| Survey/Project Number: | 920 Total No. of Sites: 0 |
| Survey/Project Name: | EPA Coorong Lower Lakes & Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Monitoring Program |
| Abstract: | The Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and previous environmental agencies whose data is stored in the EPA database, have been monitoring water quality at selected sites in the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) region and tributaries for over 40 years. In June 2008, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Working Group advised the South Australian Water Security Council that monitoring effort within the region should be increased to provide early warning of water quality changes and possible acidification precursors related to the oxidation of acid sulfate soil (ASS) material. A monitoring program was developed with input from experts in the fields of water quality, ASS and ecology. It was originally managed by the SA Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board, with the EPA reporting on the water quality component, and DENR, DWLBC, SA Water, PIRSA and the Department of Health also involved. In 2010, the EPA continued water quality monitoring, namely ambient water quality monitoring in the Lower Lakes and additional event-based monitoring in the Goolwa Channel region and parts of the Lower Lakes at greatest risk of acidification. The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources also requested that the EPA undertake some additional groundwater and benthic-ecology monitoring specifically in relation to ASS impacts and management actions. The groundwater component of the project continues a project conducted by Earth Systems environmental consulting firm as part of the Lower Lakes Acid Sulfate Soils Research Program. As part of an adaptive management approach, the revision of this Lower Lakes Region Monitoring Plan must consider the evaluation of monitoring efforts to develop a design which encompasses sound science to meet project objectives. They include assessing resilience in water quality and ecology, water quality impacts associated with the previous drying and the rewetting of sediments, assessing the effects of rewetting on biota, provide an early warning of any adverse water quality changes, provide data for water quality scenario reporting, to assess long-term changes in benthic ecology, and provide information for long-term planning. The broad services of the program are to monitor and sample water quality and ecology in the CLLMM region. This monitoring is primarily being undertaken to underpin the Adaptive Management Framework for the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Program and is a component of the December 2011 Murray Futures Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Monitoring Framework which was approved by the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities in December 2011. The main outcomes of the plan will be that monitoring will inform management decisions by: 1. assessing surface water quality for resilience and components of recovery 2. assessing the water quality impacts associated with the previous drying and the rewetting of sediments 3. provide an early warning of any adverse water quality changes 4. provide data for water quality scenario reporting 5. assess long term changes in benthic ecology 6. provide information for long term planning. |
| Start Date: | 01/07/2010 End Date: 30/06/2016 |
| Survey Type: | Other |
| Study Area Description: | Coorong and Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Aquatic area. |
| Objectives | |||
| Vegetation: | The monitoring program ('the Program') will involve monitoring of: 1) Surface water (includes ambient (lake-wide) and (receiving environments monitoring). 1.1) Ambient water quality - to assess ambient (lake-wide) water quality 1.2) Receiving Environments water quality - to assess presence of localised water quality issues (e.g. acidification, and previously acidified and recovering hotspots) and the effectiveness of management actions - to assess impacts of flow and water movements in post-drought environments 2) Groundwater - to monitor the groundwater level, water quality and flux of groundwater at lake bed piezometer sites 3) Ecological Impacts - to assess the impacts on benthic ecology and zooplankton that occur as a result of lowering lake levels, increased salinities and soil acidification; - to assess the recovery of the benthic ecosystem following a return of water levels, salinities and pH to pre-drought levels. | ||
| Fauna: | *** No fauna survey objectives recorded | ||
| Methodology | |||
| Vegetation: | Water quality Where possible, samples are collected from below the surface to ensure that they are representative of the overlying water. Where water is only 0.5 m deep or less, care will be taken to ensure that the sediment is not disturbed during sampling and samples will be clear of detritus. Details recorded include; - Exact sampling locations - Depth of sample collection - Water Quality parameters where applicable; and - Field observations (e.g. highly turbid water, dead fish present, odours, vegetation, macrophytes, etc.) All samples are delivered to the laboratory within recommended holding times (Regulatory monitoring and testing Water and wastewater sampling for further details (http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/pdfs/guide_wws.pdf). The majority of analyses are performed the Australian Water Quality Centre a NATA accredited laboratory using standard methods (APHA 2005). Exceptions are made with appropriately calibrated field instruments and alkalinity tests. When an alkalinity trigger level is exceeded, the laboratory supplies the results of analyses to the EPA in the shortest practical timeframe. Macroinvertebrates Macroinvertebrate samples will be taken by a combination of methods, and could include sweep nets and sediment cores. Observations will be made at time of sampling along with other measures of biological condition (vegetation, algal growth and sediment characteristics). All water quality samples will be collected from just below the water surface using standard methods, as previously described. | ||
| Fauna: | *** No vertebrate methodology recorded | ||
| Data Distribution Rules: | Public Dataset |
| Project Basis: | Vegetation : Habitat rehabilitation/restoration |
| Information Authority: |
Department for Environment and Heritage (BDBSA:Misc) - CLLMM Group
Environmental Protection Administration MEPA |