Water quality, water quantity and aquatic ecosystem monitoring

Status of wetland and aquatic ecosystems condition monitoring in Queensland

Photo: Longreach, Lily Lagoon - Cathy Ellis

To understand the status of wetland monitoring in Queensland and to develop tools and protocols for monitoring wetland pressure and condition, a Scoping Study for Monitoring Wetland Extent and Condition was funded by the Queensland Wetlands Program. Through this project it was revealed that lacustrine and palustrine systems are not currently monitored under any broad, consistent program although rivers and marine-estuarine systems have been monitored and assessed in Queensland for many years.

Wetland conceptual models (natural processes and components; stressor) have been developed and, when combined with the wetland assessment framework, can be used in wetland monitoring programs.

Current water quality, water quantity and aquatic ecosystem monitoring

As part of Shaping Tomorrow's Queensland: A response to the Queensland Growth Management Summit the monitoring and assessment of the health of Queensland’s waterways is being improved through the implementation of the Queensland Integrated Waterways Monitoring Framework.

Information on Queensland's water quality, water quantity and aquatic ecosystem monitoring programs, conducted by a range of organisations, is available via the links in the table below. This information may also be searched for through the WetlandMaps and SummaryInfo tools. The Queensland waterway monitoring portal provides a single-point of access to these tools.

If you are part of a water quality, water quantity or aquatic ecosystem monitoring program in Queensland, please register your program by contacting water.monitoring♲derm.qld.gov.au.

Program name	Location	Monitoring indicators
Aerial Surveys of Waterbirds in Eastern Australia	Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia	Identification of waterbirds and their abundance
Black Ross (Townsville) Water Quality Improvement Plan Event Monitoring	Black and Ross Basins	Various water quality indicators
Cattana Wetlands Water Quality Monitoring	Artificial lakes at Smithfield, Cairns	Various water quality indicators
Central Queensland Ambient Estuary Program	Tin Can Inlet north to the Fitzroy estuary	Various water quality indicators
Creek to Coral Community Monitoring	Townsville local government area	Various water quality and biological indicators
Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program - Estuarine and Marine	South East Queensland	Various water quality indicators, sewage plume mapping Lyngbya, coral, seagrass and riparian extent
Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program – Event-based	South East Queensland	Stream discharge and various water quality indicators,
Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program - Freshwater	South East Queensland	Various water quality and biological indicators, nutrient cycling and ecosystem processes
Environmental Flows Assessment Program (EFAP)	Statewide	Indicators vary across Water Resource Plan areas.
Fitzroy Priority Neighbourhood Catchments Water Quality Monitoring Program	Fitzroy Basin neighbourhood catchments	Various water quality indicators
Framework for the Assessment of River and Wetland Health (FARWH) – Queensland trials	Surface Water Management Areas	Six themes: Catchment Disturbance; Physical Form; Hydrological Disturbance; Water Quality and Soils; Fringing Zone; Aquatic Biota
Great Artesian Basin Springs Monitoring Program	Great Artesian Basin	Spring extent and flow
Groundwater Ambient Network (GWAN) – Water quality	Statewide	Various water quality indicators
Groundwater Water Level Network	Statewide	Groundwater water level
Lake Eyre Basin River Health Assessment	Lake Eyre Basin	Fish assemblages, waterbirds, general vegetation, vegetation of Nationally Important Wetlands, physical habitats, hydrology and various water quality indicators
Lyngbya Monitoring Program	South East Queensland (primarily Moreton Bay)	Lyngbya presence and coverage
Moreton Bay Marine Park Monitoring Program	Moreton Bay Marine Park	Indicators vary according to specific projects within the program
Moreton Bay Regional Council Waterway Health Monitoring Program	Moreton Bay Regional Council local government area	Various water quality and biological indicators in freshwater and estuarine environments
Murray-Darling Basin Authority – Basin Salinity Management Strategy Annual Reporting and Audit	Queensland and northern New South Wales sections of the Murray-Darling Basin	Stream flow and electrical conductivity
Port Curtis Integrated Monitoring Program (PCIMP)	Port Curtis (port-wide)	Various water quality and biological indicators, mangroves, intertidal invertebrates and seagrass
Reef Plan Paddock to Reef Integrated Monitoring, Modelling and Reporting Program (Paddock to Reef Program)	Eastern Coastal Catchments	Various water quality indicators (Freshwater and inshore marine), catchment mapping, inshore coral reef and seagrass monitoring
South East Queensland (SEQ) Catchments Community Water Quality Monitoring Program	South East Queensland	Various water quality indicators and air temperature
Stream and Estuary Assessment Program (SEAP) – Freshwater	Statewide	Varies according to the biogeographic province monitored
Surface Water Ambient Network (SWAN) – Water quality	Statewide	Various water quality indicators
Surface Water Monitoring Network	Statewide	Rainfall, flow, height and some time series water quality indicators
The Lakes Environmental and Ecosystem Health	The Lakes (Paradise (Keyatta) Lake and Curralea Lake), Ross Creek catchment	Various water quality indicators