Fraser Island Lakes: A review of water quality

Abstract

This paper undertakes a review of available water quality data for dune lakes on Fraser Island. The data include both historic literature data and more recent data from work undertaken by the Queensland Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation. The main aims of the paper are firstly to establish a baseline of water quality for future reference, secondly to assess whether there is any evidence of change over time and thirdly to assess if any changes detected are likely to have been due to the high level of tourist visitation. Tourist pressure is a significant issue, with visitation to Lake McKenzie of the order of 1000+ persons every day, although visitation to other lakes is much lower. The compiled data from different sources varied in spatial and temporal extent and range of indicators. Nevertheless, it was found that there was a sufficient degree of consistency to propose that the data set was suitable as a baseline against which future monitoring data can be compared. The data were too limited to allow robust statistical assessment of trends but subjective assessment indicated no evidence of trends over the period covered, which extended from 1964 to present for some indicators and from 1989 for others. The apparent absence of trends indicates that to date, tourist visitation impacts have been limited. However, it is suggested that this is not a justification for complacency and that some ongoing assessment of the health of these lakes, particularly Lake McKenzie, should be instituted with the aim of ensuring that any incremental deterioration is detected before it becomes irreversible. Additionally, a more comprehensive monitoring of the rates of visitation both to the island and to individual lakes should be established.