1. What’s a WQIP and what can they achieve?
Diane Tarte
Chair, Mackay-Whitsunday Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership
National Waterways Report Card Network
March 2018 Workshop

2. The origin of WQIPs - Water Quality Improvement Plans
First WQIPs done in early 2000s
Developed under the Framework for Marine and Estuarine Water Quality Protection
Included in National Water Quality Management Strategy
First funded by Dept of Environment under Coasts and Clean Seas Initiative
Now with Dept of Agriculture & Water Resources

3. Their purpose
Deliver significant reductions in discharge of pollutants to water quality hotspots through:
Identification of environmental values of water
Determination of water quality objectives and load targets for pollutants of concern
Development of environmental flow objectives and environmental water provisions
Implementation of catchment based management actions - control of point and diffuse sources; use of market-based instruments and adaptive management
Application of predictive models and ambient monitoring programs.

4. Key elements Environmental values and water quality objectives
Water quality ambient and event monitoring
Predictive modelling & decision support systems
Agricultural best management practice
Point source (wastewater and industrial) best practice
Water sensitive urban design
Ramsar wetland ecological character description
Acid sulfate soil mapping
Market-based instruments

5. Where do we have WQIPs and Report Cards?

6. Achievements
Effective approach to establish links between catchment sourced discharges and impacts on estuaries and inshore marine areas.
Robust methodology to determine required reduction in land based sources of pollution to sustain estuaries and marine areas.
Utilising ambient water quality monitoring data to inform management decisions.
Establishment of management action targets
Inclusion of social and economic values
Involvement of key regional stakeholders

7. Challenges
Effective implementation of WQIPs. How are they being used by different levels of government, NRMs, industry, researchers, ??
Regular review and updating of WQIPs. How many have done 2nd generation WQIPS?
Sufficient information on effectiveness of management practices to validate bio-physical, scenario and costings models

8. What’s next
What’s the policy driver(s) now the program is with DAWR? Will State and/or Local government fund WQIPs?
Explicitly linking WQIPs and report cards
Research needs?