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

Hunt588 - Goulburn River at Kerrabee

Site Condition Summary
Sampling Data and Assessments
Site report cards

Site Condition Summary

Beyond the narrow riparian zone, this site was surrounded by a strip of grazing land. Beyond this were the Goulburn River and Wollemi National Parks.

The narrow riparian zone had been degraded by stock access, so much so that most riparian vegetation had been removed. What remained was dominated by exotic species. The river also appeared degraded by cattle access and siltation which had reduced the quality of the instream habitats. Water quality variables were all within the ranges expected for this type of river.

All AusRivAS models for the edge habitat indicated the macroinvertebrate fauna was similar in diversity to that expected under reference conditions. Samples from the riffle habitat indicated a varying degree of impairment, which was greater in December 1999 than in May that year. Although in band B, the December assessment indicates a loss of 53 % of taxa from riffle habitats at the site. Combined season assessment of the riffle indicated a slightly better but still disturbed condition.

Location Map

Location Details
Map Name	Kerrabee 8933-2-S
Map Zone	56
Map Scale	1:25000
Easting	247700
Northing	6410100
Distance from source (m)	150371
Elevation (m asl)	150
Average Annual Rainfall (mm)	650

Single Season Assessments

Edge
	Autumn '99	Spring '99
	5-May-99	14-Dec-99
O/E Taxa	0.96	1.09
Band	A	A
O/E SIGNAL	1.02	1.07

Riffle
	Autumn '99	Spring '99
	5-May-99	14-Dec-99
O/E Taxa	0.75	0.47
Band	B	B
O/E SIGNAL	0.94	0.96

Combined Season Assessments

Edge
Seasons	AUT99SPR99
Model	Eastern
O/E Taxa	0.98
Band	A
O/E SIGNAL	0.98

Riffle
Seasons	AUT99SPR99
O/E Taxa	0.65
Band	B
O/E SIGNAL	0.98

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	14-Dec-99
Annelida	Hirudinea		+
Arachnida	Hydracarina			+
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae	X	O
Crustacea	Ostracoda	Ostracoda		+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Dytiscidae	O	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Gyrinidae		+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydrophilidae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Dixidae		+
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Stratiomyidae	+	+
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	X	X
Insecta	Hemiptera	Corixidae	X	X
Insecta	Hemiptera	Gerridae	O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Hydrometridae		+
Insecta	Hemiptera	Notonectidae	X	O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Veliidae	O	X
Insecta	Odonata	Coenagrionidae	+	+
Insecta	Odonata	Corduliidae		+
Insecta	Odonata	Gomphidae	O	X
Insecta	Odonata	Libellulidae		+
Insecta	Odonata	Protoneuridae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calamoceratidae		+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae	+	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydroptilidae		+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Leptoceridae	X	X
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Corbiculidae	+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Lymnaeidae		+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Physidae	+	O
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Planorbidae		+

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

Riffle
			Autumn '99	Spring '99
Phylum	Class/Order	Family	5-May-99	14-Dec-99
Annelida	Oligochaeta		X	O
Arachnida	Hydracarina			X
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae		O
Crustacea	Decapoda	Palaemonidae	O
Insecta	Coleoptera	Elmidae	O	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Gyrinidae	+
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Simuliidae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Tabanidae	+	+
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	O	O
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	X	O
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae	X	O
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	O	X
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Pyralidae		O
Insecta	Megaloptera	Corydalidae	X	O
Insecta	Odonata	Gomphidae	X	O
Insecta	Plecoptera	Gripopterygidae	O	O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Ecnomidae		+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydrobiosidae	X	O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydroptilidae		O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Philopotamidae		O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Trichoptera	+
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Corbiculidae	O	O
Platyhelminthes	Turbellaria	Dugesiidae	O

Water Quality Data

	Autumn '99	Spring '99
Variable	5-May-99	14-Dec-99
Water Temperature (°C)	17.3	23.5
Conductivity (µS/Cm)	876	889
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)	10.6	6.1
Alkalinity (mg CaCO₃ /L)	200	66
pH	8.64	8.53
Turbidity (NTU)	10.9	70.5
Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L)	150	170
Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L)	38	45
NOx Nitrogen (µg/L)	25	19
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L)	<0.3	0.34
Ammonia (µg/L)	7	6
Nitrate (µg/L)	25	18
Nitrite (µg/L)	<1	<1

Key

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