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Figure 12- Burdekin basins and sub-catchments( list of sub-catchment names in Appendix F p 94).

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Water resources of the

Burdekin Dry Tropics Region

The quality and quantity of surface water and groundwater continues to be a central issue for our region. Both the marine and freshwater environments are strongly affected by changes to flow and water quality as a result of current land management practices, and water use in irrigation, urban development and mining. Since the previous NRM plan was released in 2005, substantial investment has led to a greater understanding of critical water issues such as quality, runoff, appropriate allocation allowances and management techniques.

Our region includes five river basins: the Burdekin, Don, Haughton, Ross and Black rivers, which are defined into 52 sub-catchments( see Figure 12 and listed Appendix F, p 94). Our region’ s surface and ground waters are primarily defined by the catchment of the Burdekin River, which is the second largest river catchment on Queensland’ s east coast, and delivers nearly a third of the annual freshwater flow from all catchments into the GBR Lagoon( Water Planning North, 2010). The Black, Ross, Haughton and

Don basins are all significantly smaller than the Burdekin and collectively make up approximately six per cent of our region. The Burdekin, Haughton and Don basins are dominated by a mostly rural environment, while the Black and Ross basins are mostly urban and peri-urban.

1. Surface flows

River flows are highly variable throughout the year and between years, reflecting the summer monsoonal season and periodic large rainfall events associated with storms and cyclones. High flows may be followed by extended dry periods. Rivers typically flow from the west to the east coast, and annual rainfall declines rapidly when moving upstream, from over 1,000mm / yr around the north east coastal ranges and eastern coastal plains, to less than 500mm / yr in the south west of our region( Roth, et al., 2002). As a consequence, even the main rivers are ephemeral over much of their length, although water infrastructure has modified some river flows, and systems may be inundated with water for most or all of the year. Surface water flows and wetland hydrology are highly-modified within the Burdekin, Haughton and Ross rivers due to dams, weirs, water extraction, tidal barrages, constructed drainage networks and ponded pasture bund walls.

2. Groundwater

Information regarding groundwaters in our region is sparse and often localised to irrigated areas, mining or domestic use. Information is more readily available for the managed groundwater systems where there are increased demands on aquifers. These are located in:

• the Burdekin Delta, which includes Australia’ s oldest artificial aquifer recharge system;

• the Bluewater sub-artesian area,

Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM Plan July 2016 | Page 62

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