Water Plan (Mary Basin) 2024

The environmental outcomes for this plan area are—

to maintain, and if possible improve, flows of water to which this plan applies that support—

native plants and animals, and their freshwater and estuarine habitats; and

long-term water quality suitable for riverine and estuarine ecosystems; and

to maintain, and if possible improve, the low flow regimes, of the watercourses to which this plan applies, that support ecological assets, for example—

riffle habitats; and

the quality and persistence of waterholes; and

the connectivity of watercourses required over the lifespan of native aquatic species, including to allow for opportunities for movement, spawning and recruitment of the species; and

to maintain the medium flow regimes and high flow regimes, of the watercourses to which this plan applies, that support ecological assets, for example—

river-forming processes; and

riparian systems and their functions; and

floodplain and wetland ecosystems; and

estuarine ecosystems; and

to maintain, and if possible, improve, flows of freshwater to which this plan applies that support ecological processes in the following waters—

waters of estuaries that receive flows of water from the plan area;

the marine waters of the Great Barrier Reef;

the waters of the Great Sandy Strait declared Ramsar wetland; and

to minimise adverse environmental impacts, relating to water to which this plan applies, caused by the operation of infrastructure in the plan area; andExamples of adverse environmental impacts—

degradation of water quality, a reduction in habitats

for the Mooloolah River, the Noosa River, the Maroochy River and their tributaries—to minimise change to the natural flow regime that supports the rivers and tributaries; and

for the freshwater reaches of the Mary River and its tributaries—to maintain, and if possible, improve—

the low flow regime of the freshwater reaches; and

the flow-related habitat requirements of ecological assets in the freshwater reaches; andExamples of ecological assets for subparagraph (ii)—

Mary River cod, Australian lungfish, Mary River turtle, white-throated snapping turtle

for the Burrum River and its tributaries, downstream of Lenthalls Dam—to support freshwater flows that are necessary—

for estuarine processes; and

to reduce hypersaline conditions in the upper Burrum River estuary; and

for the underground water management area—to maintain, and if possible improve, the availability and quality of underground water to which this plan applies to support ecosystems dependent on the underground water.Examples of ecosystems for paragraph (i)—

• wetlands

• terrestrial vegetation communities

• ecosystems of which Searys Creek or Teewah Creek form a part

• ecosystems of which springs form a part

In this section—

ecological assets include a species, a group of species, a biological function, an ecosystem and a place of natural value that is dependent on attributes of a flow regime to support the asset’s long-term viability.

flow regime means the entire range of flows at a point in a watercourse including variations in the watercourse height, discharge, seasonality, annual variability and event duration.

flow-related habitat requirements, of an ecological asset, means the hydraulic or physical attributes of a flow regime that are required—

for a particular biological process or response to happen in relation to the asset; or

to maintain the long-term biological integrity of the asset.

Example—

movement opportunities of species or groups of species

freshwater reaches, of the Mary River and its tributaries, means—

the Mary River and its tributaries, upstream of the Mary River Barrage; and

Tinana Creek, upstream of Tinana Barrage.

Great Sandy Strait declared Ramsar wetland means Australian Ramsar site number 51 declared under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth), section 17A.

high flow regime means a flow regime comprising flows that—

cause the movement of material within the bed of a watercourse; andExamples of material in the bed of a watercourse—

sediment, debris, seedlings

cause either of the following to occur—

the water level of the watercourse to rise to the height of either of the outer banks of the watercourse;

water to overflow from the watercourse onto a floodplain.

low flow regime means a flow regime comprising the minimum flows that provide a continuous flow through a watercourse.

medium flow regime means a flow regime comprising of flows that submerge the lower parts of the channel of a watercourse and that, in doing so, improve the connectivity of watercourses.

natural flow regime means a flow regime that is characteristic of the variability produced by nature.

recruitment, of a fish or other species, means the successful development and growth of a juvenile fish or other species to a stage at which the fish or other species has the ability to reproduce.

waterhole means a part of a watercourse that contains water after the watercourse stops flowing, other than a part of the watercourse that is within the storage area of a dam on the watercourse.