Townsville’s business and community groups are working together to find suitable solutions for the Bohle River Sub-Basin, following a ‘D – poor’ grade in the 2024 Townsville Dry Tropics Waterways Report Card, which is now live.
The Report Card is an independent report on the health of Townsville’s rivers, creeks and coastal waters, and this is the fifth Report Card in a row that the Bohle has received this grade for water quality, underscoring a need for community action and continued environmental stewardship in Townsville’s most densely populated urban basin.
The poor grade reflects high levels of the nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen, found in both the Bohle River’s freshwater (upstream) and estuarine (downstream) environments. Louisa Creek, which flows to the Bohle River through the Town Common Conservation Park, received an ‘E-very poor’ for total phosphorus levels.
Healthy Waters Partnership Executive Officer Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins says for Townsville residents who live in or around town, the Bohle is most likely in their Basin.
“Despite only covering about 10% of Townsville’s Local Government Area, almost 50% of our population is packed into this catchment,” Kara-Mae says.
“This means half of our town is gardening, driving, building, planting, and operating in the Bohle.
“It bears a significant urban load,” she says.
“The Bohle’s D grade is a clear signal that it cannot thrive without the collective efforts of everyone who lives and operates in its catchment.
“The community, business and government organisations in our Partnership are already working together to find suitable solutions for the Bohle – but we must intensify and extend our efforts,” Kara says.
Several initiatives have been launched to address water quality issues in the Bohle River basin by a number of organisations, that the Healthy Waters Partnership has labelled ‘Champions of the Bohle.’
Businesses and groups already working to support the Bohle include TIDY Up Townsville, OzFish Unlimited, Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare Inc., Envite Environment, Ausfield Services, Townsville City Council, and the Reef Assist Program of the Queensland Government.
Other Report Card results
Now in its fifth year, the Waterways Report Card brings together the best available environmental data to provide a big picture view of Dry Tropics waterways, including Ross and Black freshwater and estuarine environments, and marine conditions in Cleveland and Halifax Bays.
Other notable results from the 2024 Report Card include:
- The Black Basin receives ‘good’ grades for water quality for the fifth year in a row, with some exceptions, notably in Ollera, Sleeper Log, and Althaus Creeks.
- In both Ross and Black Basins, fish grades have declined against the previous monitoring period.
- In the Black estuarine environment, extents of mangrove and saltmarsh have increased. Conversely, riparian vegetation in this environment has decreased.
- A concerning amount of macroalgae is settling into Cleveland and Halifax Bays, potentially dominating valuable real estate otherwise prime for juvenile coral growth.
- Juvenile coral in the Offshore Zone beyond Magnetic Island continues to recover against previous years.
- Sites under the most litter pressure are Big Rock Bay and Picnic Bay, on the exposed eastern side of Orpheus Island.
About the Healthy Waters Partnership
The Healthy Waters Partnership for the Dry Tropics is a collective of more than 20 organisations keeping watch on the health of local waters. Partners include the Australian and Queensland Governments, Townsville City Council, the Port of Townsville, JCU TropWATER, Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO, and local business, research, and community representatives.
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