Latest Report Card

The Report Card assesses the condition of waterways in the Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac region and is usually released in July each year. We integrate a range of data from different monitoring programs to provide grades for freshwater, estuary, and marine environments, as well as human dimensions indicators including cultural heritage value, litter pressures, and urban water management.

By understanding how climate, population, development and land use affect our waterways at a regional level, we can inform management responses and actions tailored to our local area. We strive to provide a complete picture of regional waterway health.

For more information on the Report Card, check out our extensive FAQs.

Our latest Report Card was released in July 2024, and reports on waterway condition between July 2022 and June 2023. You can read the Report Card below, or download a pdf version.

If you would like physical copies of the Report Card for your business, school or organisation, please enquire at info@healthyriverstoreef.org.au.

Key Findings

The 2024 Report Card has revealed a range of waterway health scores from ‘A’ to ‘C’ across the region’s 18 key graded areas, reflecting results for five freshwater basins, eight estuary areas and five marine zones.
For only the second time in 10 years, there is no overarching ‘D’ grade to be seen in the region, with the ‘D’ grade in the Whitsunday Inshore marine zone lifting to a ‘C’ in 2024. Key updates in the 2024 Report Card include the inclusion of pesticide data in the Whitsunday Inshore marine zone for the first time. Fish barrier results, which are updated on a four-yearly cycle, have been updated in the 2024 Report Card for both freshwater and estuary sites.

• Freshwater: Overall freshwater basin grades remained the same as the previous reporting period (no change from the 2022 Report Card).
• Estuary: Vines Creek and Carmila Creek estuaries both received grade improvements. Vines Creek improved from ‘C’ to ‘B’ and Camila Creek improved from ‘B’ to ‘A’.
• Marine: Whitsunday Inshore marine zone grade improved from ‘D’ to ‘C’ influenced by decreased concentrations of nutrients, chlorophyll-a and the incorporation of pesticide data.

Technical Results and Methods

See the 2024 Results Report for detailed results for each indicator and site, and the 2024 Methods Report for detailed sampling and scoring methodology.