Waterway quality declines

THE health of Gold Coast waterways have declined over the past year according to their annual report card.

Due to increased pollution the Albert, Pimpama, Coomera and Nerang Rivers all lost marks in the 2017 Healthy Land and Water Report Card released yesterday.

Tallebudgera and Currumbin Creek were also marked down for similar reasons.

Overall, Coast catchments were rated “fair” to “good”.

The report found the greatest threat to local waterways was population growth and rapid development.

The organisation also found the Gold Coast had “the least intact estuarine habitat in southeast Queensland” with sparse riverbank vegetation which made waterways highly sensitive to storm events.

On a positive note the report found projects to stabilise riverbanks could fix these problems. Across southeast Queensland about 30,000 dump trucks of sediment ran into waterways which doubled last year’s figure.