Executive summary: inland waters and wetlands
Status 2007
Freshwater is scarce in much of Queensland. Human activity since European settlement has had adverse impacts on the quantity and quality of water in many river systems, aquifers and reservoirs.
Wetlands, a broad term that encompasses a diverse range of water systems including inshore marine areas, lakes (lacustrine areas), swamps, bogs and fens (palustrine areas), estuaries, groundwater, rivers, creeks and artificial water bodies (dams and water storages), are estimated to cover approximately 4.1% of Queensland's mainland areas, or nearly 71 000 square kilometres. Wetlands continued to be lost at a rate of over 7000 hectares a year from 1997 to 2003. This loss varied across Queensland and between wetland areas. The greatest amount of wetland loss has occurred in the Murray-Darling Basin and North-east Drainage Division, and in palustrine and riverine wetland areas.
Little information on the condition of many of Queensland's wetlands is available. In riverine areas, the condition was better in the northern regions than the southern regions.
In this reporting period, the condition of most the state's rivers was relatively good. In general, moderate to good water quality and healthy macroinvertebrate communities were observed at most of the freshwater monitoring sites in Queensland. Of the total length of stream bank assessed for riparian vegetation, approximately one-quarter was in a poor state.
Native fish populations across catchments have remained stable since 2003. Several species of native fish are still listed as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. Small increases were observed in the number of exotic species present in the Herbert, Mary and Warrego catchments compared to 2003.
Streamflow for the Fitzroy River at The Gap and the Balonne River at Weribone monitoring sites has been well below the long-term mean for this reporting period. In contrast, streamflow at the Normanby River at Battle Camp monitoring site was above average in 2004 and 2006. This result reflects the rainfall pattern in these regions.
Queensland has almost 200 major reservoirs that provide approximately 65% of the state's total surface water consumption. These reservoirs are at record low levels because of the continuing drier than normal weather patterns.
The increase in groundwater use, during a period when rainfall recharge of aquifers has been below average, has resulted in water levels declining in many areas across the state. The quality of the state's groundwater remains variable as a consequence of factors that are site- or aquifer-specific. Localised problems include salinity, corrosiveness and hardness and excessive amounts of fluoride and/or nitrate. Saltwater intrusion is a major threat for coastal aquifers and some irrigation areas. In the Great Artesian Basin, significant pressure recovery has resulted from the rehabilitation of bores.
Major contributing factors
Major pressures on Queensland's wetlands include land use, rural and urban development, land clearing, water extraction and land management practices that may adversely affect lakes, swamps, bogs, fens, river and groundwater water quality, flow regimes and ecosystem biodiversity and health.
Threats to native fish populations include changes to flow regulation, habitat degradation, lowered water quality, infrastructure barriers to fish movement, the introduction of alien fish species, fisheries exploitation, the spread of diseases and translocation and stocking of fish.
Drought conditions and the resultant reduced availability of surface water have increased the demand and dependency of rural and urban areas on supplementation of water supplies through the extraction of surface waters and groundwater. This places additional pressures on wetland systems in a period of below-average rainfall to replenish water stocks extracted by the diverse range of water users. Potential adverse impacts include increased pollution, salinity, and incidences of iron bacteria attacking core casing in groundwater bores, diminished water quality, increased incidences of toxic algal blooms, and further losses of biodiversity.
Agriculture accounts for the major use of surface water in Queensland, currently standing at 67% of the total water used. The predominant agricultural water usage is for sugar and cotton (38% and 29% respectively in 2004-05).
Policy response
Legislation, planning, partnerships and monitoring programs all form part of the Queensland Government's response to the challenges of protecting and using our water resources efficiently. The Environmental Protection (Water) Policy 1997 has been effective in setting environmental values, indicators and quality objectives to protect, rehabilitate and reduce the pressure on the water environment. This piece of legislation is currently under review. The rehabilitation of bores under the Great Artesian Basin Rehabilitation Program started in 1989 and has resulted in the capping of over 500 free-flowing bores and the replacement of 8000 kilometres of open bore drains with piping. It has led to water savings of 130 000 megalitres per year.
Queensland has a number of river systems in near natural condition and represents a valuable part of our current and future natural heritage. The purpose of the Wild Rivers Act 2005 is to preserve the natural values of wild rivers. The first Wild River declarations for the Settlement Creek, Morning Inlet, Gregory River and Staaten River systems and rivers on Hinchinbrook and Fraser islands have been finalised. Consultation will continue regarding the implementation of further Wild River declarations. In contrast, changes to the Murray-Darling Basin over the past 100 years have led to a deterioration of fish habitat and native fish populations. The Native Fish Strategy seeks to increase native fish populations to 60% of their estimated pre-European settlement levels over a 50-year period. The vision of this strategy is to ensure that the Basin sustains native fish biodiversity.
The delivery of natural resource outcomes relies to a large extent on various cooperative regional arrangements. These include those supported under the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, as well as the Natural Heritage Trust. Other specific regional arrangements are occurring in the Reef catchments, in support of the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, as well as in south-east Queensland, with various activities being undertaken by local government and the South East Queensland Healthy Waterways Partnership.
Industry and government are working together to improve the use and management of available irrigation water under the Rural Water use Efficiency Initiative. Seven Rural Water Use Efficiency Initiative partnership agreements were finalised with industry bodies during 2006 - 07. Milestones and targets have been expanded to help these industries achieve water use efficiency outcomes, reduce off-farm impacts, and develop and implement farm management systems. The agreements assist landholders with practical measures to adapt to changing conditions and improve the sustainable management of natural resources.
The Queensland Government has in place a robust water resource planning framework. The government is continuing with the roll-out of Water Resource Plans, and the associated Resource Operations Plans across the state. Water Resource Plans for the Burdekin, Logan and Moreton catchments have recently been released. A draft Resource Operations Plan for the Condamine-Balonne catchment has also been released. A number of existing plans have also undergone amendments. The water resource planning process has been accelerated to keep pace with the state's water resource demand. In addition to water resource planning, regional water supply strategies are currently being developed across the state as a whole-of-government approach to meeting the water supply challenges in each region.
The Queensland Government is continuing its Metering Program with the objective of establishing accurate measurement of all significant rural/raw water extractions. Through the Department of Natural Resources and Water, the Queensland Government is also leading the rural/raw water metering activities under the National Water Initiative. Accurate measurement of rural/raw water extractions will improve the quality and availability of information on water taken.
Comprehensive reporting on many significant aspects of river condition was not possible because of lack of appropriate monitoring data. For instance, limited data are available on the condition of riparian vegetation in the state. The Stream and Estuary Assessment Program is currently being developed to overcome these deficiencies and will be piloted in the Central region in 2007-08. It is intended that this program will eventually supersede existing water quality and biological assessment programs. Further work is under way on the development of an integrated water quality monitoring program across the state, covering both state and other monitoring programs. This program will be based on the processes influencing the health of aquatic ecosystems and will include common methods and standards for assessment, information management and reporting. Similarly, the Queensland Wetlands Programme , a five-year joint initiative of the Australian Government and Queensland Government, aims to support projects and programs that will result in long-term benefits to the sustainable use, management, conservation and protection of Queensland wetlands.
In response to climate change, the Queensland Government recently established the Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence, bringing together scientific knowledge and expertise from the Department of Natural Resources and Water, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. The centre will focus research on better understanding and forecasting of climate change, and strategies to prepare for and adapt to climate change. Climate change is a potentially significant pressure on the availability of water in the future and will need to be accounted for in planning processes.
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Last reviewed 12 May 2011
Last updated 9 February 2009