River Health in the New South Wales Lower North Coast, Hunter and Central Coast Catchments

A report of AusRivAS assessments 1994 - 1999
Grant Hose and Eren Turak
Environment Protection Agency, 2004
ISBN 0 642 55099 9 ISSN 1447-1280

Hunt09 - Chichester River near Hut

Site Condition Summary
Sampling Data and Assessments
Site report cards

Site Condition Summary

The catchment above this site was within the Barrington Tops National Park. The native riparian vegetation was largely intact, but some grazing occurred beyond the riparian zone.

Water quality at the site was good with nutrients and other physico-chemical water quality variables within expected ranges.

Biological assessments indicated the site was in good condition, with macroinvertebrate communities containing taxa typical of fast flowing escarpment streams. Single season models for both habitats gave O/E-Taxa values ranging from 0.78 to 1.17.

Combined season models for both habitats yielded O/E values in band A for all assessments. Scirtidae (beetles) were predicted but notably absent from all riffle samples while both Dixidae (true flies) and Dytiscidae (beetles) were also predicted but not collected in any edge samples.

Location Map

Location Details
Map Name	Chichester 9233-4-N
Map Zone	56
Map Scale	1:25000
Easting	365800
Northing	6441100
Distance from source (m)	13960
Elevation (m asl)	230
Average Annual Rainfall (mm)	850

Single Season Assessments

Edge
	Spring '94	Autumn '95	Spring '95	Autumn '96
	4-Oct-94	6-Apr-95	3-Oct-95	3-Apr-96
O/E Taxa	1.17	0.78	0.78	0.91
Band	X	B	B	A
O/E SIGNAL	0.97	0.98	1.14	0.96

Riffle
	Spring '94	Autumn '95	Spring '95	Autumn '96
	4-Oct-94	6-Apr-95	3-Oct-95	3-Apr-96
O/E Taxa	1.02	1.08	1.08	0.84
Band	A	A	A	B
O/E SIGNAL	0.97	0.99	0.97	0.92

Combined Season Assessments

Edge
Seasons	SPR94AUT95	AUT95SPR95	SPR95AUT96
Model	Eastern	Eastern	Eastern
O/E Taxa	1.12	0.89	0.84
Band	A	A	A
O/E SIGNAL	0.98	1.05	1.03

Riffle
Seasons	SPR94AUT95	AUT95SPR95	SPR95AUT96
O/E Taxa	1	1	1.06
Band	A	A	A
O/ E SIGNAL	1.01	0.99	0.99

Taxa Collected

X= Taxa Predicted & Collected, O = Taxa Predicted & NOT Collected, + = Taxa Collected & NOT Predicted

Taxa Collected
			Spring '94	Autumn '95	Spring '95	Autumn '96
Phylum	Class/Order	Family	4-Oct-94	6-Apr-95	3-Oct-95	3-Apr-96
Annelida	Oligochaeta		+			+
Arachnida	Hydracarina		X	X	X	X
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Dytiscidae	O	O	O	O
Insecta	Coleoptera	Elmidae	X	X	X	O
Insecta	Coleoptera	Gyrinidae	X	O	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydrophilidae	X	X	O	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Psephenidae			+
Insecta	Diptera	Ceratopogonidae	+
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	X	O	O	X
Insecta	Diptera	Dixidae	O	O	O	O
Insecta	Diptera	Empididae		+	+
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	X		O	O
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	X	O	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Ameletopsidae				+
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	X	O	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae		+
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Oniscigastridae	+
Insecta	Hemiptera	Corixidae	+	X	+	X
Insecta	Hemiptera	Gerridae	X	X	O	X
Insecta	Hemiptera	Notonectidae	X	X	X	O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Veliidae	X	X	O	X
Insecta	Odonata	Aeshnidae				+
Insecta	Odonata	Gomphidae		+
Insecta	Odonata	Synlestidae		+
Insecta	Plecoptera	Gripopterygidae	+	+	+	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calamoceratidae	X	O	X	O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calocidae			+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Conoesucidae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Helicopsychidae	+		+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae				+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydroptilidae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Leptoceridae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Philorheithridae				+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Tasimiidae	+		+
Platyhelminthes	Turbellaria	Dugesiidae	+		+

X= Taxa Predicted & Collected, O = Taxa Predicted & NOT Collected, + = Taxa Collected & NOT Predicted

Riffle
			Spring '94	Autumn '95	Spring '95	Autumn '96
Phylum	Class/Order	Family	4-Oct-94	6-Apr-95	3-Oct-95	3-Apr-96
Annelida	Oligochaeta		+	X		X
Arachnida	Hydracarina		X	X	X	X
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae	+	X		O
Insecta	Coleoptera	Dytiscidae		+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Elmidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydrophilidae	+			+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Psephenidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Ptilodactylidae	+			+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Scirtidae	O	O	O	O
Insecta	Coleoptera	Staphylinidae	+
Insecta	Diptera	Athericidae				+
Insecta	Diptera	Blephariceridae			+	+
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Diamesinae	+	+		+
Insecta	Diptera	Empididae			+	+
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Podonominae			+
Insecta	Diptera	Simuliidae	X	X	X	O
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	O	O	X	O
Insecta	Diptera	Tipulidae	X	+	O	+
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Ameletopsidae	+	+
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae	+	+		+
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Megaloptera	Corydalidae	O	X	X	X
Insecta	Odonata	Aeshnidae	X	X	X	O
Insecta	Plecoptera	Eustheniidae			+
Insecta	Plecoptera	Gripopterygidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calamoceratidae	+			+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calocidae		X	+	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Conoesucidae	X		X	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Ecnomidae		+		+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Glossosomatidae		+	+	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Helicopsychidae				+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydrobiosidae	X	X	O	O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydroptilidae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Leptoceridae	X	O	X	O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Philopotamidae	O	X	X	O
Nematomorpha	Gordioidea	Gordiidae				+
Platyhelminthes	Turbellaria	Dugesiidae		O		X

Water Quality Data

	Spring '94	Autumn '95	Spring '95	Autumn '96
Variable	4-Oct-94	6-Apr-95	3-Oct-95	3-Apr-96
Water Temperature (°C)	15.7	15.8	15.4	16.4
Conductivity (µS/Cm)	18	34	27	3
Alkalinity (mg CaCO₃ /L)	14	14	11	16
pH	7.3	6.04	7	7.7
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)	9.6	10.06	7.8	9.5
Turbidity (NTU)	0	0	0.2	0
Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L)	<12	<12	<12	<12
Free Reactive Phosphorus (mg/L)
NOx Nitrogen (mg/L)	10	<10	10	40
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L)	<0.3	<0.3	<0.3	<0.3
Nitrate (mg/L)
Nitrite (mg/L)

Key

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