The Great Barrier Reef is renowned for its ecological importance and beauty. However, it is under increasing threat from a range of pressures including climate change, poor water quality from Reef catchments, extreme weather events and recent extensive coral bleaching.

The Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2017–2022 is a joint commitment of the Australian and Queensland governments that seeks to improve the quality of water flowing from Reef catchments to the Great Barrier Reef.

In October 2024, NQCC provided feedback to this plan.

LATEST UPDATES: Burdekin Regional Assessment announced in joint media release (17 May 2023).

Campaign Summary

The Burdekin Basin supports a range of landscapes and communities, and activities such as agriculture, fishing and recreation. 

Numerous dam proposals along the Burdekin could threaten the long-term health of the river, as well as the Ramsar wetlands of Bowling Green Bay and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Urannah Dam, Hells Gates Dam, Big Rocks Weir and the expansion of the Burdekin Falls Dam could together contribute to:

• increased turbidity (dirtiness) of the Burdekin River
• rising water tables (and associated threats to agricultural production) in the Lower Burdekin
• the erosion of Cape Bowling Green due to sediment starvation, and
• increased nutrient flows to the Great Barrier Reef.

We have listed some useful resources on this page.

We aim to raise awareness of the risks associated with multiple, large-scale dam proposals and work with policy-makers, stakeholders and North Queensland communities to ensure the best outcomes for people, industry and the environment. We are working to prevent the Burdekin River from becoming the next Murray-Darling and advocating for an integrated management approach. 

Other Resources

• This document was prepared by Dr Eric Wolanski and John Connell, and provides a summary of some of the environmental issues facing the Burdekin Basin, with a focus on the erosion of Cape Bowling Green.
• Check out the Productivity Commission webinar (02/03/2021) on National Water Reform 2020 here.
• Read our submission on the National Water Reform draft report here.
• Read our latest submissions on the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising Project and the Urannah Dam Project here. 
• The Terms of Reference for the Environmental Impact Statement for Big Rocks Weir have been released, as of July 2021.

This is a guest post written by Chelsea Broad, who attended the World Wetlands Day event put on by NQ Dry Tropics on Thursday 2nd Feb 2017. The views expressed in this post are the author's and not necessarily those of NQCC.

AIMS - photo: Chelsea Broad

World Wetlands Day works to educate the community on the issues facing the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and inspire the community to take action to protect the GBR and associated wetlands. More than 50 community members participated in educational lectures from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and tours of ReefHQ and AIMS, including the world class scientific laboratory, SeaSim, within the Townsville region.

Did you know that keeping inland wetlands healthy is crucial for protecting the GBR?

7pm Thursday 31 March, Townsville Yacht Club, 1 Plume St, South Townsville

Speakers: Jeremy Goldberg, CSIRO; Jon Brodie, JCU

When it comes to love, our Great Barrier Reef has no equal.

Three out of four Australians feel that the Reef is part of their identity as Australians, according to new research led by CSIRO’s Jeremy Goldberg. And as Australia’s ‘most inspiring icon’ the Reef was found to be over five times more significant than Uluru.

But when it comes to money, the Reef just ain’t up there.