
