WATER MONITORING
DELIVERS CRYSTAL
CLEAR MESSAGE
Research scientist, CSIRO, Land and Water
Dr Rebecca Bartley explains the first year
water quality results from the Mt Wickham
large-scale remediation site.
Successful
collaborative
partnerships
A strategic priority of the LDC
project is to deliver water quality
outcomes for the Reef.
With monitoring, LDC is learning
more about how, when and where
sediment moves. This means
graziers can respond better to help
reduce sediment flowing out into
the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
Glen Rae.
Nine properties in the Bowen,
Broken and Bogie (BBB) catchment
make up the LDC Community
Water Quality Monitoring Group.
This group has been
established to better
understand the water
quality variations
throughout the BBB
catchment, with a
focus on sediment
and nutrient
concentrations
throughout a range
of flow events
Each landholder had the
opportunity to discuss their
individual results in more detail
with the scientists on
the night.
A similar event will be held
“Water
in June to review the
quality
2019-2020 wet season
monitoring gives
sample results.
you a benchmark
The Community
to work out whether
Water Quality
you’re going forwards
Monitoring Group
or backwards with your
data is shared with
sediment retention.”
the Queensland
Glen Rea, Kirknie
Government
Station
Scientists Steve Lewis
modelling team. The
results are being used
and Zoe Bainbridge from
The Centre for Tropical
to enhance the Paddock
to Reef model and improve
Water and Aquatic Ecosystem
Research (TropWATER) trained
confidence in load estimates and
landholders on how to collect and
results for the BBB catchment.
store water samples.
The LDC Community Water Quality
The landholder samplers collected
Sampling for sediments and
103 water samples during the 2018-
nutrients in the Bowen-Broken-
and-Bogie catchments 2018-2019
2019 wet season.
wet season is available on the LDC
These results were reviewed at a
website.
dinner event held in Collinsville
The 2019-2020 wet season booklet
in June last year, attended by
members of the water quality
will be available later this year.
monitoring group and TropWATER’s
Steve and Zoe.
12
LDC is collaborating with partners
to monitor project outcomes:
• JCU TropWATER trained the
Community Water Quality
Monitoring Group, analyses the
samples and reports back to
the group with results.
• CSIRO undertakes gold
standard monitoring on LDC
landscape remediation sites
encompassing water sampling
instrumentation, land and bio
assessments, as well as terrain
analysis. These sites include Mt
Wickham, Mt Pleasant, Glen
Bowen and Strathbogie (initially
installed under NESP).
• Fruition Environmental ensures
water samples from gully sites
are collected, transported and
processed in a timely manner,
and with required protocol.
• Griffith University is compiling
detailed characterisation
and prioritisation of gully
works throughout the BBB
using extensive LiDAR, soil
characteristics and historical
photographs.
• Department of Agriculture and
Fisheries (DAF) supports many
forms of monitoring from soil
sampling, mapping, economics
support and ground cover
trends.