Plane Catchment Story - Sandy subcatchment

Select from the tabs below

• Overview
• Physical features
• Natural values
• Subcatchment key messages
• Sandy subcatchment
• Sandringham Lagoon subcatchment
• Rocky Dam Creek subcatchment
• Acknowledgements

View the Plane catchment story

Transcript

Sandy subcatchment

The Sandy subcatchment has large areas of sugar cane, together with cattle grazing and the Port of Hay Point, which are important to the local economy and community. The subcatchment includes the southern suburbs of Mackay and several townships, which include rural and urban residential areas. The system has large areas of deep alluvium and steep volcanic headwaters, with water regulated by the Kinchant Dam.  

Main image. Highway crossing of Sandy Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

Table of contents

1. Bakers Creek key messages
2. Upper Sandy Creek (north branch) key messages
3. Upper Sandy Creek (south branch) key messages
4. Lower Sandy Creek key messages
5. Alligator Creek key messages
6. Sarina Beach key messages
7. Sugar cane farming overview
8. Sugar cane production
9. Water and irrigation

Bakers Creek key messages

• The Bakers Creek subunit headwaters are underlain by mostly volcanic and metamorphic geologies, with unconsolidated sediments lower in the landscape.
• There is a natural divide between the western and eastern areas.
• The headwaters are up to 80 metres above sea level (ASL) down to 10 metres ASL at coast.
• Modified coastal plain with large areas of sugar cane.
• Bakers Creek was an Aboriginal settlement started in 1870, the first in Queensland. In that area they grew tobacco, peanuts and cotton.
• The main channel of Bakers Creek is narrow and typically between 20 and 30 metres wide, but widens to between 100 and 600 metres near the mouth.
• Riparian vegetation is relatively narrow but has good longitudinal connectivity.
• The Bakers Creek floodplain is typically very flat consisting mostly of sugar cane with numerous irrigation channels.
• Good hydrological connections along the creek.
• Water from the sewage treatment plant (STP) in Mackay is used for irrigation, the waste water dams are clay lined ponds.
• Natural flow is supplemented by an inter-basin transfer via an irrigation channel from the Pioneer River at Dumbleton Weir.
• Bakers Creek drains the southern floodplain of the Pioneer River through the townships of Walkerston and Bakers Creek.
• The Pioneer River potentially overflows to Bakers Creek during large flood events, although this has never been documented in recorded history.
• Regionally important estuarine and freshwater (including ponded pastures) wetlands at the coastal fringe.
• There is some sea water intrusion near the coast between Bakers and Sandy creeks, due to extraction of groundwater.

Main image. Swimming enclosure at McEwans Beach - provided by Reef Catchments.

Upper Sandy Creek (north branch) key messages

• The Upper Sandy (north branch) subunit (Victoria Plains) is mostly alluvium with headwaters in low hills of granitic geology.
• The headwaters are up to 110 metres ASL down to 30 metres ASL at coast.
• Modified coastal plain with large areas of sugar cane.
• Kinchant Dam is located on a tributary of upper Sandy Creek (North Arm).
• Water is diverted from Mirani Weir in the Pioneer catchment through an open channel into Kinchant Dam.
• Kinchant Dam releases water for irrigation purposes via the Oakenden Main Channel, and flood releases may be made from the dam into Sandy Creek during high rainfall events.
• The alluvium has good transmissivity and there are numerous high-yielding bores, particularly lower in the subunit.
• De Moleyn’s Lagoon has undergone extensive rehabilitation, and provides social and cultural values.

Main image. Kinchant Dam - provided by Reef Catchments.

Upper Sandy Creek (south branch) key messages

• The Upper Sandy Creek (south branch) subunit (Brightly) is mostly metamorphics (Carmilla Beds) with some volcanics (granitoids, mafites and felsites).
• There is limited alluvial development and groundwater systems in the lower valley.
• The headwaters are relatively steep, falling from 680 to 200 metres ASL.
• The alluvium in the valley around Brightly has been modified for sugar cane production.

Lower Sandy Creek key messages

• The Lower Sandy Creek subunit is a mostly flat (20 to 10 metres ASL) alluvial floodplain comprised of clay, silt, sand and gravel.
• The creek becomes perennial from Eton downstream.
• The lower Sandy Creek is a gaining and losing stream, that is, it is a window into the groundwater systems so as groundwater rises, the creek rises and vice versa.
• Groundwater is generally of good quality and quantity, however extraction of groundwater in the Sandy and Alligator creeks areas has lowered the water table to the extent that there is sea water intrusion in some areas close to the coast.
• Sandringham Lagoon is a deep lacustrine system not connected to the groundwater.
• Sandy Creek has mostly good system connection from the mangroves to the top of the subunit with the exception of a barrier at the Palm Tree Road crossing. 
• Some of the estuarine and coastal freshwater wetlands have been bunded to form ponded pastures for cattle grazing.
• The supply dam for the Port of Hay Point is located near the Bruce highway.

Main image. Sandy Creek, looking downstream from Ernest Evans bridge - provided by Reef Catchments.

Alligator Creek key messages

• The Alligator Creek subunit has large areas of volcanics and alluvium.
• The headwaters are siltstone and mudstone, volcanilithic sandstone and conglomerate.
• The lower parts include alluvial fans (shallow), mangrove wetlands, gravelly estuarine channels and banks, supratidal flats and coastal grasslands.
• Slopes are to 300 metres ASL in the headwaters and down to 10 metres ASL on the coastal flats.
• The coastal plain is modified for sugar cane production.
• Cane grows adjacent to much of the channel, however there is some good riparian, particularly in the headwaters and near the coast.
• Groundwater extraction from the Alligator Creek system (and Sandy Creek) has lowered the water table resulting in some sea water intrusion and there is intrusion along Splitters Creek.
• There are open channels and pipelines associated with the Eton Water Supply Scheme, which extend from Kinchant Dam down to the Dawlish area to the immediate north-west of Sarina.

Sarina Beach key messages

• The Sarina Beach subunit (Hay Point) includes short coastal catchments flowing from small hills (to 100 metres ASL) of granitic origin, with some alluvium lower in the system.
• Creeks are relatively shallow and ill-defined until the estuarine reaches, where they become wider and more well-defined.
• Louisa Creek estuary supports a very diverse mangrove community including species such as Osbornia octodonta, Heritiera littoralis and Pemphis acidula, which are relatively rare species growing towards their southern range limit.
• Coastal dune formation with perched aquifers (limited groundwater) and lakes.
• The Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal and adjacent Hay Point Coal Terminal is one of the largest coal terminals on the east coast of Australia (Port of Hay Point).
• A perched coastal lake (modified) just south of Hay Point provides good bird habitat and is popular for bird watching.
• There are also old gold mines in this subunit.

Main image. Wetland, near Hay Point - provided by Reef Catchments.

Sugar cane farming overview

Sandy Creek catchment covers approximately 900 square kilometres with more than 50 per cent dominated by the production of sugar cane including sheds and headlands covering the fertile floodplain.  

Sugar cane is a perennial crop of the genus Saccharium, which was first introduced to Australia by the First Fleet in 1788. The first crop was planted in the Mackay region sometime around the 1860s, and sugar cane farming has become a major economic driver for the region. The three Mackay mills crushed more than 4,600,000 tonnes in the 2018 year*, with more than 40 percent supplied by the Sandy Creek subcatchment.

In 2016, 3.5 per cent of the region's working population of 62,014 is estimated to have worked in the Agriculture, forestry and fishing industries.** However, it should be noted that many landholders working within the agriculture sector have additional off-farm income with positions within the mining sector.

CANEGROWERS Australia Limited is the peak industry body that advances and protects the interest of growers including through providing advocacy support, insurance and the delivery of the SmartCane Best Management Practice (BMP) program.

Sugar Research Australia (SRA) is the industry-owned body tasked with research, development and adoption projects to ensure a productive and sustainable industry.

Locally Sandy Creek sugar cane farmers are supported by the Mackay Area Productivity Service (MAPS), which provides advice and extension to growers. The MAPS works across all areas of the industry to support growers including pests, disease, weeds, varieties, nutrition, irrigation and harvesting. The SRA also supports growers through investments in and management of research development and adoption projects that drive productivity, profitability and sustainability.

Growers and milling businesses pay a levy for the above industry support and services.

Main image. Sugar cane cropping and dense riparian vegetation, Bakers Creek - provided by Reef Catchments.

See links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following literature.

*CANEGROWERS Annual Report 2018/19 (CANEGROWERS 2019)

**Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday (SA4) (312) (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2019)

Sugar cane production

The sugar cane crop generally has a five year crop cycle, which can be extended depending on the sugar cane maintaining yield. Cane is generally harvested annually. In 2018, approximately 32,917,300 hectares of cane was harvested in the Sandy Creek subcatchment.

After a crop cycle, blocks are generally fallowed over the wet season before being planted between April and September. Fallow paddocks allow the sugar cane monoculture to be interrupted, with soil health benefits for the following crop. Fallow paddock can be left bare, grassed or planted with a legume cover crop (e.g. green manure) or a commercial crop (e.g. soya bean or peanuts). Legumes provide the additional benefit of increasing nitrogen in the soil (i.e. fixing) and making it available for the subsequent 'plant cane'.

When sugar cane is planted, the first crop is called ‘plant cane’ and this crop is generally left to grow for 14 to 16 months before being harvested. After the plant cane is harvested the next crop is the first ratoon, which grows from the stool following the harvest. There are generally four ratoons before cane is removed from the block and fallowed.

During the harvest, the leaf matter is removed from the stalk of the cane and separated. The cane stalk is cut into billets roughly six inches long and collected in bins to be sent to the mill. The green leaf matter is returned to the paddock to provide a ‘green cane trash blanket’. The trash blanket provides a number of benefits to the cane including providing cover to minimise erosion during rainfall events, and retaining moisture in the soil.

Sugar cane requires additional nutrients to ensure maximum yield for the crop, and pesticide application to control pest pressures such as weeds and cane grubs. Sugar cane requires a proportion of fertiliser when planted and then the balance applied at 'top dressing' approximately eight weeks after planting or during the initial 'hilling up' stage.

Ratoons receive a single application of fertiliser approximately six weeks after the harvest when they are starting to actively grow. If harvested late in the year, ratoons are fertilised sooner and before the wet season arrives.

The production of sugar cane requires multiple application of pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, to minimise the impact of pests to the crop. Poor pesticide management results in reduced yields, as the crop has to compete with pests for space, light and nutrients, or the crop becomes a food source (e.g. cane grubs feed on the roots of the sugarcane). Most fungicides and some insecticides are applied at the planting stage. Insecticide can also be applied to ratoons for cane grub control. The herbicide spray window generally starts around September with pre-emergent or residual herbicides applied prior to the wet season and knockdowns applied up to and during the wet season if required.

Ratoons can require additional fertiliser and the application of pesticides following the harvest. Early storms (which can begin in October) or an early start to the wet season can pose a risk to the environment due to water quality from runoff or deep drainage losses. 

Sandy Creek is part of the Mackay Sugar milling area and has three mills in the region: Farleigh, Marian and Racecourse. The harvest or ‘crush’ begins around the middle of June and is generally completed by December, however it can be later due to weather or breakdown/maintenance of the mills.

Water and irrigation

Sugar cane requires a minimum of 1,500 millimetres per year of effective rainfall or irrigation to grow. Wet season rain provides much of the water needed for the crop to grow in the Sandy subcatchment, and throughout the region many farms are considered 'dry land' in that they only have rainfall to irrigate their crop without the availability of additional or supplementary irrigation.

Growers within much of the Sandy Creek subcatchment have irrigation water provided by Kinchant Dam and a constructed earth channel and pipeline system, as part of the Eton Water Supply Scheme. In the Bakers Creek subunit, natural flow is supplemented by an inter-basin transfer via an irrigation channel from the Pioneer River at Dumbleton Weir.

The Eton scheme was established after a prolonged drought impacted the sugar industry during the 1960s. The infrastructure for the scheme was established in 1975. The scheme utilises the wet season rainfall, harvesting water from the Pioneer River during times of high flows. Water from the Pioneer River is pumped into Kinchant Dam from Mirani Weir through an open channel for distribution through the Eton scheme.

Kinchant Dams has a capacity of more than 62,000 megalitres, which is distributed to about 300 cane farms through a network of pump stations, 35 kilometres of open channels and 130 kilometres of pipes.

The sugar cane industry is actively involved in mitigation activities to improve the quality of the water* leaving the subcatchment.** ^

Main image. Kinchant Dam - provided by Reef Catchments.

See the links at the end of this map journal for further information on the following literature.

*Sandy Creek Sub-catchment Water Quality Monitoring Project. 2015 – 2016 (Wallace et al. 2017)

**SmartCane BMP, Your Farm, Your Way (SmartCane 2019)

^ABCD Guides (Reef Catchments 2019)

Last updated: 18 November 2025