Transcript Plane Catchment Story

Table of contents

1. Overview
2. Physical features
3. Natural features
4. Subcatchments key messages
5. Sandy subcatchment
6. Rocky Dam subcatchment
7. Acknowledgments

Overview

This map journal is part of a series prepared for the catchments of Queensland. 

We would like to respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this project takes place, and Elders both past and present. We also recognise those whose ongoing effort to protect and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures will leave a lasting legacy for future Elders and leaders.

This is a draft for consultation purposes only and does not represent government policy.

Table of contents - Overview

1. Understanding how water flows in the catchment
2. How to view this map journal
3. Catchment overview
4. Values of the catchment—key features
5. Values of the catchment—economic and social

 Main image. Tedlands wetland complex, lower Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Understanding how water flows in the catchment

To effectively manage a catchment it is important to have a collective understanding of how the catchment works. This map journal gathers information from experts and other data sources to provide that understanding.

The information was gathered using the ‘walking the landscape’* process, where experts systematically worked through a catchment in a facilitated workshop, to incorporate diverse knowledge on the landscape features and processes, both natural and human. It focused on water flow and the key factors that affect water movement.

The map journal was prepared by the Queensland Wetlands Program in the Queensland Department of Environment and Science in collaboration with local partners.

*Walking the Landscape—A Whole-of-system Framework for Understanding and Mapping Environmental Processes and Values (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection 2012) - see links at the end of this map journal for further information.

How to view this map journal

This map journal is best viewed in Chrome or Firefox, not Explorer. 

• Use the tabs across the top of the page to explore the ‘catchment story’
• Use the side navigation bar (series of dots) to explore each tab
• Click on the coloured text to see more information about that topic
• In the map area, click on features you see, zoom in and out, pan around and expand the Legend (drop down box at top right of map window) for more information
• Images and graphics can be expanded by clicking the icon at the top right corner of the image/graphic
• YouTube videos may also be used to portray information. Wait for them to load, and pause and play as needed by clicking in the middle of the screen.

Main image. Lower Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Catchment overview

The Plane catchment is located in the Mackay Whitsunday region to the south of Mackay. It is part of the Reef Catchments Natural Resource Management (NRM) region, and falls within the Mackay Regional and Isaac Regional council areas. The catchment has many important values to the Traditional Owners (TOs).

The catchments of the Great Barrier Reef - taken from Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (2016).*

The catchment includes large areas of irrigated cropping (sugar cane), grazing on native pastures, conservation and natural environments and forestry together with other minor land uses.

The catchment covers approximately 2,540 square kilometres (click for animation).

The main waterways are Sandy, Alligator, Plane and Rocky Dam creeks together with many smaller waterways, including Bakers, Loiusa and Cape creeks in the north and Marion, West Hill, Carmila and Flaggy Rock creeks in the south. All waterways (click for animation) flow to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), via several embayments. The GBR is World Heritage-listed and a marine park.

The Plane catchment is adjacent to the Pioneer, Isaac and Styx catchments. There are hydrological connections between these coastal catchments through surface flow and groundwater.

There is a drop-down legend for most maps and it can be accessed by clicking on 'LEGEND' at the top right of the map. On this map you can use the drop down legend for the land use.

There are also 'pop-ups' for most mapping features - simply click on the mapping of interest for more information.

Main image. Plane Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

*Wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef Catchments Management Strategy 2016—21 (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection 2016) - see links at the end of this map journal for further information.

Values of the catchment—key features

A 'catchment' is an area with a natural boundary (for example ridges, hills or mountains) where all surface water drains to a common channel to form rivers or creeks.* 

The Plane catchment is listed as a single catchment but consists of several distinct areas which have similar characteristics. The key features of the catchment vary markedly between the Sandy Creek subcatchment and the other (southern) subcatchments, and are discussed on the 'Subcatchment key messages' and the 'Sandy subcatchment' and 'Rocky Dam subcatchment' tabs.

Main image. West Hill Creek estuary - provided by Reef Catchments.

*Definition sourced from the City of Gold Coast website - see links at the end of this map journal.

Values of the catchment—economic and social

A range of different land use types combine to make up the land use of the Plane catchment. Land use is mostly irrigated sugar cane, and grazing on native pastures together with conservation and natural environments and forestry. There are also small areas of residential (urban and rural), services, transport and communication and other minor land uses.

The Plane Basin encompasses two coastal tribes, Yuwibara and Koinmerburra, and also borders neighbouring tribe Barada to the west. Cape Palmerston served as an important meeting area for these three tribes. There are culturally significant sites across the catchment, including fish traps, shared burial grounds and artefact sites, to name a few. These sites were important for maintaining connections to land and water that are maintained today.

Bakers Creek was an Aboriginal settlement that started in 1870, the first in Queensland. In that area they grew tobacco, peanuts and cotton.

Sugar cane and cattle grazing are important to the local economy and community. Tourism is also important to the local economy. Seasonal employment also brings large numbers of international backpackers to the Mackay Whitsunday region. 

Estuarine areas support commercial and recreational fisheries including fishes and crustaceans (e.g. prawns and crabs). These areas are also popular for boating and fishing by the local community and visitors to the area.

Linear infrastructure such as roads and tracks, railways and pipelines are an important component of the economy. Port of Hay Point is one of the largest coal export ports in the world, the port is important socially and economically to both Mackay and Queensland more broadly.*

Main image. Brolga at sugar cane sheds, Marion Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

See links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following reference.

*Port of Hay Point (North Queensland Bulk Ports 2019)

Physical features

The Plane catchment features a complex range of geology and topography. The hills, floodplains and depressions in the landscape contribute to the diversity of plants and animals that live within the catchment. The rocks and soils help to shape the land and there are strong connections with how water flows across the landscape and into creeks and groundwater.

Main image. Waterfall on a tributary to lower Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Table of contents

1. Geology and topography
2. Rainfall
3. Modified features—infrastructure, dams, weirs and bores
4. Modified features—sediment
5. Water quality
6. Water flow

Geology and topography

Several different rock types combine to make up the geology of the Plane catchment.

The headwaters of the catchment are dominated by hard geologies such as mixed volcanics, granitoids, gabbroids and mafites and felsites in the north, and granitoids and mafites and felsites in the south. Some of the hard geologies are fractured and allow for some local groundwater infiltration.

Most of the lower elevations are dominated by alluvium and other unconsolidated sediments. These unconsolidated geologies allow water infiltration, where not developed. Much of the lower catchment is flat and prone to flooding. 

Conceptual models for several of the catchment's geology types are provided below.

Fractured rocks - conceptual diagram by Queensland Government.

Exclusion zones - conceptual diagram by Queensland Government.

Alluvia - conceptual diagram by Queensland Government.

Alluvia - lower catchment - conceptual diagram by Queensland Government.

Groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDE) types - conceptual model provided by Queensland Government.

Main image. Geological feature, Running Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Rainfall

The Mackay Whitsunday region usually experiences annual wet and dry seasons, with most of the rainfall typically between November and March.

The hydrological seasonality associated with these wet and dry season flow conditions are critical to the ecological character, function and associated values of aquatic ecosystems. The dry season is also an essential part of the functioning of the system with these semi-permanent waterholes just as vital to the ecosystems as the wet season flows.

Average annual rainfall* ranges from 1,001 to 2,000 millimetres per year with higher rainfall over most of the north and foothills of the range.

Main image. Carmilla Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

*This dataset depicts the 50-year mean annual rainfall isoheyts (contours) over Queensland for the period 1920 to 1969. The dataset was produced from the mean annual rainfall of as many locations as possible including private collections. Incomplete datasets were `made whole` by calculating values for missing periods through correlation with adjacent rainfall stations.

Modified features—infrastructure, dams, weirs and bores

Buildings and important infrastructure such as roads and tracks, railways and creek crossings can create barriers and impermeable surfaces that redirect water through single points or culverts, leading to channelling of water in some parts of the catchment. This increases the rate of flow and the potential for erosion. Modifications to channels, such as straightening and diversions, can also increase flow rates.

Roads and levees - conceptual diagram by Queensland Government

Low permeability surfaces - conceptual diagram by Queensland Government

Infrastructure, Oaky Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Dams and weirs also modify natural water flow patterns, by holding water that would otherwise flow straight into the stream network. There are rural water storages (farm dams), weirs and bunds in parts of the catchment.

Lake Kinchant is located on a tributary of upper Sandy Creek (North Arm) and has full supply volume of more than 62,000 megalitres. Water is diverted from Mirani Weir in the Pioneer catchment through an open channel into Kinchant Dam. The dam releases water for irrigation purposes via the Oakenden Main Channel, and flood releases may be made from the dam into Sandy Creek during high rainfall events. There are a series of channels* and pipelines* in association with Sandy Creek (Eton Water Supply Scheme) and near Carmila.

Eton scheme - provided by Sunwater.

There are also many bores**, particularly in the north of the catchment. The bores extract water for mostly irrigation and can influence groundwater systems. 

Infrastructure, dams and weirs can affect fish passage through the catchment. Several fish ways have been installed across the catchment, particularly in the Rocky Dam subcatchment.

Fish way construction on Boundary Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Main image. Bridge crossings, Bakers Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

*Showing canals and pipelines in the Sandy and Pioneer catchments only.

**Taken from database storing registered water bore data from private water bores and Queensland Government groundwater investigation and monitoring bores. 

Modified features—sediment

Increases in the volume and speed of runoff, and disturbed vegetation through activities such as construction or grazing, can increase erosion in the landscape and the stream channels. This can result in sediment being carried downstream and reduced water quality. The construction stage of a development typically generates more sediment in runoff than more mature stages of a development.

The suspended sediment of most risk to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the fine fraction. Fine sediment:

• contains most of the nitrogen and phosphorus content (and other potential contaminants such as metals),
• travels widely in flood plumes rather than all depositing near the river mouth, and
• substantially reduces light when in suspension.

Furthermore, the impacts of suspended sediment contributes to the cumulative impacts of other stressors (e.g. freshwater flood plumes, elevated nutrients, impacts from cyclones, increasing sea surface temperatures) to increase the overall impact on organisms of the GBR.

Main image. West Hill Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Water quality

Water quality is influenced by diffuse runoff and point source inputs. Runoff is from a variety of land uses, including rural, residential, industrial and commercial areas.

Diffuse runoff includes on-site sewage facilities (e.g. septic tanks) and runoff from farming areas and low permeability surfaces common in urban areas. The concentration of potential contaminants in the stormwater discharge depends on the land use of the area. 

Point source inputs include the Mirani, Mackay South and Sarina sewage treatment plants in the north. Many of the southern parts use septic tanks.

Cattle, pigs and other animals can also directly influence water quality by disturbing the substrate and/or trampling vegetation.

Information regarding monitoring sites (gauging stations*) and catchment load monitoring** can be found in the reference section at the end of this map journal.

Catchment conceptual model - provided by Queensland Government.***Main image. Increased turbidity associated with land use - provided by Reef Catchments.

See links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following references.

*Water Monitoring Information Portal (Queensland Government 2017)

**Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Modelling Program (Queensland Government, 2017)

***Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan (Queensland Government (2018) 

Related literature:

Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan - Report cards (Queensland Government (2017) 

Water flow

Water flows across the landscape into the waterways of the catchment (click for animation)*.

The remaining water either sinks into the ground where it supports a variety of terrestrial and groundwater dependent ecosystems or is used for other purposes.

The smaller channels and gullies eventually flatten out to form larger waterways that flow through lower lying land. They pass through unconsolidated areas which store and release water, prolonging the time streams flow.

Main image. Flow in Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

*Please note this application takes time to load.

Natural values

A landscape is bound by the connections between soil types, topography, rainfall and water movement. In turn all these elements coming together affect what vegetation grows in a particular place, and these physical features and the vegetation growing in a location combine to determine what animals will inhabit that area.

Main image. Dense riparian vegetation, lower Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Table of content

1. Vegetation
2. Vegetation clearing
3. Fauna
4. Protected areas

Vegetation

Water that falls as rain, or moves over the land as runoff, is slowed by vegetation, which then allows it to filter down into the soil and sub-soil. Slowing the flow of surface water helps to retain it longer on the land which in turn allows it to filter down through the soil and bedrock to recharge groundwater aquifers.

Dense riparian vegetation along Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Jon Graftdyk.

Water moving slowly across the surface of the land also reduces the potential for erosion to occur and reduces the associated issues with water quality and sedimentation further downstream. Reducing the speed of runoff also plays a role in protecting banks and parts of the landscape prone to gully and rill erosion.

Vegetation impacts on water flow - conceptual diagram by Queensland Government.

Historically, eucalypt woodlands and forests grew across most of the area. Higher elevations supported rainforests and scrubs and large areas of coastal communities including heaths in the south. Lower elevations supported melaleuca woodlands and mangroves and saltmarshes, together with small areas of tussock grasslands and forblands (low-growing vegetation) in the north.

These different vegetation types combine to make up the preclearing vegetation of the Plane catchment.*

The wetlands and creeks of the catchment provide habitat for many important aquatic species, including plants, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. These areas are also used for camping, fishing, crabbing and boating.

Water mouse habitat, Ceriops tagal at Cape Palmerston - provided by Tina Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Water mouse core habitat, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza at Freshwater Point - provided by Tina Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Wetland types - conceptual model provided by Queensland Government.

Main image. Mangroves, West Hill Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

*Broad Vegetation Groups derived from Regional Ecosystems (REs), which are vegetation communities in a bioregion that are consistently associated with a particular combination of geology, landform and soil.

Vegetation clearing

Large parts of the Plane catchment have been cleared* for a range of land uses, particularly cane farming and grazing on native pastures. Large areas of vegetation have regrown** since initial clearing.

Explore the Swipe Map using either of the options below.***

• Interactive Swipe App. where you can zoom into cleared areas and use the swipe bar (ESRI version)
• Interactive Swipe App. where you can use the swipe bar. Use the white slide bar at the bottom of the map for a comparison (HTML version)

Vegetation clearing and associated activities change the shape of the landscape and can modify surface and groundwater flow patterns.

Main image. Land cleared for grazing - provided by Reef Catchments.

*The 2011 remnant vegetation mapping was undertaken at a map scale of 1:100,000 and 1:50,000 in part (including the Wet Tropics and Southeastern Queensland) and based on the Landsat imagery for 2011. It does not show all clearing, particularly relatively thin linear infrastructure.

**Smaller areas of regrowth are not shown in this mapping. This dataset was prepared to support certain category C additions to the Regulated Vegetation Management Map under the Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016. This dataset is described as: The 2013 areas of non-remnant native woody vegetation that have not been cleared between 1988 and 2014 that are homogenous for at least 0.5 hectare and occur in clumps of at least 2 hectares in coastal regions and 5 hectares elsewhere.

***Depending on your internet browser, you may experience issues with one or the other. Please note this application takes time to load.

Fauna

The catchment provides important habitat a wide range of fauna and many of conservation significance.

Mangrove gerygone in dense Avicennia marina foliage - provided by Jennifer White of Shiller Images.

Lowland wetlands support waterbird roosting, feeding and breeding areas and are important for both abundance and species diversity. Lowland freshwater and estuarine systems are connected and provide important habitat for a range of migratory fishes, which need to move for breeding, food and other resources. There are barriers to fish passage in some areas.

Freshwater systems, including natural and modified (ponded pasture) systems, support diverse fish communities, large numbers of waterbirds, platypus, frogs, invertebrates and other fauna. Ponded pastures are a 'permanent pasture system where water is impounded by banks and adapted grasses are grown in the water for green high quality fodder when the water dries off'.* 

Estuarine systems provide important feeding areas for the estuarine crocodile, water mice and native water rats, and support marine turtles, dolphins, dugongs and fisheries species such as barramundi and mud crab.

The large native water rat, which can grow to 40 centimetres long - provided by Pioneer Catchment and Landcare Group.

The much smaller water mouse, which can grow to ten centimetres - provided by Tina Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

The native water mouse (Xeromys myoides) grows to approximately ten centimetres long, whereas the native water rat (Hydromys chrysogaster) has a relatively large streamlined body up to 40 centimetres long with a distinctive white tailed tip. The water rat is generally found in permanent fresh or brackish water, with a wide distribution across much of Australia. The water mouse typically occurs in saltmarsh, mangroves and adjacent freshwater wetlands from Proserpine to south of the New South Wales border, and parts of the Northern Territory. 

Coastal wetlands are also important for coastal sheath-tail bats (Taphozous australis). These bats forage above the canopy of coastal dune scrubland, grasslands, coastal heathland, open eucalypt forest, melaleuca wetlands and mangrove forests. They roost in small colonies in well-ventilated sea caves, which make the sea caves extremely important habitat. Radio tracking data from the Mackay/Sarina/Whitsunday area supports research in other geographic areas, whereby foraging is limited to within 15 kilometres from the roost and within three kilometres of the coast. 

Coastal sheath-tail bats - provided by Tina Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Main image. Dainty tree frog - provided by Reef Catchments.

*'Miles and Wildin (1996) in Challen and Long (2004) - see links at the end of this map journal for further information.

Protected areas

The Plane catchment includes several areas protected by the State, include the relatively large Cape Palmerston National Park and several state forests.

Cape Palmerston headland looking north - provided by Tina Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

The catchment also includes nature refuges*, wetlands listed on the Directory of Important Wetlands of Australia (DIWA), and parts of declared Fish Habitat Areas (FHAs), Dugong Protection Areas and the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) World Heritage Area (WHA) and marine park.

Protected areas provide important habitat for a variety of flora and fauna.

Main image. Mangroves of Marion Creek, Notch Point - provided by Reef Catchments.

*Protected areas of Queensland are those set aside for the conservation of natural and cultural values or for production of resources, including timber and quarry material. The mapped nature refuges are areas gazetted through a voluntary conservation agreement between the state government and private land owners.

Subcatchment key messages

The Plane catchment is listed as a single catchment but consists of several coastal subcatchments with different characteristics in terms of geology, vegetation and land use. Sandy Creek is the largest subcatchment and is dominated by cane farming. Rocky Dam Creek is also relatively large and supports cattle grazing and cane farming. 

Main image. Sandy shore of Marion Creek with exposed rock and mangroves, Notch Point - provided by Reef Catchments.

Table of contents

1. The subcatchments
2. Sandy subcatchment 
3. Plane subcatchment
4. Rocky Dam subcatchment
5. Cape subcatchment
6. Marion and West Hill subcatchments 
7. Carmila, Flaggy Rock and Oaky subcatchments

The subcatchments

A 'catchment' is an area with a natural boundary (for example ridges, hills or mountains) where all surface water drains to a common channel to form rivers or creeks.* 

The Plane catchment is listed as a single catchment but consists of several distinct areas (subcatchments), which have similar characteristics:

1. Sandy subcatchment (Bakers Creek, Ross Creek, Okay Creek, Sandy Creek, BL Creek, Bell Creek, Alligator Creek, Splitters Creek, Louisa Creek)
2. Plane subcatchment (Plane Creek)
3. Rocky Dam subcatchment (Willy Creek, Tommy Creek, Rubicon Creek, Plumtree Creek, Duff Creek, Station Creek, Cherry Tree Creek, Coalters Creek, Tedlands Creek, Turnor Creek, Lantana Creek, Cattle Creek, Arrowroot Creek, Devil Flat Creek, Green Swamp Creek, Rocky Dam Creek, Dawson Creek) 
4. Cape subcatchment (Daintry Creek, Cape Creek)
5. Marion and West Hill subcatchments (Plantation Creek, Emu Creek, Marion Creek, Frog Creek, Basin Creek, Gillinbin Creek, West Hill Creek, Oaky Creek, Spider Creek, Three Mile Creek, Bone Creek, Blind Creek)
6. Carmila, Flaggy Rock and Oaky subcatchments (Leichhardt Creek, Prendergast Creek, Mccafferty Creek, Hannah Creek, Carmilla Creek, Feather Creek, Blind Creek, Stony Creek, Wheybush Creek, Flaggy Rock Creek, Stockyard Creek, Lantana Creek, Okay Creek, Turners Hut Creek, Mosquito Creek, Sandfly Creek, Middle Creek)

Main Image. Lake Barfield near Hay Point - provided by Saskia von Fahland.

*Definition sourced from the City of Gold Coast website - see links at the end of this map journal.

Sandy subcatchment

See the 'Sandy subcatchment' tab for a more detailed discussion of this subcatchment. An overview of the key message for the Sandy subcatchment are provided below.

• Small section of granites in headwaters of Sandy Creek, but mainly alluvium and metamorphics, with coastal clays, mud and sand near the coast.
• Low elevation with some hill slopes in the headwaters and high rainfall over the headwaters.
• Channels tend to be narrow in the upper parts but widen out to the coast and estuarine systems.
• Large areas of deep alluvium along the coastline with good transmissivity (ability for water to pass through the sediment).
• Water is diverted from Mirani Weir to Kinchant Dam, which is located on Sandy Creek’s north arm. 
• Kinchant Dam releases water for irrigation purposes via the Oakenden Main Channel, and flood releases may be made from the dam into Sandy Creek during high rainfall events.
• Modified landscape with large areas of sugar cane cropping and some grazing.
• High value freshwater wetlands (i.e. Sandringham and De Moleyn's lagoons).
• Three distinct areas include Bakers Creek, Sandy Creek and Alligator Creek (Splitters Creek, Bell Creek), as discussed on the 'Sandy Creek subcatchment' slide.

Main image. McEwans Beach - provided by Reef Catchments.

Plane subcatchment

• The Plane subcatchment headwaters are hard siltstone and mudstone, volcanilithic sandstone and conglomerate, with a fault line along the coast.
• The alluvial floodplain consists of clay, silt, sand and gravel channel, with muds and sands near the coast.
• The headwaters are up to 240 metres above sea level (ASL), with higher rainfall over the upper parts and fast run off particularly where it is steep.
• There are groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) associated with some local fractured rock aquifers, however there are limited alluvial aquifers.
• Blue green algae blooms can occur in Middle Creek Dam.
• Plane Creek has extensive salt marsh and salt flats east of Sarina.
• Plane Creek has a series of small weirs that regulate flow and streams tend to be less regulated and modified in the southern parts.
• There are large drops on some of the weirs on Plane Creek, which can interfere with fish passage.
• There is a sugar mill on Plane Creek at Sarina.
• There is a sewage treatment plant (STP) for Sarina.
• Water supply to the Sarina Township is from Middle Creek Dam.

Main image. Middle Creek Dam, upper Plane subcatchment - provided by Reef Catchments.

Rocky Dam subcatchment

See the 'Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment' tab for a more detailed discussion of this subcatchment. An overview of the key message for the Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment are provided below.

• The geology is dominated by alluvial deposits on the floodplains, including clays, silts and sands.
• The upper catchment is bound by intrusive granites and volcanic formations which make up the Connors Range (felsites and mafites, volcanilithic sandstone and fine-grained Mountain View volcanics).
• The lower catchment is underlain by estuarine deposits and unconsolidated sediments.
• Mean rainfall of 1,507 millimetres per year in Koumala.
• The estuary channel meanders and has high banks.
• The floodplain has areas of good remnant rainforest and accumulates sediment.
• Cab and Tedlands creeks include large ponded pastures, which are bunded to exclude salt water.
• Boat wash can cause erosion in the estuary.
• Riparian vegetation is variable in terms of extent and condition.
• Several deep and permanent pools provide good fish habitat.
• Natural rock weir on main channel, east of the Bruce Highway, and another natural barrier on Waterfall Creek likely present impassable barriers for fish migration.

Main image. Freddy Creek, Oonooie - provided by Saskia von Fahland.

Cape subcatchment

• The headwaters of the Cape subcatchment are hard siltstone and mudstone.
• The lower catchment is dominated by mud, sandy mud, muddy sand and gravel, together with quartzose and shelly sand and beach ridges.
• The headwaters are 230 metres ASL down to 10 metres ASL on the coastal flats.
• Cape Creek has fast run off due to the steep slopes.
• Good riparian vegetation is protected in Cape Palmerston National Park.
• High value dugong and seagrass habitat and a declared FHA are located in coastal marine waters.
• Cape Palmerston served as an important meeting area for the Plane catchment's coastal and western tribes.

Water mouse - provided by Tina Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Main image. Cape Palmerston headland looking north - provided by Tine Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Marion and West Hill subcatchments

• The headwaters of the Marion and West Hill subcatchments are mixed mafites and felsites, and granites with Marion Creek on a fault line.
• The lower elevations are mostly siltstone and mudstone, sand and alluvium with estuarine deposits supratidal flats and coastal grasslands near the coast.
• Limited groundwater systems in very shallow alluvium.
• Dryland farming supplemented by irrigation dams.
• The Basin Creek area is mainly used for grazing but no large scale irrigation.
• Marion Creek has natural rock bars.
• Flow in Marion Creek is generally good.
• There are more permanent pools on Gillinbin Creek.
• Basin Creek has some large waterholes.
• There is some erosion associated with cleared riparian vegetation.
• West Hill Creek flow is near-permanent with freshwater wetlands in the alluvium, and limited groundwater systems in shallow alluvium.
• West Hill State Forest is located on the southern headland of West Hill Creek mouth, otherwise land use is mostly sugar cane and grazing.
• Cane irrigation water is sourced from off-stream farm dams (dryland cropping).
• Small areas of ponded pasture on Bund Creek.

Main image. Salt flat, West Hill Creek - provided by reef Catchments.

Carmila, Flaggy Rock and Oaky subcatchments

• The headwaters of the Carmila, Flaggy Rock and Oaky subcatchments are underlain by volcanics (granites), metamorphics, siltstone and mudstone.
• The lower parts are dominated by colluvium and other unconsolidated sediments.
• The headwaters are up to 470 metres ASL.
• Good water supply close to Carmila Creek with several shallow coastal aquifers.
• Carmila Beach residential area uses septic systems.
• Dugong and seagrass areas.
• Fast runoff from mostly hard geologies with some fractured rock providing for localised groundwater aquifers.
• Mostly seasonal flows although Flaggy Rock Creek tends to hold near-permanent water.
• Limited alluvium around Flaggy Rock Creek.
• Some erosion in parts of these subunits (e.g. Carmilla and Flaggy Rock creeks).

Carmilla Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Main image. Oaky Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Sandy subcatchment

The Sandy subcatchment has large areas of sugar cane, together with cattle grazing and the Port of Hay Point, which are important to the local economy and community. The subcatchment includes the southern suburbs of Mackay and several townships, which include rural and urban residential areas. The system has large areas of deep alluvium and steep volcanic headwaters, with water regulated by the Kinchant Dam.  

Main image. Highway crossing of Sandy Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Table of contents

1. Bakers Creek key messages
2. Upper Sandy Creek (north branch) key messages
3. Upper Sandy Creek (south branch) key messages
4. Lower Sandy Creek key messages
5. Alligator Creek key messages
6. Sarina Beach key messages
7. Sugar cane farming overview
8. Sugar cane production
9. Water and irrigation

Bakers Creek key messages

• The Bakers Creek subunit headwaters are underlain by mostly volcanic and metamorphic geologies, with unconsolidated sediments lower in the landscape.
• There is a natural divide between the western and eastern areas.
• The headwaters are up to 80 metres above sea level (ASL) down to 10 metres ASL at coast.
• Modified coastal plain with large areas of sugar cane.
• Bakers Creek was an Aboriginal settlement started in 1870, the first in Queensland. In that area they grew tobacco, peanuts and cotton.
• The main channel of Bakers Creek is narrow and typically between 20 and 30 metres wide, but widens to between 100 and 600 metres near the mouth.
• Riparian vegetation is relatively narrow but has good longitudinal connectivity.
• The Bakers Creek floodplain is typically very flat consisting mostly of sugar cane with numerous irrigation channels.
• Good hydrological connections along the creek.
• Water from the sewage treatment plant (STP) in Mackay is used for irrigation, the waste water dams are clay lined ponds.
• Natural flow is supplemented by an inter-basin transfer via an irrigation channel from the Pioneer River at Dumbleton Weir.
• Bakers Creek drains the southern floodplain of the Pioneer River through the townships of Walkerston and Bakers Creek.
• The Pioneer River potentially overflows to Bakers Creek during large flood events, although this has never been documented in recorded history.
• Regionally important estuarine and freshwater (including ponded pastures) wetlands at the coastal fringe.
• There is some sea water intrusion near the coast between Bakers and Sandy creeks, due to extraction of groundwater.

Main image. Swimming enclosure at McEwans Beach - provided by Reef Catchments.

Upper Sandy Creek (north branch) key messages

• The Upper Sandy (north branch) subunit (Victoria Plains) is mostly alluvium with headwaters in low hills of granitic geology.
• The headwaters are up to 110 metres ASL down to 30 metres ASL at coast.
• Modified coastal plain with large areas of sugar cane.
• Kinchant Dam is located on a tributary of upper Sandy Creek (North Arm).
• Water is diverted from Mirani Weir in the Pioneer catchment through an open channel into Kinchant Dam.
• Kinchant Dam releases water for irrigation purposes via the Oakenden Main Channel, and flood releases may be made from the dam into Sandy Creek during high rainfall events.
• The alluvium has good transmissivity and there are numerous high-yielding bores, particularly lower in the subunit.
• De Moleyn’s Lagoon has undergone extensive rehabilitation, and provides social and cultural values.

Main image. Kinchant Dam - provided by Reef Catchments.

Upper Sandy Creek (south branch) key messages

• The Upper Sandy Creek (south branch) subunit (Brightly) is mostly metamorphics (Carmilla Beds) with some volcanics (granitoids, mafites and felsites).
• There is limited alluvial development and groundwater systems in the lower valley.
• The headwaters are relatively steep, falling from 680 to 200 metres ASL.
• The alluvium in the valley around Brightly has been modified for sugar cane production.

Lower Sandy Creek key messages

• The Lower Sandy Creek subunit is a mostly flat (20 to 10 metres ASL) alluvial floodplain comprised of clay, silt, sand and gravel.
• The creek becomes perennial from Eton downstream.
• The lower Sandy Creek is a gaining and losing stream, that is, it is a window into the groundwater systems so as groundwater rises, the creek rises and vice versa.
• Groundwater is generally of good quality and quantity, however extraction of groundwater in the Sandy and Alligator creeks areas has lowered the water table to the extent that there is sea water intrusion in some areas close to the coast.
• Sandringham Lagoon is a deep lacustrine system not connected to the groundwater.
• Sandy Creek has mostly good system connection from the mangroves to the top of the subunit with the exception of a barrier at the Palm Tree Road crossing. 
• Some of the estuarine and coastal freshwater wetlands have been bunded to form ponded pastures for cattle grazing.
• The supply dam for the Port of Hay Point is located near the Bruce highway.

Main image. Sandy Creek, looking downstream from Ernest Evans bridge - provided by Reef Catchments.

Alligator Creek key messages

• The Alligator Creek subunit has large areas of volcanics and alluvium.
• The headwaters are siltstone and mudstone, volcanilithic sandstone and conglomerate.
• The lower parts include alluvial fans (shallow), mangrove wetlands, gravelly estuarine channels and banks, supratidal flats and coastal grasslands.
• Slopes are to 300 metres ASL in the headwaters and down to 10 metres ASL on the coastal flats.
• The coastal plain is modified for sugar cane production.
• Cane grows adjacent to much of the channel, however there is some good riparian, particularly in the headwaters and near the coast.
• Groundwater extraction from the Alligator Creek system (and Sandy Creek) has lowered the water table resulting in some sea water intrusion and there is intrusion along Splitters Creek.
• There are open channels and pipelines associated with the Eton Water Supply Scheme, which extend from Kinchant Dam down to the Dawlish area to the immediate north-west of Sarina.

Sarina Beach key messages

• The Sarina Beach subunit (Hay Point) includes short coastal catchments flowing from small hills (to 100 metres ASL) of granitic origin, with some alluvium lower in the system.
• Creeks are relatively shallow and ill-defined until the estuarine reaches, where they become wider and more well-defined.
• Louisa Creek estuary supports a very diverse mangrove community including species such as Osbornia octodonta, Heritiera littoralis and Pemphis acidula, which are relatively rare species growing towards their southern range limit.
• Coastal dune formation with perched aquifers (limited groundwater) and lakes.
• The Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal and adjacent Hay Point Coal Terminal is one of the largest coal terminals on the east coast of Australia (Port of Hay Point).
• A perched coastal lake (modified) just south of Hay Point provides good bird habitat and is popular for bird watching.
• There are also old gold mines in this subunit.

Main image. Wetland, near Hay Point - provided by Reef Catchments.

Sugar cane farming overview

Sandy Creek catchment covers approximately 900 square kilometres with more than 50 per cent dominated by the production of sugar cane including sheds and headlands covering the fertile floodplain.  

Sugar cane is a perennial crop of the genus Saccharium, which was first introduced to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788. The first crop was planted in the Mackay region sometime around the 1860s, and sugar cane farming has become a major economic driver for the region. The three Mackay mills crushed more than 4,600,000 tonnes in the 2018 year*, with more than 40 percent supplied by the Sandy Creek subcatchment.

In 2016, 3.5 per cent of the region's working population of 62,014 is estimated to have worked in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.** However, it should be noted that many landholders working within the agriculture sector have additional off-farm income with positions within the mining sector.

CANEGROWERS Australia Limited is the peak industry body that advances and protects the interest of growers including through providing advocacy support, insurance and the delivery of the SmartCane Best Management Practice (BMP) program.

Sugar Research Australia (SRA) is the industry-owned body tasked with research, development and adoption projects to ensure a productive and sustainable industry.

Locally Sandy Creek sugar cane farmers are supported by the Mackay Area Productivity Service (MAPS), which provides advice and extension to growers. The MAPS works across all areas of the industry to support growers including pests, disease, weeds, varieties, nutrition, irrigation and harvesting. The SRA also supports growers through investments in and management of research development and adoption projects that drive productivity, profitability and sustainability.

Growers and milling businesses pay a levy for the above industry support and services.

Main image. Sugar cane cropping and dense riparian vegetation, Bakers Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

See links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following literature.

*CANEGROWERS Annual Report 2018/19 (CANEGROWERS 2019)

**Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday (SA4) (312) (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2019)

Sugar cane production

The sugar cane crop generally has a five year crop cycle, which can be extended depending on the sugar cane maintaining yield. Cane is generally harvested annually. In 2018, approximately 32,917,300 hectares of cane was harvested in the Sandy Creek subcatchment.

After a crop cycle, blocks are generally fallowed over the wet season before being planted between April and September. Fallow paddocks allow the sugar cane monoculture to be interrupted, with soil health benefits for the following crop. Fallow paddock can be left bare, grassed or planted with a legume cover crop (e.g. green manure) or a commercial crop (e.g. soya bean or peanuts). Legumes provide the additional benefit of increasing nitrogen in the soil (i.e. fixing) and making it available for the subsequent 'plant cane'.

When sugar cane is planted, the first crop is called ‘plant cane’ and this crop is generally left to grow for 14 to 16 months before being harvested. After the plant cane is harvested the next crop is the first ratoon, which grows from the stool following the harvest. There are generally four ratoons before cane is removed from the block and fallowed.

During the harvest, the leaf matter is removed from the stalk of the cane and separated. The cane stalk is cut into billets roughly six inches long and collected in bins to be sent to the mill. The green leaf matter is returned to the paddock to provide a ‘green cane trash blanket’. The trash blanket provides a number of benefits to the cane including providing cover to minimise erosion during rainfall events, and retaining moisture in the soil.

Sugar cane requires additional nutrients to ensure maximum yield for the crop, and pesticide application to control pest pressures such as weeds and cane grubs. Sugar cane requires a proportion of fertiliser when planted and then the balance applied at 'top dressing' approximately eight weeks after planting or during the initial 'hilling up' stage.

Ratoons receive a single application of fertiliser approximately six weeks after the harvest when they are starting to actively grow. If harvested late in the year, ratoons are fertilised sooner and before the wet season arrives.

The production of sugar cane requires multiple application of pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, to minimise the impact of pests to the crop. Poor pesticide management results in reduced yields, as the crop has to compete with pests for space, light and nutrients, or the crop becomes a food source (e.g. cane grubs feed on the roots of the sugarcane). Most fungicides and some insecticides are applied at the planting stage. Insecticide can also be applied to ratoons for cane grub control. The herbicide spray window generally starts around September with pre-emergent or residual herbicides applied prior to the wet season and knockdowns applied up to and during the wet season if required.

Ratoons can require additional fertiliser and the application of pesticides following the harvest. Early storms (which can begin in October) or an early start to the wet season can pose a risk to the environment due to water quality from runoff or deep drainage losses. 

Sandy Creek is part of the Mackay Sugar milling area and has three mills in the region: Farleigh, Marian and Racecourse. The harvest or ‘crush’ begins around the middle of June and is generally completed by December, however it can be later due to weather or breakdown/maintenance of the mills.

Water and irrigation

Sugar cane requires a minimum of 1,500 millimetres per year of effective rainfall or irrigation to grow. Wet season rain provides much of the water needed for the crop to grow in the Sandy subcatchment, and throughout the region many farms are considered 'dry land' in that they only have rainfall to irrigate their crop without the availability of additional or supplementary irrigation.

Growers within much of the Sandy Creek subcatchment have irrigation water provided by Kinchant Dam and a constructed earth channel and pipeline system, as part of the Eton Water Supply Scheme. In the Bakers Creek subunit, natural flow is supplemented by an inter-basin transfer via an irrigation channel from the Pioneer River at Dumbleton Weir.

The Eton scheme was established after a prolonged drought impacted the sugar industry during the 1960s. The infrastructure for the scheme was established in 1975. The scheme utilises the wet season rainfall, harvesting water from the Pioneer River during times of high flows. Water from the Pioneer River is pumped into Kinchant Dam from Mirani Weir through an open channel for distribution through the Eton scheme.

Eton scheme - provided by SunWater

Kinchant Dams has a capacity of more than 62,000 megalitres, which is distributed to about 300 cane farms through a network of pump stations, 35 kilometres of open channels and 130 kilometres of pipes.

The sugar cane industry is actively involved in mitigation activities to improve the quality of the water* leaving the subcatchment.** ^

Main image. Kinchant Dam - provided by Reef Catchments.

See the links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following literature.

*Sandy Creek Sub-catchment Water Quality Monitoring Project. 2015 – 2016 (Wallace et al. 2017)

**SmartCane BMP, Your Farm, Your Way (SmartCane 2019)

^ABCD Guides (Reef Catchments 2019)

Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment

Large parts of the Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment are used for cattle grazing and irrigated sugar cane, which are important to the local economy and community. Ponded pastures are used to feed the cattle and while these barriers can interfere with water flow and fish passage, they can also provide habitat for a range of fishes and water birds, and trap potential contaminants such as sediment and nutrients. 

Main image. Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Table of contents

1. Upper Rocky Dam Creek key messages
2. Mid Rocky Dam Creek key messages
3. Tedlands Creek key messages
4. Cherry Tree Creek key messages
5. Cab Creek key message
6. Elizabeth Creek key messages
7. Cattle grazing
8. Ponded pastures

Main image. Cattle grazing - provided by Reef Catchments.

Upper Rocky Dam Creek key messages

• The Upper Rocky Dam Creek subunit is mostly mafites and felsites with some granitoid (including areas of decomposed granite) and limited alluvial development along lower waterways.
• Headwaters are steep, from 400 metres above sea level (ASL) down to 30 metres ASL.
• Mostly grazing on native pastures with conservation areas in the headwaters and extensive cane (supplementary irrigation) lower in the subunit.
• Channels tend to be ill-defined in upper catchment, becoming more well-defined lower in the landscape.
• Generally little riparian vegetation, particularly through cane farming areas, with relatively shallow soil and creeks prone to erosion when cleared.
• Riparian vegetation is better in some areas, such as Arrowroot Creek and the lower parts of this section of Rocky Dam Creek.
• Limited groundwater in the southern parts but several, higher yielding bores in the northern parts.
• Several farm dams but no in-stream dams or weirs, however there is a natural rock weir at the downstream extent of this subunit (which gives Rocky Dam Creek its name).

Main image. Arrowroot Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Mid Rocky Dam Creek key messages

• The Mid Rocky Dam Creek subunit is mostly alluvium with some mixed volcanic (felsites and granitoid) and sedimentary geologies.
• This subunit is steep to undulating, ranging from 300 metres to 20 metres ASL.
• Mostly conservation and natural environments with large areas of grazing (ponded pastures) and limited cropping (sugar cane).
• The channel becomes deep, relatively wide and well defined.
• Natural rock weir on main channel at top of this subunit and another substantial natural barrier on Waterfall Creek, which are likely barriers for fish migration.
• Good riparian vegetation along main channel.
• Deep pools on the main channel with fringing vegetation and associated snags and instream structure providing good fish habitat.
• Limited groundwater extraction through a small number of registered bores.
• Some large farm dams and numerous smaller dams on tributaries.
• Some weeds (sickle pod, itch grass, lantana and giant rat's tail grass) and pest animals (pigs and horses).

Natural rock dam on Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Main image. Mid Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Matthew Moore.

Tedlands Creek key messages

• The Tedlands Creek subunit is mostly alluvium with some mixed volcanics in the headwaters and marine sediments at the coast.
• Mostly flat to undulating (0 to 30 metres ASL) with some hills up to 250 m ASL in the headwaters.
• Modified subunit with large areas of cropping and grazing, and large ponded pasture (bunded) to improve grazing productivity.
• Relatively shallow, narrow channels broadening out to ponded pasture low in the landscape.
• Some deep pools provide permanent waterholes, which are refugia for aquatic species during the dry season and times of drought.
• Extensive bund walls retain freshwater to create ponded pastures, which can result in hymenachne chokes that can create physical barrier to fish passage.
• Fishways have been installed on bunds and ponded pastures can provide valuable fish habitat when connected to upstream freshwaters and downstream tidal waters.
• Hymenachne chokes can also lower dissolved oxygen (DO) levels creating chemical barriers to fish passage and work is underway to manage ponded pastures and hymenachne to improve DO levels.
• Ponded pasture are likely providing valuable water treatment outcomes including sediment capture, denitrification and herbicide treatment.
• Ponded pastures can also provide valuable habitat for water birds.
• Good riparian vegetation with relatively limited weeds due to the self-contained nature of the subunit.
• Good quantity and quality of groundwater west of Bruce Highway, with groundwater becoming more brackish east of the highway approaching the coast.

Estuarine crocodile tracks, Tedlands - provided by Reef Catchments.

Main image. Ponded pastures - provided by Reef Catchments.

Cherry Tree Creek key messages

• The Cherry Tree Creek subunit is mostly alluvium with mixed volcanics in the headwaters and tidal flats and beaches at the coast.
• The headwaters are mostly felsites (lavas, clastics & high-level intrusives), mafites (lavas, clastics & high-level intrusives) and granitoids.
• The subunit is mostly undulating with steep headwaters up to 650 metres ASL.
• Some conservation and natural environments on high slopes in the headwaters.
• Extensive area of cropping (mostly cane) with some grazing.
• Channels are relatively shallow in the headwaters, becoming progressively deeper and more well defined lower in the system.
• Some deep pools lower in the system provide permanent waterholes, which are critical refugia for aquatic species during the dry season and times of drought.
• Riparian vegetation is patchy but there has been substantial re-vegetation work.
• Areas without good riparian vegetation are prone to erosion.
• Weed infestations (e.g. sickle pod).
• The creek line (including deep pools) is becoming choked with sediment and gravel.
• Good groundwater quantity and quality west of highway, with groundwater becoming brackish to the east.

Cab Creek key message

• The Cab Creek subunit is mostly alluvium with mixed volcanics and metamorphics in the headwaters and tidal flats and beaches at the coast.
• The catchment is flat at the coast and rising steeply to 450 metres ASL at the headwaters.
• Extensive area of cropping (mostly cane) with some intensive grazing (ponded pastures) lower in the system.
• Channels are relatively shallow in the headwaters, becoming progressively deeper and more well defined lower in the system.
• Limited riparian vegetation (particularly in the cropping area) with weeds.
• Creek (including deep pools) becoming choked with sediment and gravel.
• More groundwater and better quality west of highway but becoming brackish to the east.
• Extensive network of ponded pastures at bottom of catchment to improve grazing productivity.
• Ponded pasture may provide valuable water treatment outcomes (i.e. sediment capture, denitrification and herbicide treatment).
• Ponded pastures can provide high value in terms of habitat for water birds and fishes (fishways have been installed on bund walls).

Main image. Running Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Elizabeth Creek key messages

• The Elizabeth (Willy) Creek subunit is mostly alluvium with mixed volcanics and sedimentary rocks in the headwaters and marine sediments in the estuary.
• The catchment is flat at the coast and rising to 180 metres ASL at the headwaters.
• Land use includes nature conservation on the higher elevations and a mix of irrigated cropping and grazing native vegetation lower in the subunit.
• Channels are relatively ill-defined and have been realigned in the past.
• Riparian vegetation is relatively narrow until the estuary where there are extensive mangrove forests.
• More groundwater and better quality west of highway, but becoming brackish to the east.
• Large estuarine area adjacent to important wetlands and conservation areas, including the Sarina Inlet – Ince Bay Directory of Important Wetlands (DIWA), Cape Palmerston – Rocky Dam declared Fish Habitat Area (FHA), Llewellyn Bay Dugong Protection Area, and the Great Barrier Reef Marina Park (GBRMP) and World Heritage Area (WHA).

Cattle grazing

The Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment is dominated by agriculture with approximately 60 per cent of the land supporting grazing and approximately 25 per cent under sugar cane production.

Brahman and Droughtmaster cattle, and their crosses, are popular in the region. Heavy cattle such as cull cows* and bullocks** are sold primarily through export abattoirs at Bakers Creek or Rockhampton. Growing cattle are sold through sale yards at Sarina and Nebo or to graziers from areas as widespread as the Burnett and Clermont districts.

The cane and cattle industries are closely linked with more than 50 per cent of the region’s beef cattle owned and managed by integrated cane and beef enterprises.

*Cull cows are adult female cows that have been removed from the main herd (i.e. culled), typically due to poor reproductive performance.

**Bullocks are adult male cows used for draught, which are typically (but not always) castrated.

Ponded pastures

Within the Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment there are a number of ponded pasture wetlands used for grazing. These ponded pastures have been established by bunding coastal waterways to limit tidal intrusion and encourage the growth of pasture species. These pasture species are generally exotic grasses such as hymenachne (Hymenachne amplexicaulis), para grass (Brachiaria mutica), and aleman grass (Echinochloa polystachya). Hymenachne, despite being a popular pasture species, is a Weed of National Significance (WoNS).

Ponded pastures often provide for high quality year-round grazing with good dry matter yields, which allows for higher stocking rates.* In 1991, a moratorium was established on the construction of ponded pasture banks, though repair and maintenance works are permitted on existing bund walls and banks.

The Tedlands Station wetlands, east of Koumala township, is a large ponded pasture wetland. The Tedlands wetlands include a complex of natural and modified wetland habitat types including riparian vegetated stream channels, channel-hosted (instream) lagoons, melaleuca and palm swamp forests, and bunded intertidal areas that were once mangrove forests and salt couch grasslands. Most of the site is used for pastoral production with the western margin of the subcatchment dominated by sugar cane.

Loss of freshwater wetland connectivity with downstream estuarine habitats is a threat to fish habitat values**, particularly for marine breeding species such as barramundi, mangrove jack and tarpon. The main impediments to connectivity within the Tedlands Station wetland complex are physical water quality barriers such as dissolved oxygen due to extensive exotic grass growth, and road crossing culverts associated with the tidal bunds.***

Main image. Ponded pastures, Rocky Dam Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

See the links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following literature.

*Mackay Whitsunday Region Sustainable Grazing Guide (Reef Catchments undated)

**Fisheries Guidelines for Managing Ponded Pastures (Challen and Long 2004)

***Tedlands Wetland Rehabilitation (WetlandInfo 2015)

Acknowledgments

Developed by the Queensland Wetlands Program in the Department of Environment and Science, in partnership with Reef Catchments and other local partners. 

 

Catchment Solutions

Central Queensland University

Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries

Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy

Farmacist

Mackay Amateur Fishing Club Association

Mackay Regional Council

Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership

Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Traditional Owner Reference Group

Pioneer Catchment and Landcare Group

Sunwater

Office of the Great Barrier Reef

Plane Creek Productivity Services

Ranges to Reef Environmental Services

Sarina Landcare Catchment Management Association

 

This resource should be cited as: Walking the Landscape – Plane Catchment Story v1.0 (2020), presentation, Department of Environment and Science, Queensland.

Images provided by: Jennifer White of Shiller Images, Jon Graftdyk, Matthew Moore, Pioneer Catchment and Landcare Group, Reef Catchments, Saskia von Fahland and Tina Ball, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

The Queensland Wetlands Program supports projects and activities that result in long-term benefits to the sustainable management, wise use and protection of wetlands in Queensland. The tools developed by the Program help wetlands landholders, managers and decision makers in government and industry. 

Contact wetlands♲des.qld.gov.au or visit https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au

Disclaimer

This map journal has been prepared with all due diligence and care, based on the best available information at the time of publication. The department holds no responsibility for any errors or omissions within the document. Any decisions made by other parties based on this document are solely the responsibility of those parties. Information contained in this education module is from a number of sources and, as such, does not necessarily represent government or departmental policy.

Data source, links and extra information

Software Used

ArcGIS for Desktop | ArcGIS Online | Story Map Journal|Story Map Series|

Some of the information used to put together this Map Journal can be viewed on the Queensland Globe.  

Queensland Globe allows you to view and explore Queensland spatial data and imagery. You can also download a cadastral SmartMap or purchase and download a current titles search.

More information about the layers used can be found here:Source Data Table

Flooding Information

Isaac Regional Council

Mackay Regional Council

Other References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2019) Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday (SA4) (312) [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Bureau of Meteorology (2018) Climate Data Online [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

CANEGROWERS (2019) CANEGROWERS Annual Report 2018/19, CANEGROWERS, Brisbane

Challen, S. and Long, P. (2004) Fisheries Guidelines for Managing Ponded Pastures, Fish Habitat Guideline FHG 005, Department of Primary Industries, Queensland

City of Gold Coast (2021) About water catchments. [webpage] Accessed 25 August 2021

Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (2010) Australian Land Use Management Classification [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (2012) Walking the Landscape—A Whole-of-system Framework for Understanding and Mapping Environmental Processes and Values, Queensland Wetlands Program, Queensland Government, Brisbane

Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (2016) Wetlands in the Great Barrier Reef Catchments Management Strategy 2016—21, Queensland Government, Brisbane 

North Queensland Bulk Ports (2019) Port of Hay Point [webpage] Accessed 18 November 2019 

Queensland Government (2017) 2017 Scientific Consensus Statement, Land Use Impacts on Great Barrier Reef Water Quality and Ecosystem Condition, Queensland Government, Queensland

Queensland Government (2018) Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Modelling Program [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Queensland Government (2016) Declared Fish Habitat Area Plans [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Queensland Government (2016) Key Resource Areas in Queensland [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Queensland Government (2018) Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2017-2022. Queensland Government, Brisbane

Queensland Government (2017) Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan - Report Cards [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Reef Catchments (2019) ABCD Guides [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Reef Catchments (undated) Mackay Whitsunday Region Sustainable Grazing Guide, Reef Catchments, Mackay 

Reef Catchments (2014) Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Improvement Plan, Reef Catchments, Mackay

SmartCane BMP, Your Farm, Your Way (SmartCane BMP 2019) [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

Wallace, R. M., Huggins, R., Smith, R. A., Thomson, B., Orr, D. N., King, O., Taylor, C., Turner, R. D. R., Mann. R. M. (2017) Sandy Creek Sub-catchment Water Quality Monitoring Project 2015 – 2016, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Brisbane

WetlandInfo (2015) Tedlands Wetland Rehabilitation [webpage] Accessed 19 November 2019

---

Last updated: 25 August 2021