The Healthy Waterways Partnership works collaboratively across government, industry, research and community groups to manage water quality and catchments in South East Queensland through programs that protect waterways, manage sources of pollution, and restore habitats. Modelling and monitoring are used to identify priority areas for managing sediment, nutrients and other pollutants from urban, rural and natural sources to achieve water quality objectives for estuaries and coastal waters. Progress is tracked through report cards using ecosystem health and biological indicators to guide ongoing management strategies and investments.

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Peter Hanington
University of Queensland

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!! Special collaboration between government, industry, researchers and
community
!! Working towards understanding, planning for and managing the use
of waterways and catchments in South East Queensland (SEQ)
Healthy Waterways Vision
Our waterways and catchments will, by 2020, be a healthy
ecosystem supporting the livelihoods and lifestyles of residents
and visitors and will be managed through collaboration between
community, government and industry.

4. Who makes up the Partnership ?
!! The Partnership includes 6 Queensland government
agencies, all 19 local governments in the region, 4
universities, 30 major industries and 38 catchment, landcare,
environment and community groups
!! A Secretariat provides the day-to-day coordination for the
partners and undertakes the regional programs including
monitoring and reporting
!! Healthy Waterways is the umbrella ‘brand’ for the
campaign aimed at decision makers and the public

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•!SEQ Regional Plan
•!Moreton Bay Water Quality
Improvement Plan
•!EHMP 5 year trends
•!SEQ Regional Water
Supply Strategy
•!SEQ Regional NRM Plan

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7. SEQ Healthy Waterways Strategy
Overall Approach:
•! Protect
•! Stabilise
•! Restore
Areas of Action:
1. Protection & conservation
2. Management of point sources
3. Management of urban diffuse sources
4. Management of rural diffuse sources
5. Restoration of riparian and wetlands
6. Managing changes to hydrology

8. Need to balance activities in the catchment with uses/values
fishing boating
urbanisation
farming
ecosystem
aquaculture
drinking water
grazing
industry

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13. Nutrient Movement

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12/10/09

16. 12/10/09

17. Scenario: Turbidity
Annual Median Concentrations
Current: 2004 with 2026 Business As Intermediate Maximum Investments
committed upgrades Usual: 2026 with Investments for Load for Load Reduction:
0-2 NTU committed upgrades Reduction: 50% reuse, 100% reuse, 100%
2-4 NTU 100% WSUD in WSUD in greenfield,
4-6 NTU greenfield, 50% retrofit, 100% retrofit, 50%
20% reduction in rural reduction in rural diffuse
6-10 NTU No SEQRWQMS WQO diffuse loads loads
10-20 NTU exists for Turbidity in the
>20 NTU Moreton Bay

18. From a regional scale,
we can identify where the problems are.
Modelling suggests 70%
sediment in Bay comes from
<30% catchment area
Tracer study confirms that
most sediment comes from
soils on Marburg formation
rocks Caitcheon & Howes (2005)

19. identify the dominant processes
Channel Erosion Hillslope Erosion

20. Degraded riparian lands
•! Channel erosion is source of most
sediments delivered to the lower
Brisbane & Logan Rivers
•! Other source is cultivated surface
soils
About 46% of the 48,000 km of
streams in SEQ has poor riparian
condition

21. We know what restoration is required.
F)
channel/bank restoration?
gully stabilization?
riparian revegetation?

22. Key challenge: spatial optimisation
How do we spatially arrange restoration in the landscape to ensure that we get
the best “bang for buck”?
Spatial scale of riparian influence on stream health?
length and width
Optimum spatial arrangement of restoration?
Are there priority areas (eg high sediment yield)?
Does one large continuous section = several small ones?
Socioeconomic issues – willingness/ability for adoption?
Addressing rural diffuse loads has technical, socio-economic and institutional challenges

23. Integrated and whole-of-systems approach to
water management
Links between water quality and water quantity in rural and urban areas
Healthy Waterways Strategy -- Qld Water Plan -- Regional Water Supply Strategy &
Drought Management Strategy -- Water Resource Plans -- Water Recycling Action Plan

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15 freshwater sites
sampled once in Oct. – Nov. 2007
28 Estuarine sites
sampled monthly Nov. 2007 - Oct. 08

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27. SEQ EHMP Estuarine/Marine Indicators
Water Quality Indicators (monthly) Biological Health Indicators
Physico – chemical: (biannual)
•! Water depth •! Seagrass depth range
•! pH •! Riparian vegetation
•! Temperature assessment
•! Salinity •! Coral cover
•! Dissolved oxygen •! Lyngbya
•! Turbidity •! d15N mapping
•! Nutrient processing
Nutrients:
•! Total nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus)
•! Dissolved nutrients (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium,
and phosphate)
•! Total dissolved solids
•! Chlorophyll a

28. Estuarine Water Quality Objectives
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31. Calculation of Estuarine/Bay Report Card Grades )
"! EHI (Ecosystem Health Index) - Proportion of the waterways that complies
with the established objectives (from SEQRWQMS)
"! BHR (Biological Health Rating) - incorporates indicators without
established objectives.
"! EHI weighting - 80%, BHR weighting - 20%

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34. 2007-08 Estuarine Results - Tweed
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36. Delta 15N – Sewage plume mapping

39. Links to management

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