Urban and industrial developments in southeast Queensland will have to meet new guidelines to reduce water pollution from storm run-off and other contaminants.
From March 2011, future development applications before Queensland councils will have to adhere to the State Planning Policy for Healthy Waters.
The policy comes on the heels of a new study showing only minor improvements in the region's waterways.
Queensland Climate Change Minister Kate Jones said it was hoped the policy would minimise pollution from urban stormwater as the population grew.
"All councils will have to look at the effects of the development to see whether it is reducing contaminants in the waterways," Ms Jones told reporters in Brisbane.
"As our population continues to grow, it's vital that we arm councils with development assessment processes that reduce run-off into our waterways."
Part of the policy requires developers to install long ditches and artificial wetlands to clean up and slow down stormwater flows before they are discharged to waterways.
A study out on Tuesday showed there had been only a slight improvement in southeast Queensland's water quality.
The Healthy Water Partnership examined 400 freshwater catchments, estuaries and marine areas across the region over the last year, ranking them from A to F.
There was no significant change in the overall health of SEQ's freshwater streams from 2009 to 2010, the Ecosystem Health Report Card said.
No freshwater catchments were awarded an A for water quality.
No estuaries received an A, either.
The Lower Brisbane, Oxley Creek and Redlands freshwater catchments received Fs, as did the Oxley, Bremer, Logan, and Albert estuaries.
Only one marine area received an A, the Eastern Banks.
Professor Paul Greenfield from the Healthy Waterways Partnership said Moreton Bay only saw a mild improvement, from D to C.
The region was hard hit in 2009 by nutrients and sediments that were deposited in 2009 during heavy rain, and more than 250 tonnes of oil leaked into the bay in March 2009 from the container ship Pacific Adventurer.
Professor Greenfield said that despite the small improvement from 2009, Moreton Bay still fell short of its 10-year average of B for water quality.
"This highlights the need to build the resilience of our waterways and address diffuse source pollution," he said in a statement.
Although Moreton Bay has only partially recovered, more than half of the zones that were monitored showed some improvements in ecosystem health.
The health of estuaries varied across the region, demonstrating some increases and some declines.
There were improvements in Maroochy, Caboolture, Pine, Cabbage Tree and Tingalpa Estuaries, with the greatest improvement occurring in the Maroochy Estuary (D to C).
The greatest improvement occurred in Waterloo Bay (D+ to B), while Pumicestone Passage was the only region to drop a grade (C+ to D+).
The Liberal National Party (LNP) opposition said the waterways have gone backwards, with 40 per cent of tested locations showing no improvement or in worse condition than a year ago.
LNP spokesman for Climate Change Glen Elmes said the results were shocking and government policing hadn't made any difference.
"It's frightening to see the long lists of Fails for our estuaries. At Oxley, Bremer, Logan, and Albert there's been no improvement and we need some answers," Mr Elmes said in a statement.
He said the Bligh government had thrown $8 million at these locations to try to limit sediment run-off, but there'd been no improvement.
Deliberate corporate sponsored profit driven, ignorance (disregard) towards the environment.
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