Healthy Waterways is committed to continually improving our knowledge base and to the development of decision support tools that assist our members in achieving effective and efficient management outcomes for the future of our waterways. Our decision support tools model the likely outcomes of management actions and measure the potential reduction in pollutants. This enables our members to identify the most targeted, cost effective waterway management actions.

Our combination of monitoring and modelling provides a robust tool for measuring and predicting change, while also assessing waterway condition. Healthy Waterways is utilising predictive modelling to deliver a more comprehensive, cost-effective monitoring program that will:

  • establish water quality and catchment load benchmarks
  • quantify the impacts of land management practices and other management actions
  • track progress towards agreed management targets and explore the efficiency of different management scenarios.

Models

Healthy Waterways’ suite of decision support tools includes the SEQ SOURCE Catchments Model and Receiving Water Quality Model which help our members to determine sustainable loads and set achievable environmental targets for waterway management in our estuaries and Moreton Bay.

SEQ SOURCE Catchments Model

The SEQ SOURCE Catchments Model enables Healthy Waterways to quantify pollutant loads from catchments and understand the effect of management interventions in reducing those loads over time. This modelling platform was developed by a team of leading Australian hydrologists from research organisations and industry. The model allows predicted loads to be used as a measure of catchment pressure.

Receiving Water Quality Model

The Receiving Water Quality Model simulates water levels, speed and direction, temperature, salinity and suspended sediment and water quality processes. The model has been built to respond to tidal movements, atmospheric pressure and benthic roughness as well as pollutant loads from the SOURCE catchment model.

The Healthy Waterways Monitoring Program incorporates both the SOURCE Catchments and the Receiving Water Quality models through a significant investment made by our members.