Image Courtesy of: https://www.needpix.com/search/sand%20bucket
The Great Barrier Reef is having a rough time of things recently. They have been dealing with mass bleaching events, pollution, cyclones, and now they can add rain, and water pollution to that.
Recent rains have caused the Burdekin River to flood its banks and carry muddy run off, that likely contains harmful agricultural chemicals like phosphorous and nitrogen which are known to kill corals, directly into the waters in and around the GBR.
Typically during these rain events, strong winds will push the polluted toxic water further out to sea and keep it from sitting stagnant and concentrated near the reefs, but this time that is not the case.
If that weren’t enough, the reefs are also getting dumped on-literally-thanks to a loophole in the protections surrounding the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. In 2015, the federal goverment banned dredge spoil disposal near the reef, however it only applied to capital dredging, not the maintenance dredging done to keep the shipping channels clear for ships.
Its the maintenance dredging waste that will be dumped near the reef beginning in march, just after all the floods have washed so much run off into the near shore waters.
Dumping isn’t the only option, but it is a cheaper alternative to treating the dredged up material and disposing of it on land. The North Queensland Bulk Port Authority says they have done a peer reviewed dumping plan to determine what is best for the reef. Their risk assessment found the risks to the MPA were very low, with minor short term impacts to benthic habitats.
While I understand that the shipping channels need to stay clear for ships, it seems like there should be a better solution than dumping the dredged waste into the already sensitive ecosystem, and adding to the current mirad of issues. As always, I am hopeful the government, environmentalists, and authorities can work together to come up with a solution that benefits everyone.