SLIDE 1
South Australia’s Environment Protection Authority
Water Quality Monitoring Programs
g
Water Quality Monitoring Programs g EPA Murraylands Team Lake - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Water Quality Monitoring Programs g EPA Murraylands Team Lake - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
South Australias Environment Protection Authority Water Quality Monitoring Programs g EPA Murraylands Team Lake Albert - Salinity 25000 Meningie Water Level Recorder 20000 Lake Albert: Opening 15000 SPC (uS/cm) 10000 5000 0
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Lake Albert - Salinity
5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 SPC (uS/cm)
Meningie Water Level Recorder Lake Albert: Opening
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Salinity Transect – 2011
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Salinity Transect – 2015
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Salinity Transect – 2015
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Groundwater Monitoring
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 pH
Groundwater Monitoring
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 pH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 pH
Campbell Park Currency Creek Point Sturt
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200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Acidity (mg/L)
Groundwater Monitoring
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Acidity (mg/L) 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Acidity (mg/L)
Campbell Park Currency Creek Point Sturt
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Currency & Finniss River
5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 SPC (uS/cm)
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Boggy & Hunters Creeks
10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 SPC (uS/cm)
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Coorong
20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000 SPC (US/CM)
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Thankyou
- Our data is freely available online (www.epa.sa.gov.au)
- Reports and Papers published
- Ben Hamilton
Work Phone (08) 8204 2021 benjamin.hamilton@epa.sa.gov.au
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Lake Alexandrina
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Zooplankton
Zooplankton
- Zooplankton form a critical step in the food chain, often acting as an
indicator for environmental conditions and water quality. As part of a service provision to DEWNR, the EPA collects zooplankton samples which are sorted by Russ Shiel at Adelaide University.
SLIDE 16
Benthic Chambers
Benthic Chambers
- Despite neutral pH and alkalinity, persistent levels of acidity are recorded
during monitoring at some sites in the CLLMM region (e.g. Boggy and Hunters Creek)
- Acid-sulfate soils were exposed during the drought. Upon rewetting,
surface water provides a pathway for acidity and dissolved metals to enter surface water.
- Installation of “benthic chambers” provided a unique insight into how
sediment and overlying surface waters interact, allowing us to measure acidity fluxes directly, and use results to predict interactions under future climate scenarios
- Results showed that no chamber went acidic (pH<6.5) but fluxes of acidity
(predominantly soluble metals such as Fe) were present but this was counteracted by a greater flux of alkalinity (due to sulfate reduction)
- Suggests that these “hotspots” may not acidify under lower flow conditions
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Benthic chambers are pictured below. Supplied with electricity via solar power, the chamber stirs constantly. Samples were taken by hand every fortnight for six weeks.