Water

Publications

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

Hunter River

Hunt573 - Hunter River downstream of Glenbawn Dam

Site Condition Summary

This site is downstream from Glenbawn Dam, with flow influenced by dam release. As shown in the adjacent photo, the river at this site was slow flowing at the time of sampling.. Beyond the fringing willows, the adjacent land was used for grazing and viticulture.

The instream habitat appeared degraded by siltation, possibly due to surrounding agricultural practices and bank erosion due to river regulation. Large mats of filamentous algae were recorded during both visits to this site. Water quality was reasonably good, with low nutrient concentrations recorded on both visits.

Single season models indicated macroinvertebrate communities were considerably impaired in both seasons, with O/E-Taxa values of 0.50 and 0.51 for Autumn and Spring respectively. The combined season edge model returned an O/E-Taxa value of 0.81. Predicted Diptera (true flies) and Ephemeroptera (mayflies) families were rarely collected.

Location Map

Location Map

Location Details
Map Name Scone 9033-1-N
Map Zone 56
Map Scale 1:25000
Easting 309700
Northing 6444500
Distance from source (m) 109914
Elevation (m asl) 180
Average Annual Rainfall (mm) 650

Sampling Data and Assessments

Single Season Assessments

Edge
  Autumn '99 Spring '99
  5-May-99 13-Dec-99
O/E Taxa 0.50 0.51
Band B C
O/E SIGNAL 0.89 0.81

Riffle

Combined Season Assessments

Edge
Seasons AUT99SPR99
Model Eastern
O/E Taxa 0.80
Band B
O/E SIGNAL 0.87

Riffle

Taxa Collected

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

Edge
      Autumn '99 Spring '99
Phylum Class/Order Family 5-May-99 13-Dec-99
Annelida Oligochaeta   + X
Arachnida Hydracarina   X O
Crustacea Decapoda Atyidae O X
Insecta Coleoptera Dytiscidae O X
Insecta Coleoptera Elmidae O O
Insecta Coleoptera Hydraenidae +  
Insecta Coleoptera Hydrophilidae X O
Insecta Coleoptera Staphylinidae +  
Insecta Collembola Collembola +  
Insecta Diptera Ceratopogonidae + O
Insecta Diptera Chironominae O O
Insecta Diptera Orthocladiinae X O
Insecta Diptera Stratiomyidae +  
Insecta Diptera Tanypodinae O O
Insecta Ephemeroptera Baetidae O O
Insecta Ephemeroptera Caenidae X O
Insecta Ephemeroptera Leptophlebiidae O O
Insecta Hemiptera Corixidae X X
Insecta Hemiptera Gerridae O X
Insecta Hemiptera Hebridae +  
Insecta Hemiptera Mesoveliidae   +
Insecta Hemiptera Notonectidae + X
Insecta Hemiptera Veliidae X X
Insecta Lepidoptera Pyralidae +  
Insecta Odonata Coenagrionidae +  
Insecta Odonata Gomphidae O  
Insecta Odonata Libellulidae O  
Insecta Plecoptera Gripopterygidae   O
Insecta Trichoptera Calamoceratidae O O
Insecta Trichoptera Hydroptilidae   O
Insecta Trichoptera Leptoceridae X X
Mollusca Gastropoda Physidae   O
Platyhelminthes Turbellaria Dugesiidae +  

Riffle

Water Quality Data

  Autumn '99 Spring '99
Variable 5-May-99 13-Dec-99
Water Temperature (°C) 19.3 21.5
Conductivity (µS/Cm) 314 361
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 7.8 8.1
Alkalinity (mg CaCO3 /L) 70 125
pH 8.27 8.4
Turbidity (NTU) 22 4.4
Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L) 24 44
Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L) 7 14
NOx Nitrogen (µg/L) 13 16
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L) 0.30 0.34
Ammonia (µg/L) 10 <3
Nitrate (µg/L) 12 16
Nitrite (µg/L) <1 <1

Key

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