Fitzroy Basin's health check

ALMOST $1 million will be invested over the next 18 months to create a report card on the health of waterways throughout the entire Fitzroy Basin in Central Queensland in a deal struck between 26 organisations.

This cash investment is backed up with water quality monitoring data from current programs that cost participating organisations more than $3 million collectively.

The newly formed Fitzroy Partnership for River Health, officially launched last week, is one of Australia's largest waterway monitoring alliances in terms of both organisations involved and catchment size, with the Fitzroy Basin being the second largest seaward draining catchment in Australia and the largest flowing to the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

The region's leading natural resource management group, the Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA), is hosting the partnership, and FBA board chairman Charlie Wilson said negotiations with organisations involved in water monitoring across the Fitzroy Basin have resulted in the establishment of the partnership.

"In recent years, the Central Queensland community has expressed growing concern over the quality of water," Mr Wilson said.

"The Fitzroy Partnership for River Health aims to ensure the community is well informed on the health of our waterways by drawing on data collected across the basin from 450 different locations to prepare a report card and communicate the results in a way people can understand.

"All water quality monitoring data collected from rivers, estuaries and near-shore coastal and marine environments will be shared through the partnership to deliver a report card in mid-2013.

"Then if we need to make changes, they'll be based on facts and science."

Mr Wilson said the Queensland government is a major supporter investing in the project initially through Q2, and has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the success of the partnership.

The Fitzroy Basin is home to 40 of Queensland's 50 coal mining operations, contributing billions of dollars annually to the Australian economy. Most coal mining companies operating in the basin involved in the partnership, including BMA, Rio Tinto, Peabody, Anglo American, Xstrata, Wesfarmers, Jellinbah Resources, Vale, Isaac Plains Coal, Yancoal, New Hope Coal and Idemitsu, with support from the Queensland Resources Council.

QCL