The recent Water Quality Monitoring Link Up forum was successful in bringing together representatives from state and federal government, industry (including mining and agriculture), community and research groups, all with an interest in contributing to the health of our region’s waterways.

Participants at the Link Up forum ranged from representatives from state and federal government agencies such as NRW, QEPA, QDPI&F, Dept. of Defence, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority; researchers and scientists from James Cook University, the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research and CSIRO; members of the Townsville and Thuringowa City Councils, including Creek to Coral; the Townsville Port Authority, Conservation Volunteers Australia plus numerous representatives from the agricultural, mining and other sectors and private consultants, all of whom take an active role in monitoring the waterways.

“LinkUp” presentations highlighted the wide range of water quality monitoring activities currently being undertaken. These include small or “paddock” scale monitoring for nutrients and pesticides leaving farms to large scale monitoring of water bodies such as the GBR lagoon. Rivers in our region are generally monitored during the wet season as many are dry for the rest of the year. During large rain events huge quantities of water containing a range of contaminants are flushed into the GBR. Monitoring at this time is known as “event-based monitoring”. We often rely on the local community to help gather samples at this time as flooding often prevents water quality monitoring teams from reaching the area.

The “Link Up” forum also provided the opportunity to discuss a number of other topics relevant to water monitoring. The idea of developing a set of local water quality guidelines (applicable to the Burdekin Dry tropics region) was widely discussed. Also, participants recognised the value of community support in water quality monitoring and it was suggested that community programs be expanded.