New Regionalism and Planning for Water Quality Improvement in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Rivers flowing into the Great Barrier Reef carry contaminants such as suspended sediments, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, total phosphorus and pesticides. To measure the extent and direction of the contaminants after they enter the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, a model was created using river volume, flooding variability, contaminant load, distance and direction as inputs. A GIS was used to calculate and visualise the exposure of the contaminants to the reefs for the current day, as well as modelling scenarios for pre-European arrival loads, and land management using realistic targets set by a regional Natural Resource Management board for water quality improvement planning purposes. The results show that a reduction in the dissolved inorganic nitrogen load exiting the Tully and Murray Rivers reduces the exposure of reefs close to the basin, but that reefs further east of the basin are significantly influenced by other rivers, highlighting that management for water quality improvement in neighbouring basins is also required.

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Motivators and barriers to adoption of Improved Land Management Practices. A focus on practice change for water quality improvement in Great Barrier Reef catchments

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112628 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 170 ◽

pp. 112628 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anthea Coggan ◽

Peter Thorburn ◽

Simon Fielke ◽

Rachel Hay ◽

James C.R. Smart

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Quality Improvement ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Land Management ◽

Management Practices ◽

Practice Change ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Barriers To Adoption ◽

Water Quality Improvement

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Optimized Pond Design for Water Quality Improvement in an Upland Agricultural Basin

World Environmental and Water Resource Congress 2006 ◽

10.1061/40856(200)123 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

William E. Gillespie ◽

John W. Nicklow

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Quality Improvement ◽

Water Quality Improvement ◽

Pond Design

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Comprehensive Evaluation of the Water Quality Improvement Policy for the Yange He Reservoir in Qin Huang Dao He Bei China

Studies in Regional Science ◽

10.2457/srs.39.751 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 751-766 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Feng XU ◽

Yoshiro HIGANO

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Quality Improvement ◽

Comprehensive Evaluation ◽

Water Quality Improvement

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Management of Water Quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1989.0024 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 31-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Simon Woodley

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Management Issue ◽

Reef System ◽

Marine Park ◽

World Heritage List ◽

The World ◽

Coral Reef System

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is recognised and appreciated worldwide as a unique environment and for this reason has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Reef is economically-important to Queensland and Australia, supporting substantial tourism and fishing industries. Management of the Great Barrier Reef to ensure conservation of its natural qualities in perpetuity is achieved through the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The maintenance of water quality to protect the reef and the industries which depend on it is becoming an increasingly important management issue requiring better knowledge and possibly new standards of treatment and discharge.

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