The main town centre in the Murray Basin is Cardwell which is located on the coast opposite Hinchinbrook Island and has a population of 1,176. There are several other localities including Kennedy, Bilyana and Carruchan, mainly located near the centre of the basin.

    The Murray Basin varies from steep rainforest-covered mountains in the west, to a low-relief floodplain mostly developed for agriculture in the centre, with further remnant forest near the coast.

    Major waterways include the Murray River, Dallachy Creek, Meunga Creek and Kennedy Creek, and numerous smaller coastal creeks drain into Hinchinbrook Channel. The sub-catchments discharge into several wetlands included in the Directory of (Nationally) Important Wetlands, and which include declared Queensland Fish Habitat Areas, seagrass meadows, and areas within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

    The Murray Basin has an area of 1,115 km2 and also has a high proportion of natural/minimal use lands (64%). The remaining area is comprised of 14% sugarcane, 10% forestry, 6% grazing, 1% bananas, 1% other crops, 1% urban and 4% other land uses.

    Key results for 2024-25

    The grade for the Murray Basin remained ‘moderate’ with the score increasing from 56 to 58.

    • Water quality remained ‘moderate’ and increased in score from 53 to 55.
    • Pesticide risk remained very high, the score decreased from 20 to18 and the grade remained ‘very poor’.
    • Sediment, consisting of the total suspended solids (TSS), improved from ‘good’ to ‘very good’.
    • Wetland extent remained ‘very poor’. One hectare of wetland habitat was recorded as lost since 2019.
    • The flow indicator improved from ‘good’ to ‘very good’ since the previous year due to the return of a more typical rainfall pattern. Poorer scores in 2023-24 were influenced by Severe Tropical Cyclone Jasper (TC Jasper) with the early onset of the wet season and intense rainfall and flood events from mid-December. 

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

    Further Information

    For a detailed breakdown of the results and trends, visit the results dashboard or read the methods and results technical reports.