Breadcrumb

Clarence-Moreton bioregion

​Rainforest waterfall in Border Ranges National Park, NSW, 2008 Credit: Liese Coulter, CSIRO

This bioregional assessment helps us understand how coal seam gas and coal mining development could affect water resources and water-dependent assets in the Clarence-Moreton bioregion. It identifies where potential impacts could occur, as well as the areas that are unlikely to be affected. 

At a glance

The bioregional assessment for the Clarence-Moreton bioregion found that potential changes in water resources due to the withdrawn West Casino Gas Project would likely have been minimal at the surface. This is because the proposed development would have extracted small volumes of groundwater compared to the volume of groundwater recharge. In addition, multiple layers of low permeability rock, called aquitards, are a partial barrier that limit changes to water within the coal seams and other deeper layers from reaching the surface.

There is very limited potential for the commercial production of coal seam gas in the Queensland part of the bioregion and no new coal mining development was identified in the bioregion.

About this bioregion

The Clarence-Moreton bioregion is located in north-east New South Wales and south-east Queensland and adjoins the Northern Inland Catchments bioregion. Along with the towns of Casino, Lismore and Grafton, it contains the outskirts of the Queensland cities of Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan and Toowoomba. The bioregion contains large river systems (including the Clarence, Richmond and Logan-Albert rivers) and extensive wetlands, some of which are nationally important. 


Factsheet

Last updated:
11 July 2017
Did you know?
  • Area: 24,292 square kilometres
  • Population: about 500,000
  • Climate: temperate and subtropical climate
  • Annual rainfall: 800 to 2716 millimetres