Anchors up! This year’s Report Card is rolling out soon.

The sixth annual Townsville Dry Tropics Waterways Report Card will give decision makers and the community a vital snapshot of the health of our local rivers, creeks, and coasts.

Our waterways are more than just the backdrop where we picnic and exercise, they’re living, connected systems. From the creeks that wind through our suburbs to the reefs off our coastline, what happens upstream affects everything downstream. When one part of the system is troubled, whether by pollution or habitat loss, it can ripple through the network, affecting everything from local fish populations to reef health.

That’s where the Waterways Report Card comes in. Produced by the Healthy Waters Partnership, it brings together data from multiple sources and various environmental indicators across the Townsville Dry Tropics to show how aquatic systems are tracking.

“It’s a one stop shop for the state of our freshwater and marine environments,” said Executive Officer for the Healthy Waters Partnership, Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins. “The Report Card is backed by science, revealing connections and flow-on effects that individual data providers wouldn’t typically see on their own.”

“No one organisation could do this alone. The Partnership relies on the support of our members and data providers to pool all this information together, from Crystal Creek in the north to Alligator Creek in the south, and from the catchment to the outer Great Barrier Reef,” she said.

So, how are your favourite swimming holes and fishing spots faring? Stay tuned for the 2025 Report Card when it’s released mid-July. Sign up to our newsletter and get the results delivered straight to your inbox: subscribe.

What we measure

Each year, the Healthy Waters Partnership gathers and evaluates the most reliable environmental data for five indicators across the catchment to report on the state of our waterways. Scroll through to learn more.

For some indicators, data is gathered annually, while others, like satellite-based habitat imagery, are collected less frequently. This is because some data isn’t expected to change much from year to year, or because the data takes a long time to process. In the 2025 Report Card, habitat grades in freshwater and estuarine environments weren’t measured, neither were fish. The grades for these indicators will reflect data collected between 2022 and 2023.

Where we measure

The Townsville Dry Tropics Report Card covers two major basins, the Ross and Black, and their coastal zones.

The Ross Basin, stretching from Alligator Creek to the Bohle River, faces more urban pressure, as most of Townsville’s population lives here. In contrast, the Black Basin, from Black River to Crystal Creek, benefits from less development, more rainfall, and dense vegetation that helps filter runoff.

All waterways flow to the Great Barrier Reef, via Cleveland Bay from the Ross Basin and Halifax Bay from the Black. These inshore zones include Magnetic Island and the Palm Island Group. Coral reefs are assessed in their respective bays and the offshore marine zone, as reefs close to the coast and those further offshore face different environmental conditions.

Celebrate with us at “Healthy Waters Arvo”

Following the release of the Report Card, join us, and a bunch of our incredible Partners, in Strand Park for hands-on activities and partner showcases, to celebrate how Townsville connects with and cares for its waterways.

• Become a scientist and test our water samples.

• See if you’re a waterway hero in our new ‘drains and ladders’ large-scale boardgame.

• Take up the "Healthy Waters Explorers” challenge, visiting Partner stalls to answer quick quizzes, and go in the draw to win some awesome prizes by businesses who have generously supported the event. Prizes include:

o   Adult whale watching ticket with Adrenalin Snorkel and Dive. Two up for grabs.

o   A family walk-on voucher to take you across Cleveland Bay to Magnetic Island, with the family-owned Magnetic Island Ferries.

o   Make a splash with five 7-day passes to the Northern Beaches Leisure Centre available.

o   Refresh your togs, thanks to two $30 vouchers to spend at either Funkita or Funky Trunks.

o   Snuggle up in Recycled Comfort Co’s toodie, discarded towels transformed into a hoodie.

o   Fuel up at the Watermark, with a $50 voucher.

o   Marine-themed keychains made from marine debris found around our local beaches by Seachange Eco.

This year’s Healthy Waters Arvo will be delivered during Townsville City Galleries Strand Ephemera. Stroll the free public art festival along the Strand, and visit our free, family-friendly (dog-friendly) pop-up event to ‘sea’ how you can leave less of a trace on our waterways.

Healthy waters = healthy town!

Don’t forget by hitting “interested” on the event on Facebook.