Russell Basin

The Russell Basin has a population of approximately 1,700 people, largely in Babinda and Miriwinni.

The Russell River is among the least variable rivers in terms of annual flows in Australia, and the basin receives the highest rainfall in the region. The Russell River and Babinda Creek are the two key tributaries of the Russell Basin.

The upper catchment is in the relatively undisturbed rainforest environments of the Bellenden Ker Range.

The river floodplains and the lower river valley are dominated by sugarcane where the environment has been significantly modified with the loss of much of the original lowland rainforest.

The Russell Basin grade has remained ‘good’ in 2023-24 and the score decreased from 78 to 76 since the previous year.

Key results

• The water quality grade for the Russell Basin remained ‘good’ and the score increased from 75 the previous year to 80, with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) improving from ‘moderate’ to ‘good’.
• The flow indicator declined from ‘very good’ the previous year to ‘good’ and this was due to higher-than-average rainfall events in July and December compared to years with more typical rainfall patterns.

The diagram below shows the detailed results for each indicator by year. Click on the timeslider to see data from previous years.