Water
Our region
NRM Plan current state
Water
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Water
Access to clean, fresh useable water underpins every aspect of life in SEQ.
- Drinking water supplied to our cities and towns is captured from rivers, streams, and groundwater sources from across the region.
- Our waterways support communities, agriculture, industry, recreation and tourism, and underpin the health of ecosystems (water based ecosystems provide habitat for many important plants and animals).
- There are more than 16,000 kilometres of rivers and streams across the region and 143,400 hectares of all wetland types.
- The quality of water in these streams, wetlands, and groundwater systems is variable and closely linked to land-based activities.
- Water quality is impacted by historical and current discharges from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and stormwater drains and non-point sources such as broadscale vegetation clearing, agriculture, and urban development.
- Population growth, urbanisation, climate events (such as droughts and floods) and riparian weeds are threats to the ongoing health of the water assets of SEQ.
- Wetlands in particular, filter impurities such as excess nutrients and sediments.
Effective water management is critical to controlling pollution and improving water quality.
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Water threats and pressures
The quality of water in streams, wetlands, groundwater systems, oceans and our drinking water is linked to land-based activities.
- Population growth and urbanisation: more people using resources.
- Urban development: poorly designed developments that clear vegetation communities and impact negatively on land and coastal wetland values.
- Extreme weather: events such as droughts and floods.
- Climate change: which is set to increase the likelihood, frequency and strength of extreme weather events.
- Ground cover: cleared areas do not have the root systems in place to hold valuable soil in place, nor slow water down during heavy rainfall events, which leads to loss of valuable productive soil, which then causes damage all the way downstream and as it passes through urban areas, all the way out onto the bay where it harms marine life.
- Pollution: Sediment, nutrients, waste and other pollution coming from catchments. This includes historical and current discharges from point sources such as wastewater treatment plants and stormwater drains and non-point sources such as broadscale vegetation clearing, agriculture, and urban development
- Recreation: increase in recreational pressures and vehicle impacts.
Healthy Land & Water's projects
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Water current state
20 years of monitoring data for the region shows water quality is stable and improving slightly, though there is significant variability from year to year, in line with climatic conditions.
Water quality monitoring is reported annually in the region's Report Card, which is managed by Healthy Land & Water. Some of the reasons for the change over time includes:
- Upgrades to wastewater treatment plants across the region over the past 20 years have led to much of the improvement in Report Card scores in recent decades, however, ongoing and future urban growth will add to point source pollutant loads. More will need to be done to hold the line
- Sediments and nutrients from eroding gullies, riverbanks and hillslopes is impacting water quality in rivers and estuaries and sensitive areas such as Ramsar-listed Quandamooka (Moreton Bay).
- The health of vegetation next to rivers and streams also impacts the quality of water used for human consumption and recreation. Only 53.4% of our riparian zones are forested (2017) with a loss of 830 hectares per year since 2013.
- There has also been a decline in natural wetlands across the region since 2001 with freshwater wetlands being the most impacted.
Healthy Land & Water's projects
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Water priority actions
The following actions will play a critical role in meeting the water targets.
These actions have been identified by the South East Queensland community. These actions are updated regularly in the region's Natural Resource Management Plan, which is managed by Healthy Land & Water on behalf of the region's community.
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Implement Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) to limit pollution from residential areas. |
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Ensure sufficient cultural flows, which encompass environmental flows, to maintain downstream ecological processes. |
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Identify barriers to fish passage and develop and implement solutions in priority areas. |
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Support and create processes for the community and various levels of government to work together to develop new and enhance current regional and local land use planning mechanisms to achieve SEQ NRM Plan targets. |
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Manage |
Maintain levels of vegetation and groundcover in priority areas such as hillslopes to reduce sediment pollution. |
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Provide a management program to limit sediment pollution from construction sites. |
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Manage wastewater treatment plants to maintain or improve water quality. |
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Provide a management program for septic systems in rural residential and peri urban areas. |
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Reduce litter impacts on waterways, manage rural diffuse sediment and nutrient pollution from poor agricultural practices |
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Improve riparian zone management by addressing clearing, weeds and cattle access in priority areas. |
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Develop citizen science activities to genuinely engage the community in stewardship of their local waterways and environs. |
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Expand water quality monitoring spatial coverage, detail and analysis. |
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Consider urban design and infrastructure, including roads, bridges, rail and other large-scale development to come up with strategies to manage potential adverse effects on floodplain management, wildlife harm and habitat fragmentation. |
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Deploy community capacity building and develop monitoring metrics on erosion and sediment control and role of industry accountability. |
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Restore |
Restore priority riparian zones and instream habitats to improve water quality. |
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Stabilise actively eroding gullies, channels and creek banks that are generating sediment. |
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Empower |
Integrate floodplain management planning. |
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Water targets
Water resources and riparian areas provide ecosystem services and clean water for human consumption, environmental flows, and recreational, agricultural and industrial uses. Water based ecosystems provide habitat for many important plants and animals. Wetlands in particular, filter impurities such as excess nutrients and sediments. Effective water management is critical to controlling pollution and improving quality.
Headline target
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In 2031, scheduled water quality objectives for all SEQ waterways will be achieved or exceeded.
Summary of asset targets
- Environmental Flows
Environmental flows will meet aquatic ecosystem health and ecological process requirements. - Groundwater Levels
75% of SEQ Groundwater Resource Units will have groundwater levels within acceptable annual ranges. - Groundwater Quality
Groundwater quality (nutrients and EC measurements) in all SEQ Groundwater Resource Units will be within identified acceptable annual ranges. - Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems
The condition of groundwater ecosystems and ground water dependent ecosystems will be within identified acceptable annual ranges. - High Ecological Value Waterways
In 2031, High Ecological Value waterways in SEQ will maintain their 2008 classification - Waterways Maintenance and Enhancement
Scheduled water quality objectives for all SEQ waterways will be achieved or exceeded. - Waterway Restoration
Waterways classified as ranging from slightly to moderately disturbed and/or highly disturbed will have ecosystem health and ecological processes restored.
Healthy Land & Water's water projects
Healthy Land & Water
Level 11, 240 Queen St
GPO Box 735
MEANJIN (BRISBANE)
QLD 4001
Australia
Healthy Land and Water Ltd
ABN 91 115 662 989
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