Waterways Report Card reveals impacts of a record wet season
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Across the region, the record-breaking wet season influenced the health of Townsville’s rivers, creeks, and coasts, according to the 2026 Waterways Report Card, released today by the Healthy Waters Partnership.
Executive Officer Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins said it’s no surprise the Report Card reflects the intensity of the wet season and the movement of water through the landscape.
“More than two metres of rain fell in the Ross Basin, and more than three metres in the Black, washing sediment and nutrients from the catchment to the coast,” she said.
The annual Report Card draws on routine monitoring conducted between July 2024 and June 2025.
The record-breaking wet season
Water quality in the Black River declined to ‘poor,’ the first time a sub-basin in the Black catchment has recorded this result. Elevated nutrient levels and sediment concentrations followed early wet season rains in November, with subsequent rainfall placing additional pressure on the system.
Further south, the prolonged wet season flushed large volumes of sediment through Alligator Creek estuary. Combined with waves and tidal movement in Cleveland Bay, this led to reduced water clarity and a decline in Alligator Creek’s overall condition.
In contrast, several other waterways across the region maintained stable or improved results, including the Lower Ross River and Crystal Creek estuaries.
“During extreme weather events, some monitoring sites become inaccessible, or peak sediment flows occur outside scheduled sampling periods,” Ms Coulter-Atkins said. “The contrasting results this year highlights how quickly these impacts can move through waterways.”
Impacts to marine environments, however, can take longer to emerge.
Impacts from earlier climate events
In coastal waters, declines in hard coral indicators reflect the effects of the 2024 mass bleaching event, demonstrating the time for climate impacts to become evident in marine habitats.
During the record wet season, coral reefs and seagrass meadows were exposed to widespread freshwater inundation and increased sediment loads, not only from local catchments, but flows from the Herbert and Burdekin rivers, which reached major flood levels.
Heavy rainfall amplifies erosion, with more runoff and sediment moving through the system. Once in coastal waters, sediment blocks sunlight, which is essential for the survival of corals and seagrass.
“Some bays around Orpheus Island have already reported coral loss, underscoring the cumulative pressures facing inshore reef systems,” said Ms Coulter-Atkins.
“Encouragingly, there were some early signs of hope. Juvenile coral numbers had increased at several sites, including Geoffrey Bay and Pandora North, offering potential for regrowth as conditions improve.”
“The results remind us just how connected our landscape is, and the effect that events and actions on land have on the health of our rivers and the Reef beyond,” she said.
New monitoring sites and data streams
This year’s Report Card also offers a first glimpse in the Stuart Creek freshwater sub-basin, helping to fill a critical data gap in the Ross Basin.
“Insights indicate the sub-basin is under pressure, with a ‘very poor’ water quality grade driven by excess nutrients and low dissolved oxygen levels,” Ms Coulter-Atkins said. “The Partnership is working to secure additional data to build a clearer picture of waterway health in the sub-basin.”
New data is also strengthening understanding of coastal habitats. Shoreline mangrove condition assessments, delivered through Earthwatch Australia’s MangroveWatch citizen science program, are providing valuable insights into mangrove health.
These surveys complement satellite data, which led to improved habitat grades in the Bohle and Lower Ross estuaries, and the Magnetic Island estuarine zone.
“Citizen science plays a vital role in building our knowledge and connecting the community with local waterways,” Ms Coulter-Atkins said. “These programs are helping to fill important gaps in the Report Card and strengthen our understanding of waterway health across the region.”
The Waterways Report Card brings together partners from across government, industry, research and community to provide a snapshot of environmental condition. It informs decision-making, guides investment for targeted action, and empowers the community to support waterway health.
“By continuing to invest in monitoring programs and on-ground action, we can strengthen the resilience and health of waterways across the Townsville Dry Tropics.”
Other notable results from the 2026 Waterways Report Card, which is the seventh Report Card for the Townsville Dry Tropics, include:
The Upper Ross River continues to stand out, maintaining ‘very good’ water quality.
The Bohle River freshwater sub-basin remains under pressure from excess nutrients and low dissolved oxygen levels, driving a ‘poor’ grade for the seventh year in a row.
Despite a ‘poor’ in the Black River, the broader Black Basin has held steady, with an overall ‘good’ water quality rating for the seventh consecutive year.
Downstream, improvements were seen in Black Basin estuaries, where better water quality was linked to a reduction in nutrients, particularly dissolved inorganic nitrogen in both Crystal and Saltwater Creeks. Water clarity in Althaus Creek improved significantly.
Coastal waters around Magnetic Island continue to show gradual improvement, with encouraging gains in water quality over recent years.
Seagrass condition has declined from ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’, as environmental pressures like cloudy weather, wind, and waves reduce the abundance of seagrass. Surveys were completed before the record-breaking wet season and do not reflect potential impacts from this event.
In Halifax Bay, macroalgae, which has negatively affected some reefs in recent years, has reduced, likely due to severe weather physically removing seaweed from reef surfaces.
Further offshore, coral reefs remain in ‘good’ condition overall, with several reefs improving, including John Brewer Reef, which continues its recovery from an earlier crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak.
Of the 24 clean-up sites, most recorded low to moderate litter pressure, with no sites recording ‘very high’ pressure for the second year in a row. Some hotspots remain in areas like Orpheus Island and South Townsville.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Tourism:
Minister for the Environment and Tourism Andrew Powell said the report card showed the value of long-term partnerships between communities, industry, and government to protect the health of Dry Tropics waterways and the Great Barrier Reef.
“Nobody loves the Reef more than Queenslanders, and these results are encouraging because they show the positive impact of practical, on-ground action to improve and protect water quality,” Minister Powell said.
“The findings reinforce why the Crisafulli Government is investing a record $330.5 million to improve Great Barrier Reef water quality and support action across Reef catchments, because healthy waterways are essential to a healthy Reef and to protecting these natural assets for future generations.”
Comments attributable to EarthWatch Australia CEO, Fiona Sutton Wilson:
Earthwatch Australia CEO, Fiona Sutton Wilson, said citizen science was helping to close important gaps in how the region understands the health of its waterways.
"Tools like the Report Card are only as strong as the data behind them. Through MangroveWatch, our team supports trained local volunteers to observe shoreline condition and survey saltmarsh, extending monitoring into hard-to-access places and across timeframes. Our scientists then analyse the community-collected data and share it with the Healthy Waters Partnership so that community observations are directly contributing to how these waterways are managed."
"What makes this work is the Townsville community itself. Every survey is someone choosing to spend time on their local creek or estuary and contribute to a shared picture of its health. That's environmental stewardship in action. The improved mangrove grades in the Bohle and Lower Ross estuaries show how that local knowledge and care helps protect these waterways over the long term."
