Townsville's latest Waterways Report Card highlights the critical value of 'Champions of the Bohle'.
The 2024 Townsville Dry Tropics Waterways Report Card, an independent report on the health of Townsville’s rivers, creeks, and coastal waters, is now live.
For the fifth Report Card in a row, the Bohle River Sub-Basin receives a ‘D — poor’ grade for water quality, underscoring a need for community action and continued environmental stewardship in Townsville’s most densely populated urban basin.
The poor grade reflects high levels of the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen, found in both the Bohle River’s freshwater (upstream) and estuarine (downstream) environments. Louisa Creek, which flows to the Bohle River through the Town Common Conservation Park, receives an ‘E — very poor’ for total phosphorus levels.
The data behind the Report Card does not identify specific sources of the nutrient pollution, but the Partnership suggests cumulative factors are having an impact. .
“If you live in Townsville, there’s a good chance the Bohle is your basin,” says Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins, Executive Officer of the Healthy Waters Partnership responsible for the annual Report Card.
"Despite only covering about 10% of Townsville’s Local Government Area, almost 50% of our population is packed into this catchment. This means half of our town is gardening, driving, building, planting, and operating in the Bohle. It bears a significant urban load.”
“The Bohle’s D grade is a clear signal that it cannot thrive without the collective efforts of everyone who lives and operates in its catchment,” she says. “The community, business, and government organisations in our Partnership are already working together to find sustainable solutions for the Bohle — but we must intensify and extend our efforts.”
Champions of the Bohle
Several initiatives have been launched to address water quality issues in the Bohle River basin by organisations celebrated as ‘Champions of the Bohle’ by the Healthy Waters Partnership. Businesses and groups already working to support the Bohle include TIDY Up Townsville, OzFish Unlimited, Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare Inc., Envite Environment, Ausfield Services, Townsville City Council, and the Reef Assist program of the Queensland Government.
Above: Many member organisations of the Healthy Waters Partnership are actively working in the Bohle Sub-Basin to improve its health and secure its future. These are Townsville's 'Champions of the Bohle'.
Residents called on to 'Back the Bohle'
Townsville residents are encouraged to join efforts to ‘Back the Bohle’ by getting involved in local clean-up and planting events, reducing their use of artificial fertilisers, pollutants, and plastics, and supporting local conservation programs.
Other Report Card results
Now in its fifth year, the Waterways Report Card brings together the best available environmental data to provide a big picture view of Dry Tropics waterways, including Ross and Black freshwater and estuarine environments, and marine conditions in Cleveland and Halifax Bays.
Other notable results from the 2024 Report Card include:
The Black Basin receives ‘good’ grades for water quality for the fifth year in a row, with some exceptions, notably in Ollera, Sleeper Log, and Althaus Creeks.
In both Ross and Black Basins, fish grades have declined against the previous monitoring period.
In the Black estuarine environment, extents of mangrove and saltmarsh have increased. Conversely, riparian vegetation in this environment has decreased.
A concerning amount of macroalgae is settling into Cleveland and Halifax Bays, potentially dominating valuable real estate otherwise prime for juvenile coral growth.
Juvenile coral in the Offshore Zone beyond Magnetic Island continues to recover against previous years.
Sites under the most litter pressure are Big Rock Bay and Picnic Bay, on the exposed eastern side of Orpheus Island.
“I commend the ongoing efforts of the Healthy Waterways Partnership to enhance water quality in the Townsville region," says the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Innovation Leanne Linard.
“This latest Report Card, which will be used as a benchmark for continued water quality improvements, demonstrates that the partnership’s efforts are getting results. However, it also shows that there’s more work to be done.
“Continued community engagement and action is vital to support the water health of this highly urbanised environment.
“The Miles Government is committed to working with and empowering community groups and natural resource management organisations to take meaningful action to help conserve our environment.
“These valued partners work together to improve the health of their waterways and produce this local Report Card.
“The Miles Government is investing $1.25 million annually across the five regional report card partnerships, with Healthy Waterways Partnership for the Dry Tropics last year receiving $280,000 in funding.”
Above: Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Innovation Leanne Linard, Chair of the Healthy Waters Partnership Dr. Keith Noble, and the Partnership's Executive Officer, Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins.
Port of Townsville Chief Executive Officer Ranee Crosby said the Report Card provided a significant insight into the health of local waterways and underscored the importance of ongoing collaboration to protect and enhance the region’s ecosystems.
“Healthy waterways deliver many benefits to the local community and data collected through the partnership gives us a more comprehensive understanding of the Dry Tropics’ water health than any of its contributors could gather alone,” she says.
“It’s great we can work together to ensure the sustainability and health of our waterways for future generations.”
About the Healthy Waters Partnership
The Healthy Waters Partnership for the Dry Tropics is a collective of more than 20 organisations keeping watch on the health of local waters. Partners include the Australian and Queensland Governments, Townsville City Council, the Port of Townsville, JCU TropWATER, Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO, and local business, research, and community representatives.
Partners share equally in collective decisions, and new partners are always welcome.
See the Townsville Bulletin's coverage of this story HERE.