Primary producers improving the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef
Burdekin graziers and sugarcane growers are making progress in improving the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef, according to the recent release of the Reef Water Quality Report Card 2021-22.
The Burdekin catchment recorded a 3 per cent reduction in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), one of the largest reductions across Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef catchments for the reporting period. This puts the region just under halfway towards the target of a 60 per cent reduction by 2025.
Why is there a delay between the data collection and the release of the report card?
Data must be collated from the regional monitoring programs and validated before report card analysis.
The data then undergoes comprehensive analysis and review before it is ready to be released in the report card.
The region also recorded good overall ground cover with 88 per cent of grazing lands having adequate ground cover in the late dry season in 2022, compared to 71 per cent in 2021 and 56 per cent in 2020. This result was largely due to the higher than long-term average rainfall in the Burdekin region in 2021 and 2022.
The 2025 Burdekin catchment management target is 90 per cent of grazing lands with more than 70 per cent ground cover in the late dry season.
The report card also shows more grazing land being managed using best management practices. A 0.5 per cent reduction in sediment was recorded in the Burdekin region.
The report card shows overall inshore marine condition was moderate in 2021-2022. Coral condition remained moderate, continuing to recover from a low point following the impact of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
Inshore seagrass meadow condition improved from poor to moderate. Seagrass meadows have shown high resilience particularly through their capacity to recover from disturbances such as the large flood event in the Burdekin region in 2019.
Mid and outer shelf reef conditions are less directly influenced by water quality from the catchments and aren’t included in the report card.
While the 2021 and 2022 results show progress being made towards water quality targets is slow, major water quality programs were in their infancy during the reporting period.
Greater progress is expected in meeting these targets as significant, multi-year projects funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, as well as projects funded by the Queensland Government, are completed and reported.
Both governments have increased their funding commitments since the period covered in the report card, to improve reef water quality and accelerate progress towards the water quality targets. Outcomes from this increased funding are expected to be reflected in future report cards.
The Reef Water Quality Report Card looks at multiple areas to report its findings. This includes water quality monitoring data, ground cover, riparian and wetland extent, modelled pollutant run-off from the results of on-ground programs, and marine condition.
The report cards show progress towards the targets and objectives of the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan, which is nested within the Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan – Australia’s overarching framework for protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
The results presented are produced by the Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program (Paddock to Reef Program), which estimates reductions in terrestrial pollutant run-off discharging to the Reef and links on-ground practice changes with water quality outcomes.
Read about and the science behind the Paddock to Reef Program and the Reef Water Quality Report here.
