Water, Land and People - Goulburn Broken Catchment ...

Monitoring Program
Written by Greg Smith, Goulburn-Murray Water
Program Goal: To understand the water quality and
quantity characteristics of surface drainage and ground water
systems. To detect trends in water quality and quantity over
time and identify areas requiring further investigation. To
identify progress in achieving catchment strategy targets.
Activities and achievements
Surface water
Monitoring of surface water management systems for
flow and quality continued throughout the year. Flow and
salinity were continuously monitored while nutrients,
suspended solids, turbidity and pH were tested fortnightly.
Analysis of all data was undertaken, published and
reported to stakeholders.
Estimated Total Phosphorous loads from irrigation drains
The 5-year rolling average phosphorus load continued
to decline and remained below the target value for
reduction of nutrient loads from irrigation drains.
A review of the Biological monitoring program (in
streams near surface drain outfalls) was undertaken and
concluded that no consistent long-term environmental
impact from irrigation drain discharges could be
determined. As a result the program has been suspended.
An annual report on nutrient export from irrigation
drains was prepared including the following graph
showing estimated Total Phosphorous (TP).
Groundwater
Routine bore monitoring, database input and bore
maintenance continued. Analysis of groundwater from a
selection of public groundwater pumps also continued.
ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
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