Healthy Waterways report card 2008: South-east Queensland

Source: Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program
"The 2008 Report Card provides grades for 19 catchments and 18 estuaries in SEQ, as well as 9 zones within Moreton Bay, for the period of July 2007 to June 2008. It involves the analysis of data from 135 freshwater and 254 estuarine and marine sites (389 in total). Significant investments to reduce point source pollution in the last decade are now leading to measurable improvements in the ecosystem health of western Moreton Bay. However, any consequential improvement in the overall health of Moreton Bay was offset by the impacts of some major flood events which carried extremely high loads of sediments and nutrients from the catchments into rivers and out to the Bay. The increasing population of South East Queensland, exacerbated by climate variability, is a major challenge to maintaining good ecosystem health in our waterways. To ensure future development occurs without causing further declines, we must continue to identify and undertake actions to improve the health of degraded waterways and protect areas of high ecological value."