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
Hunt542 - Black Creek downstream of Cessnock
Site Condition Summary
This site received effluent from Cessnock sewage treatment plant (STP). Land adjacent to the site was used for cattle grazing and some cropping, however, the major disturbance at the site was from the STP upstream.
At this site the native riparian vegetation had been largely removed and replaced with exotic species, with some bare areas present. Clay pipes and rubbish also littered the riparian zone. Visual assessments indicated the instream habitat was highly degraded by sedimentation and infestation of exotic vegetation.
Water quality was poor as a result of the effluent inputs upstream. All nutrient concentrations and conductivity were very high. Despite the gross pollution, O/E-SIGNAL values were high particularly for the Spring 1998 assessments. This may be due to the collection in spring 1998 of Leptoceridae (caddisfly) which is often considered a pollution-sensitive family. In contrast, O/E-Taxa values indicate the macroinvertebrate community at the site was greatly impoverished.
Location Map
| Map Name | Cessnock 9132-2-N |
| Map Zone | 56 |
| Map Scale | 1:25000 |
| Easting | 346100 |
| Northing | 6368700 |
| Distance from source (m) | 10681 |
| Elevation (m asl) | 60 |
| Average Annual Rainfall (mm) | 950 |
Sampling Data and Assessments
Single Season Assessments
| Autumn '98 | Spring '98 | |
|---|---|---|
| 13-May-98 | 15-Oct-98 | |
| O/E Taxa | 0.34 | 0.29 |
| Band | C | C |
| O/E SIGNAL | 0.70 | 0.98 |
Riffle
Combined Season Assessments
| Seasons | AUT98SPR98 |
|---|---|
| Model | Eastern |
| O/E Taxa | 0.51 |
| Band | B |
| O/E SIGNAL | 0.84 |
Riffle
Taxa Collected
X= Taxa Predicted & Collected, O = Taxa Predicted & NOT Collected, + = Taxa Collected & NOT Predicted
| Autumn '98 | Spring '98 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phylum | Class/Order | Family | 13-May-98 | 15-Oct-98 |
| Annelida | Hirudinea | Glossiphoniidae | + | |
| Annelida | Oligochaeta | + | + | |
| Arachnida | Hydracarina | O | X | |
| Crustacea | Decapoda | Atyidae | O | O |
| Crustacea | Ostracoda | O | ||
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Dytiscidae | X | O |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Gyrinidae | + | |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Hydraenidae | O | |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Hydrophilidae | X | O |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Scirtidae | O | O |
| Insecta | Diptera | Ceratopogonidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Chironominae | O | X |
| Insecta | Diptera | Culicidae | O | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Orthocladiinae | X | + |
| Insecta | Diptera | Simuliidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Diptera | Stratiomyidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Tanypodinae | X | O |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Leptophlebiidae | O | O |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Corixidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Gerridae | O | O |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Hydrometridae | O | O |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Mesoveliidae | O | |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Notonectidae | + | |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Veliidae | O | O |
| Insecta | Odonata | Aeshnidae | + | |
| Insecta | Odonata | Coenagrionidae | + | + |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Leptoceridae | O | X |
| Mollusca | Gastropoda | Physidae | + | |
| Platyhelminthes | Turbellaria | Dugesiidae | + | + |
Riffle
Water Quality Data
| Autumn '98 | Spring '98 | |
|---|---|---|
| Variable | 13-May-98 | 15-Oct-98 |
| Water Temperature (°C) | 15 | 18.1 |
| Conductivity (µS/Cm) | 900 | 1277 |
| Alkalinity (mg CaCO3 /L) | 46 | 76 |
| pH | 7.04 | 7.17 |
| Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) | 8 | |
| Turbidity (NTU) | 170 | 24 |
| Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L) | 570 | 480 |
| Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L) | 100 | 350 |
| NOx Nitrogen (µg/L) | 7500 | 3700 |
| Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L) | 5.1 | 1.4 |
| Nitrate (µg/L) | 6900 | 3700 |
| Nitrite (µg/L) | 580 | 50 |
Key
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