For
Coliban Water
Of interest to
Individuals and organisation, including government bodies who:
- wish to demonstrate the value of stream frontage programs
- are interested in finding the priority pollutants in their systems
Background
Coliban Water has invested in the North Central Catchment Management Authority’s (NCCMA) Stream Frontage Management Program (SFMP) along the Campaspe River which aims to improve its ecological condition by improving riparian vegetation and stock exclusion. AQUEST was commissioned to undertake a five-year monitoring program to assess the benefits of the SFMP on the ecological condition of the river.
Key points
- This works monitoring program aims to show the value of investing in the SFMP to reduce nutrient enrichment and faecal contamination in the Campaspe River and to improve its ecological health
- AQUEST uses a ‘multiple lines of evidence’ approach to understand the benefits of the SFM Program. This includes surface water physico-chemistry, nutrient and faecal analysis, aquatic macroinvertebrate survey, determination of nutrient bioavailability, water toxicity assessment and sediment and water chemistry.
- So far, assessments show the Campaspe River to be generally of good quality and indicate signs of reducing nutrient inputs, particularly in the mid reaches. However, other reaches indicate multiple impacts from wastewater (treated discharges and untreated such as septic leakage), agricultural and urban runoff, poor habitat condition and unrestricted stock access.
- The full benefits of the program are expected to be seen over time. Measurable improvements are seen at many sites, while at others, results are complicated by the surrounding residential, industrial and agricultural land-uses which create additional challenges for stream management
Stream Frontage Management Benefits for the Campaspe River
Dr. Jackie Myers @ 10ASM 2021
Expected completion date
2023
For more info see the accompanying documents or contact: Jackie.Myers@rmit.edu.au
#Works Monitoring #Campaspe River #Coliban Water # stream frontage management works #healthy rivers #AQUEST #RMIT
