The Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan aims to reduce the sediment and agricultural chemicals going into creeks, rivers and the ocean.

The Plan is detailed in a comprehensive book for landholders and stakeholders interested in water quality in the Burdekin. It looks at the current condition of the region’s 48 sub-catchments and the best management practices for grazing and sugar lands within these.

It also lists targets and priorities such as by 2018, 80% of sugar land has best practice herbicide management.

Water Quality and Sugar

NQ Dry Tropics has a number of publications to help cane farmers improve water quality on their farms.

Reef Rescue ABCD Framework Brochure - Sugar

Driving on beaches is a popular activity in north Queensland for boaties, swimmers, and explorers.

Beaches in the Burdekin and Townsville regions are under increasing pressure from vehicle use.

Public safety concerns are also rising.

NQ Dry Tropics as a member of The Coastal Vehicle Management Steering Committee is working to reduce the impacts of vehicles on our beaches.

It measures water quality.

The Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring Modelling and Reporting program monitors whether the funding improvements made by Reef Rescue and the Reef Protection Package are making significant enough improvements to our water.  

The Reef Plan also known as the Water Quality Protection Plan is jointly funded by Australian and Queensland Governments.

It’s worth $375 million over five years and its aim is to reduce sediment, nutrient and pesticide run off by 20 per cent into the Great Barrier Reef.  It applies to all the land between Cape York and Hervey Bay.  

Resource Condition Summary

The Bowen Broken Bogie Basin is relatively small (~ 11,730 sq. km.) and covers around 9% of the BWQIP region. Common to most of the BQWIP basins, land use is dominated by grazing on natural pastures. However, approximately 24% of the land area is set aside for conservation and minimal use, most of which lies within the Broken River subcatchment.

Removing fish barriers

Barriers to fish movement represent a key threat to fish populations in our region.

Many of Australia's native freshwater fishes need to move in order to breed and survive.  Structures such as dams, weirs, causeways and road culverts can act like road blocks, preventing fishes from moving upstream. Even a small drop of 20cm over a causeway can stop fishes moving upstream.

The Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan Catchment Atlas is a 148 page document that provides detailed information about the six individual basins and the 48 subcatchments found within the Burdekin dry tropics catchment region.

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