Integrated Herbert River Project Targets Reef Water Quality

Treating water catchments as one connected system is key to improving the quality of water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, and a new project in the Herbert River catchment is putting that approach into action.

Spanning almost 288 kilometres from the Atherton Tablelands to the coast near Ingham, the Herbert River catchment covers around 10,000 square kilometres and is one of the four largest contributors of fine sediment entering the Great Barrier Reef. The river system crosses a diverse landscape, including grazing land, sugar cane farms, state forests and national parks within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

While a number of reef water quality programs have been delivered in the region over the past 15 years, significant work remains to meet the Reef 2050 water quality targets.

The newly launched Herbert Integrated Project aims to improve water quality outcomes while also delivering social and economic benefits for local communities. The project began with extensive consultation, involving stakeholders along the length of the river and its tributaries.

On-ground works are now underway, with initial activities including technology-led feral pig control in the Ingham region, lantana removal on the Atherton Tablelands, and whole-of-farm planning in partnership with local cane growers. The project will also bring together historic and current water quality monitoring data to provide a clearer picture of conditions across the entire catchment, alongside the development of a whole-of-catchment management plan.

The Herbert Integrated Project is funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program and is being delivered by Terrain NRM, in partnership with Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Herbert Cane Productivity Services Ltd, CANEGROWERS Australia and TropWATER at James Cook University.

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Herbert River catchment. Photo supplied