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The Mackay Whitsunday WQIP was released in 2015/16. The WQIP will guide investment to improve the quality of water to ensure that it is suitable for the uses required by those that live in and enjoy the region.

The Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Water Quality Improvement Plan 2014-21 outlines the current condition of the region’s water quality and provides the pathway towards ensuring water quality is suitable for human uses, agricultural uses and aquatic ecosystem protection. The plan builds on the 2008 WQIP and describes management interventions for rehabilitation of priority habitats and reduction of pollutant loads from diffuse and point sources.

The Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Water Quality Improvement Plan 2014–21 is a pivotal document for the prioritisation of investment into the region to guide the improvement and use of the region’s water resource. The plan has identified the current condition of the region’s water and outlines targets through to 2021, as well as objectives to be achieved by 2050. The plan also outlines ecosystem health targets achieved through Systems Repair for a range of ecosystem indicators including terrestrial and aquatic connectivity and identifies the interventions and scope of works required to achieve these outcomes. The updated WQIP (2014) has prioritised subcatchments according to their need for either Systems Repair or water quality management interventions.

The new iteration of the plan builds on the subcatchment reports that were the cornerstone of the WQIP (2008) and now includes eight receiving water reports which focus on the subcatchment groups that drain into a common marine environment or bay. These reports highlight a range of indicators including relative marine risk and wetland hazard. The receiving water reports also assess the hydrological connectivity of the subcatchments of the receiving waters and indicate the status of the ecological processes operating within the system. Recently the plan has been utilised to prioritise a number of funding applications for programs looking to address water quality, including Reef Trust Three and Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines funding. Looking ahead the plan will be the key prioritisation tool to develop future funding proposals including further Reef Trust phases.

Over the programme’s completion (2013 – 16), achievements included:
• Identification of the current condition of the region’s waterways including event and ambient based loads
• Development of subcatchment prioritisation for Systems Repair or water quality improvement
• Inclusion of Blue maps and EcoCalc (GBRMPA) scores as additional prioritisation tools
• Identification of the cost of implementation for the plan to achieve 2021 targets

The WQIP can be veiwed online, at: www.reefcatchments.com.au/water/wqip/

Monitoring Organisation Reef Catchments

Name Katrina Dent

Phone 4968 4207

Email katrina.dent@reefcatchments.com

Position in organisation General Manager

Activity Type science and research (e.g. monitoring activities, trials of innovative practices or new equipment)

Activity Indicators water quality in freshwater river basins

Activity location O'Connell catchment, Pioneer catchment, Plane catchment, Proserpine catchment

Frequency of monitoring

Monitoring Start Date 01/07/2015

30/06/2016

Location of monitoring data

Date quality / confidence

Website URL http://reefcatchments.com.au/water/wqip/

Collaborators Australian Government

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