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
Hunt512 - Goulburn River downstream of Ulan Colliery
Site Condition Summary
This site is located near the Cassilis Ulan Road downstream of Ulan Colliery receives catchment runoff as well as discharges from the mine. The surrounding land was covered in native forest and the native riparian vegetation was mostly intact although some had been cleared and walking tracks created.
Water quality was generally good, except that conductivity was higher than expected on both sampling occasions. This was consistent with some inputs from the mine upstream. Visual assessments suggested instream habitat was good although there was some sedimentation which may be due catchment activities.
AusRivAS assessments indicated the macroinvertebrate community in the river contained most of the taxa expected. Both single and combined season models gave assessments close to 1 (band A).
The macroinvertebrate fauna collected were typical of those in edge habitats in the region. Notable omissions were Baetidae (mayfly) and Corixidae (true bug) which were predicted but not collected on either sampling occasion.
| Map Name | Uarbry 8833-1&4 |
| Map Zone | 55 |
| Map Scale | 1:50000 |
| Easting | 762700 |
| Northing | 6432200 |
| Distance from source (m) | 27908 |
| Elevation (m asl) | 400 |
| Average Annual Rainfall (mm) | 650 |
Sampling Data and Assessments
Single Season Assessments
| Autumn '97 | Spring '97 | |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Apr-97 | 20-Oct-97 | |
| O/E Taxa | 1.04 | 1.00 |
| Band | A | A |
| O/E SIGNAL | 0.99 | 1.01 |
Riffle
Combined Season Assessments
| Seasons | AUT97SPR97 |
|---|---|
| Model | Eastern |
| O/E Taxa | 0.93 |
| Band | A |
| O/E SIGNAL | 0.95 |
Riffle
Taxa Collected
X= Taxa Predicted & Collected, O = Taxa Predicted & NOT Collected, + = Taxa Collected & NOT Predicted
| Autumn '97 | Spring '97 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phylum | Class/Order | Family | 14-Apr-97 | 20-Oct-97 |
| Annelida | Oligochaeta | + | ||
| Arachnida | Hydracarina | + | + | |
| Crustacea | Decapoda | Atyidae | X | X |
| Crustacea | Ostracoda | + | ||
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Dytiscidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Gyrinidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Hydrophilidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Diptera | Ceratopogonidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Chironominae | X | O |
| Insecta | Diptera | Orthocladiinae | X | X |
| Insecta | Diptera | Simuliidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Stratiomyidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Tanypodinae | X | X |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Baetidae | O | O |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Caenidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Leptophlebiidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Corixidae | O | O |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Gerridae | O | |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Hebridae | + | |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Notonectidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Veliidae | X | O |
| Insecta | Odonata | Coenagrionidae | + | |
| Insecta | Odonata | Corduliidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Odonata | Gomphidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Odonata | Megapodagrionidae | + | |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Calamoceratidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Hydropsychidae | + | |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Leptoceridae | X | X |
| Mollusca | Gastropoda | Physidae | + | X |
| Mollusca | Gastropoda | Planorbidae | + |
Water Quality Data
| Autumn '97 | Spring '97 | |
|---|---|---|
| Variable | 14-Apr-97 | 20-Oct-97 |
| Water Temperature (°C) | 17 | 19.2 |
| Conductivity (µS/Cm) | 1600 | 1123 |
| Alkalinity (mg CaCO3 /L) | 49 | 87 |
| pH | 7.48 | 7.75 |
| Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| Turbidity (NTU) | 0 | 4.4 |
| Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L) | <12 | <12 |
| Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L) | ||
| NOx Nitrogen (µg/L) | 130 | 20 |
| Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L) | <0.3 | 0.37 |
| Nitrate (µg/L) | ||
| Nitrite (µg/L) |
Key
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