Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Identifying the land-based sources of suspended sediments, nutrients and pesticides discharged to the Great Barrier Reef from the Tully–Murray Basin, Queensland, Australia

Zoe T. Bainbridge A D , Jon E. Brodie A , John W. Faithful A C , Damon A. Sydes B and Stephen E. Lewis A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

B Cassowary Coast Regional Council, Tully, Qld 4854, Australia.

C Present address: Golder Associates, Calgary, AB T2P 3T1, Canada.

D Corresponding author. Email: zoe.bainbridge@jcu.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(11) 1081-1090 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08333
Submitted: 2 December 2008  Accepted: 20 August 2009   Published: 17 November 2009

Abstract

To assist in the development of the Tully Water Quality Improvement Plan, a subcatchment water quality monitoring program was undertaken to identify the pollutants of concern and their land-based sources. Monitoring of suspended sediments, nutrients and pesticides in subcatchment waterways was conducted during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 wet seasons, which both had above average annual flows. We found distinct water quality signals from the basin’s major land uses (forest, grazing, urban, sugarcane and banana cultivation), except for suspended sediment concentrations, which were low across all land uses when compared with neighbouring river catchments. This reflects the high ground cover of the basin and the location of intensive agriculture on low sloping areas of the floodplain, minimising the potential for erosion. Nitrate concentrations were elevated in streams draining sugarcane, indicating fertiliser export from intensive agricultural landscapes. Residues of the herbicides diuron and atrazine were detected at sites draining sugarcane, and on occasion exceeded national ecological protection trigger values, which highlights a potential threat to downstream wetlands of recognised national significance. Herbicides were also detectable offshore in flood plumes of the Tully–Murray Rivers, with some concentrations of diuron above lowest observable effect concentrations for specific species of seagrass and corals. Run-off of nitrate and diuron were identified as key water quality issues in the Tully–Murray basin.

Additional keywords: agricultural runoff, diuron, floodplume herbicides, nitrate, water quality.


Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Terrain Natural Resource Management Tully Water Quality Improvement Plan. We gratefully acknowledge the catchment field support provided by Laurence Liessmann, Shane Blowes and Vern Veitch (ACTFR) and David Green (Queensland Natural Resources and Water). Pesticide samples from the 2007 flood plume were collected in conjunction with Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility Projects 3.7.1 and 3.7.2, with acknowledgement to Dr Katharina Fabricius and Dr Tim Cooper (Australian Institute of Marine Science) for the collection of these samples. Acknowledgement is also extended to Dr Jochen Mueller (University of Queensland, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology) for supplying pesticide data from the 2006 flood plume and Dr Britta Schaffelke (AIMS) for the collection of these pesticide samples. Appreciation is given to QNRW and Bureau of Meteorology for access to stream flow and rainfall gauging station data. We would also like to acknowledge two anonymous reviewers for their improvements to the manuscript, and the Guest Editor (Dr Frederieke Kroon) for further helpful comments.


References

Anonymous  (2003). Reef Water Quality Protection Plan: for catchments adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Queensland Department of Premier and Cabinet, Brisbane. The State of Queensland and Commonwealth of Australia. Available at http://www.reefplan.qld.gov.au [verified 13 September 2009].

ANCA (1996). ‘A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia.’ 2nd edn. (Australian Nature Conservation Agency: Canberra.)

ANZECC and ARMCANZ (2000). ‘Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality.’ (Australian and New Zealand Environmental and Conservation Council, Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand: Canberra.)

Armour, J. D. , Hateley, L. R. , and Pitt, G. L. (2009). Catchment modelling of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient loads with SedNet/ANNEX in the Tully–Murray basin. Marine and Freshwater Research 60, 1091–1096.
APHA (2005). ‘Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewaters.’ 21st edn. (American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation: Washington.)

Bainbridge Z., Lewis S., and Brodie J. (2007). Event-based community water quality monitoring in the Burdekin Dry Tropics region: 2002–2007 (Vol 2). Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, ACTFR Report No. 07/22 for BDTNRM, Townsville, Qld. Available at http://www.actfr.jcu.edu.au/reports/2007/index.htm [verified 13 September 2009].

Bengtson Nash, S. M. , McMahon, K. , Eaglesham, G. , and Müller, J. F. (2005). Application of a novel phytotoxicity assay for the detection of herbicides in Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Straits. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51, 351–360.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Faithful J., Brodie J., Bainbridge Z., Schaffelke B., Slivkoff M., Maughan M., Liessmann L., and Sydes D. (2008). Water quality characteristics of water draining different land uses in the Tully/Murray Rivers region – Edition 2. Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, ACTFR Report No. 08/03 for Terrain NRM, Townsville, Qld. Available at http://www.actfr.jcu.edu.au/reports/2008/index.htm [verified 13 September 2009].

Furnas M. (2003). ‘Catchments and Corals: Terrestrial Runoff to the Great Barrier Reef.’ (Australian Institute of Marine Science: Townsville, Qld.)

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (2009). Water quality guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef marine park. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, Qld. Available at http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/_data/assets/pdf_file/0016/33802/Water_Quality_Guidelines_for_the_GBR.pdf [verified 13 September 2009].

Harris, G. P. (2001). Biogeochemistry of nitrogen and phosphorus in Australian catchments, river and estuaries: effects of land use and flow regulation and comparisons with global patterns. Marine and Freshwater Research 52, 139–149.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Mitchell A., Reghenzani J., Furnas M., De’ath G., Brodie J., and Lewis S. (2006). Nutrients and suspended sediments in the Tully River: Spatial and temporal trends. Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, James Cook University, ACTFR Report No. 06/10, Townsville, Qld. Available at http://www.actfr.jcu.edu.au/reports/2006/index.htm [verified 13 September 2009].

Mitchell, A. , Reghenzani, J. , Faithful, J. , Furnas, M. , and Brodie, J. (2009). Relationships between land use and nutrient concentrations in streams draining a ‘wet-tropics’ catchment in northern Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 60, 1097–1108.
Rohde K., Masters B., Fries N., Noble B., and Carroll C. (2008). Fresh and marine water quality in the Mackay Whitsunday region 2004/05 to 2006/07. Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water for MWNRM, Mackay, Qld. Available at http://www.nrw.qld.gov.au/science/projects/mackaywhitsunday/pdf/eventreport_april2008.pdf [verified 13 September 2009].

Scanlan, J. C. , Pressland, A. J. , and Myles, D. J. (1996). Run-off and soil movement on mid-slopes in north-east Queensland grazed woodlands. The Rangeland Journal 18, 33–46.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Wilkinson C. (Ed.) (2004). ‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World.’ (Australian Institute of Marine Science: Townsville, Qld.)

Wolanski, E. , Fabricius, K. E. , Cooper, T. F. , and Humphrey, C. (2008). Wet season fine sediment dynamics on the inner shelf of the Great Barrier Reef. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 77, 755–762.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |