CAPE YORK REGION Normanby catchment water quality targets

Corbett Reef Catchment profile S t e w a r t C a t c h m e n t King Island Stanley Under the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan, water quality art tew Island targets have been set for each catchment that drains to the Great S Cape Flinders Flinders Cape Melville Blackwood Sand Barrier Reef. These targets (given over the page) consider land use and k endle Island e K Bank

e R Island r . r e South No 1 C i v Denham Island

pollutant loads from each catchment. n R Bathurst Bay Warden d o y i Reef t o r a l t o P r i n c e s s C h a r l o t t e B a y 2 S H Munro The Normanby catchment covers 24,399 km (57% of the Cape Reef Switzer York region). Rainfall averages 1104 mm a year, which results in river Reef Jewell Combe Reef River Parke discharges to the coast of about 3707 GL each year. kin Reef Crescent u Bewick Island Reef Hilder Hicks L Eel Cre ek Reef H O W I C K Waining Reef Reef Reef Annie M G R O U P Ri a Day ver B r Howick Island r The Normanby catchment is located in the central section of the Cape iz e Reef

a Cape Bowen t n t t R York region and is the Cape York’s largest catchment. The catchment R i v iv e e r area is divided by two main waterways, the smaller in the r

k north-western corner and the extensive reaches of the Normanby e Jeannie Catchment re C e r r River that drain the rest of the catchment area. The headwaters altwat N e Eyrie S N v o Ri r o e Reef t i k h r of the begin south-west of Cooktown in mountain e m n K n Martin

e a

r r a e C n e e n J Reef b v le i y ranges that form part of the . The Normanby i n r M e R n e R v d

e i y i g v

n e t R f e River is fed by a network of smaller and sub-catchments i Fi R

K n r i n v a e

as it travels north through seasonally flooded savanna grassland and H r C ol before forming a large delta at the coast of em r an i ve Cape Flattery . The catchment area is dominated by grazing R iver lands in the west and south-west, with the north-east principally for Jack R osbie r Cr Creek e iv conservation. Intensive agricultural land uses of bananas and irrigated R ad ehe and dryland cropping are also found in Lakeland, in the upper reaches or M k e N o r m a n b y C a t c h m e n t e

of the . r C y Startle al e L Reefs a Cape Bedford H No u rmanby River r a South Cape R Bedford Lark Land uses in the Normanby catchment i v ! S Reef

e Hopevale c

r r

r u ile C eek M b

The main land uses are grazing (53%), nature conservation (45%), ht b

Eig y E n d e a v o u r reek C and water (1%). C r n ile er e C a t c h m e n t O e M iv e R r k e n v r n i ! Cooktown ve a R eightonR Ri i lice H edy D v 0% 20 40 60 80 100 A nn e e r er K iv

r Laura (town) R e Osterlund ! n v

i a

n Reef

R n a A r u a L E e ast l N tt i o

L r Reef m River reek g an C in b le y Nature Water Ten M i K razing Legend R ive conservation Dryland cropping GBR WHA boundary Irrigated cropping r

Mangrove Dryland cropping e r iv Irrigated cropping R Seagrass Sugarcane y b Other Horse C a n reCatchmentek Horticulture er R rm Palm iver o r N

Bananas Highways e t

i v s

Banana R e er W Secondary roads alm r Dairy P a ve er rth P lm i Palmer iv o er R LanduseR Urban and other intensive uses N Cape tree Tribulation in Riv Nature conservation Mining S a e r an D reek dy r C C Forestry Stream/watere inc. dams r 0 10 20 30 40 50 Ross e e

k Grazing Other Kilometres Dai ntree C at chm ent S:\OGBR\d170612 GBR catchments map\GBR catchments map_A4P_v03.mxd Page 5 of 35 31 July 2017 2025 water quality targets and priorities Modelled water quality pollutant loads Of the Cape York catchments, the Normanby contributes the largest loads of fine sediment, mostly from gully End-of-catchment anthropogenic load reductions Pesticides erosion in grazing areas. required from 2013 baseline

Dissolved inorganic Fine sediment Particulate Particulate nitrogen (DIN) phosphorus (PP) nitrogen (PN)

To protect at least Fine sediment maintain 10% 10% 10% 99% current load 15 kilotonnes 5 tonnes 15 tonnes of aquatic species at the end of catchment

The 2025 targets aim to reduce the amounts of fine sediments, nutrients Water quality razing Streambank (nitrogen and phosphorus) and pesticides flowing to the reef. Where relative priority erosion Dryland there are minimal anthropogenic pollutant loads, the aim is to maintain cropping current water quality so there are no increases in loads. Each target Very high Most anthropogenic fine sediment loads come from grazing and Irrigated cropping for sediment and nutrients is expressed as: (a) the percentage load streambank erosion areas. High Other reduction required compared with the 2013 estimated load of each Urban pollutant from the catchment; and (b) the load reductions required Moderate in tonnes. Progress made since 2013 will count towards these targets. Forestry Previously reported progress between 2009 and 2013 has already Low been accounted for when setting the targets. The pesticide target Minimal Types of sediment erosion aims to ensure that concentrations of pesticides at the end of each 0% 100 catchment are low enough that 99% of aquatic species are protected. Not assessed The targets are ecologically relevant for the , and are necessary to ensure that broadscale land uses have no detrimental effect on the reef’s health and resilience.

A high percentage reduction target may not necessarily mean it is the highest priority. The priorities (ranked by colour) reflect the relative ully Hillslope Streambank risk assessment priorities for water quality improvement, based on an independent report, the 2017 Scientific Consensus Statement. The Most sediment erosion comes from gullies and hillslopes in the priorities reflect scientific assessment of the likely risks of pollutants Normanby catchment. damaging coastal and marine ecosystems.

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