Australian Natural Resources Atlas

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Water Resources - Quality - Surface Water Quality Measurement Station

Location map of Basin No.134

Surface Water Quality Measurement Station ID: 134001B

About this surface water quality measurement station

Station IDCatchment Area (km2)Start of recordEnd of Record
134001B 1,425 no data no data 
 Electrical Conductivity (EC)pHTotal Phosphorus (mg/L)Total Nitrogen (mg/L)Faecal Coliforms (mg/L)Turbidity (mg/L)Blue-green Algae (cells/mL)
Exceedence ClassNo Data No Data No Data No Data No Data No Data No Data 
Minimum      - 
Maximum      - 
Median      - 
TrendNo Trend No Trend No Data No Data No Data No Trend No Data 

Salinity: Salinity describes the salt concentration in water. Usually measured in terms of the electrical conductivity (EC) of the water in units of micro siemens per cubic centimetre (m Scm-1). EC is an appropriate indicator of salinity, as it is proportional to the concentration of total dissolved salts and is easily measured in the field or by laboratory analysis. Salinity is also sometimes measured directly (as is the case in Western Australia) in terms of total dissolved salts (TDS).

Turbidity: Turbidity is a measure of the clarity, 'dirtiness' or light scattering/absorbing capacity of water, which is roughly proportional to the type and concentration of suspended matter. It is therefore commonly used as an indicator of the amount of suspended solids in the water column. Turbidity is usually measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), which provide a measure of the capacity of light to penetrate through water. Total suspended solids (TSS) measured in milligrams per litre (mgL-1) is also used as a less accurate measure of turbidity in some instances and by some States (i.e., WA), although it is recognised that non-solid or dissolved substances within water can also affect turbidity.

Nutrients: There are a number of nutrients that effect the quality of surface waters. These include nitrogen, phosphorous and organic carbon. These nutrients can occur in a range of chemical forms. Two measure of nutrient concentration in surface waters, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were assessed as part of the Audit. Total Nitrogen - is a measure that sums the concentration of the major forms of nitrogen including ammonia, organic nitrogen, nitrate and nitrite. Total phosphorus - is a measure that sums the concentration of all forms of phosphorus in the water column including dissolved forms, insoluble particulate forms and phosphorus already incorporated in phytoplankton. Both variables require laboratory analysis of samples collected in the field for accurate measurement. While national guidelines for both total phosphorus and total nitrogen are established in units of micro grams per litre (m gL-1), State and Territory guideline specification and operational practice utilise units of milligrams per litre (mgL-1).

pH: The acidity / alkalinity of surface waters is measured in units of pH which are a logarithmic scale measure of the concentration of free hydrogen (H ) ions in solution. Values at the low end of the pH scale (1-7) represent extreme to neutral acidity, while values at the high end of the pH scale (7-14) are a measure of the neutral to extreme alkalinity of water.

Blue-Green algae: Algae Blue green algal blooms are usually indicative of poor water quality in terms of high nutrient levels often responsible for causing the blooms and also in terms of toxins associated with the algae. Blooms can result in oxygen depletion, bad odours and reduced amenity values. Blue green algal blooms are measured by counting the number of algal cells per a standard sized sample and are measured in units of cells per millilitre (cells/mL). Algal cell counts above accepted background densities represent an algal bloom. Bloom cell densities are classed into three alert levels low, medium and high.

Further information

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