SEDIMENT
2025 Burdekin Region Water Quality Target :
30 percent reduction in anthropogenic end-of-catchment fine sediment loads ( 890 kilotonnes ).
GROUND COVER
The 2050 catchment management target for ground cover is 90 per cent of grazing lands will have a great than 70 per cent ground cover in the late dry season .
The fine sediment load leaving catchments showed a cumulative reduction of 18.8 per cent to June 2020 and a modelled average annual reduction of 0.3 per cent ( approximately nine kilotonnes ) from July 2019 to June 2020 .
More than 452,000 hectares were improved through grazing practices to increase ground cover or through gully management in the Burdekin catchment .
A small sediment saving was also achieved through improved soil management on Lower Burdekin and Haughton cane lands .
Sediment Yearly Contribution to 2025 Target
Burdekin Catchment Target : 840KT
Yet to be achieved
2020 2019
Pre 2016
2018
Reef Report Card
The Don , Black and Ross catchments met this target . The Haughton catchment also recorded a good result , 84 per cent of the area met the target .
The Burdekin catchment recorded 55 per cent of the area met the target . It is recognised this catchment is the largest contributor of anthropogenic fine sediment loads of the 35 catchments that drain to the Great Barrier Reef . Most of this comes from gully erosion .
Haughton Catchment
No sediment target exists for the Haughton catchment . The aim is to maintain the current water quality so that there are no increases in fine sediment loads .
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