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

Karu02 - Karuah River at Stroud Bridge

Site Condition Summary
Sampling Data and Assessments
Site report cards

Site Condition Summary

This site was on the lowland section of the Karuah River near the town of Stroud. The nearby countryside was used for grazing, but thick riparian vegetation, consisting of native and exotic species separated the river from the adjacent paddocks.

Visual assessments indicated the instream habitat was in good condition. Water quality was good on all sampling occasions with only low concentrations of nutrients detected.

Single and combined season AusRivAS assessments for the edge habitat indicated they had a fauna similar to that expected under reference condition. The O/E-Taxa values for the riffle habitat ranged between 0.64 in Spring 1994 to 0.96 in Autumn 1996. Combined season assessments ranged from 0.77 to 1.07.

Location Map

Location Details
Map Name	Dungog 9233-2-S
Map Zone	56
Map Scale	1:25000
Easting	401300
Northing	6414200
Distance from source (m)	56939
Elevation (m asl)	80
Average Annual Rainfall (mm)	1100

Single Season Assessments

Edge
	Spring '95	Autumn '96
	18-Oct-95	2-Apr-96
O/E Taxa	1.19	0.84
Band	X	A
O/E SIGNAL	0.98	1.05

Riffle
	Spring '94	Autumn '95	Spring '95	Autumn '96
	4-Oct-94	6-Apr-95	18-Oct-95	2-Apr-96
O/E Taxa	0.64	0.78	0.88	0.96
Band	B	B	A	A
O/E SIGNAL	0.99	1.03	0.97	0.97

Combined Season Assessments

Edge
Seasons	SPR95AUT96
Model	Eastern
O/E Taxa	1.05
Band	A
O/E SIGNAL	1.00

Riffle
Seasons	SPR94AUT95	AUT95SPR95	SPR95AUT96
O/E Taxa	0.77	0.93	1.07
Band	B	A	A
O/E SIGNAL	1.07	1.01	0.96

Taxa Collected

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

Edge
			Spring '95	Autumn '96
Phylum	Class/Order	Family	18-Oct-95	2-Apr-96
Arachnida	Hydracarina		X	X
Crustacea	Cladocera	Cladocera	+
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae	X	X
Crustacea	Isopoda	Sphaeromatidae	+	+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Dytiscidae	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Elmidae	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydraenidae	+	+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydrophilidae	X	O
Insecta	Coleoptera	Psephenidae		+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Scirtidae	+	+
Insecta	Diptera	Chironomidae	+
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Podonominae	+
Insecta	Diptera	Simuliidae		+
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	X	O
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Ephemeroptera	+
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	X	X
Insecta	Hemiptera	Corixidae	X	O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Gerridae	X	O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Notonectidae	+
Insecta	Hemiptera	Veliidae	O	O
Insecta	Odonata	Aeshnidae	+
Insecta	Odonata	Corduliidae		+
Insecta	Odonata	Gomphidae	O	O
Insecta	Odonata	Libellulidae	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calamoceratidae	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydrobiosidae		+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae	+	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydroptilidae	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Leptoceridae	X	X
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Corbiculidae		+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Hydrobiidae	+	+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Lymnaeidae	+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Physidae	X
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	18-Oct-95	2-Apr-96
Platyhelminthes	Turbellaria		O	O	O	X
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Hydrobiidae	+			+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Physidae	+
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Corbiculidae				+
Annelida	Oligochaeta	Oligochaeta	O	O	O	X
Arachnida	Hydracarina	Hydracarina	O	X	X	O
Crustacea	Cladocera	Cladocera	+
Crustacea	Isopoda	Sphaeromatidae	+	+	+	+
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Dytiscidae			+	+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydrophilidae	+	+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Staphylinidae	+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Elmidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Psephenidae	O	O	X	O
Insecta	Coleoptera	Chrysomelidae			+
Insecta	Diptera	Tipulidae	O	O	X	O
Insecta	Diptera	Simuliidae	O	X	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Empididae		+	+
Insecta	Diptera	Diamesinae			+
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	X	O	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Diptera	Diptera			+
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	O	X	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Ephemeroptera			+
Insecta	Hemiptera	Gerridae	+
Insecta	Lepidoptera	Pyralidae	+
Insecta	Megaloptera	Corydalidae	O	O	O	X
Insecta	Odonata	Gomphidae	O	O	O	O
Insecta	Odonata	Corduliidae	+	O		O
Insecta	Odonata	Libellulidae		+	+
Insecta	Plecoptera	Gripopterygidae	X	X	O	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydrobiosidae	X	O	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Glossosomatidae				+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydroptilidae			+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Philopotamidae	O	X	O	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae	X	X	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Ecnomidae			+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Conoesucidae	X		O
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calamoceratidae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Leptoceridae	O	X	X	O

Water Quality Data

	Spring '94	Autumn '95	Spring '95	Autumn '96
Variables	4-Oct-94	6-Apr-95	18-Oct-95	2-Apr-96
Water Temperature (°C)	17.3	18.5	20.8	21.6
Conductivity (µS/Cm)	316	184	232	121
Alkalinity (mg CaCO₃ /L)	11.1	9.85	8.3	6.9
pH	46	46	50	41
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)	7.8	7.06	7.2	7.17
Turbidity (NTU)	2	4	0.5	5.8
Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L)	20	<12	21	21
Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L)
NOx Nitrogen (µg/L)	<10	<10	10	10
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L)	0.35	<0.3	0.35	<0.3
Ammonia (µg/L)
Nitrate (µg/L)
Nitrite (µg/L)

Key

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