Action by landholders and local communities is helping to maintain waterway health across the Wet Tropics, with conditions holding steady at ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ despite increasing climate pressures. The latest Wet Tropics Waterway Health Report Card shows that ongoing efforts to improve land management, restore habitats and reduce runoff are playing a critical role in protecting rivers, estuaries and the Great Barrier Reef downstream.

Wet Tropics Waterways Chair Dr Simon Costanzo said the relatively stable results reflect years of collaboration and investment across the region.

“The fact that grades have remained steady, despite repeated floods, storms and marine heatwaves, reflects the combined efforts of landholders, communities, governments and industry,” Dr Costanzo said.

“Across the region, people are taking action—improving farming practices, restoring riparian vegetation, and participating in clean-up and rehabilitation projects—and together it’s making a difference.”
Based on 11 years of monitoring Dr Costanzo said the report card is providing valuable insights into long-term trends.

“With more than a decade of consistent, independent monitoring, we can look beyond seasonal fluctuations and better understand how our waterways are faring over time. So far, they seem to be holding ground, which highlights how important it is for everyone to stay focused on taking action,” he said.
While the overall picture is one of resilience, the report also highlights the ongoing challenges posed by extreme weather events. Heavy rainfall and widespread flooding in the southern Wet Tropics increased sediment and nutrient runoff that extended into coastal waters.

Rainfall totals for February 2025 exceeded two metres in the lower Herbert region, triggering significant flooding around Ingham.

“This pushed low-salinity flood waters onto inshore coral reefs, impacting coral condition,” Dr Costanzo said.
This year’s report card also highlights the strong link between land use and waterway health, with notable improvements in the Mossman catchment following a major shift in agricultural activity.
Dr Costanzo said the change followed the loss of an industry that had supported the Mossman community for generations.
“Following the closure of the Mossman mill, sugarcane harvest declined by more than 50 per cent, and with it the amount of fertiliser and pesticide applied across the catchment,” Dr Costanzo said.

“Pesticide risk in the Mossman catchment has shifted from ‘moderate’ to ‘very low’ while dissolved inorganic nitrogen (fertiliser) has improved from ‘poor’ to ‘good’ over the past two years.

“This reflects the close link between land use practices and the condition of rivers, estuaries and the reef downstream.”

He said the future health of the catchment will depend on how land use continues to evolve, with alternative crops being trialled and grazing expanding.
“Whatever replaces sugarcane, working closely with growers and the community to manage it well will be critical for sustaining both livelihoods and healthy waterways,” he said.
Minister for the Environment and Tourism Andrew Powell said the report card showed the value of long-term partnerships between communities, industry, and government to protect the health of Wet Tropics waterways and the Great Barrier Reef.
“Nobody loves the Reef more than Queenslanders, and these results are encouraging because they show the positive impact of practical, on-ground action to improve and protect water quality,” Minister Powell said.
“The findings reinforce why the Crisafulli Government is investing a record $330.5 million to improve Great Barrier Reef water quality and support action across Reef catchments, because healthy waterways are essential to a healthy Reef and to protecting these natural assets for future generations.”
The Wet Tropics Waterway Health Report Card has been released annually by Wet Tropics Waterways as part of the superseded Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan (now replaced by the Reef 2050 Catchment Water Quality Strategy), a joint Australian and Queensland Government initiative to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

The report draws on scientific monitoring from multiple organisations and is independently reviewed by an expert scientific panel.

Wet Tropics Waterways is a partnership supported by the Australian and Queensland governments, local councils, industry, community groups and stakeholders, including host organisation Terrain NRM.