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

Karu573 - Khoribakh Creek at Dyers Crossing

Site Condition Summary
Sampling Data and Assessments
Site report cards

Site Condition Summary

Khoribakh Creek is a tributary of the Wallamba River which drains to Wallis Lake. Land immediately adjacent to the sampling site on the left bank was used for grazing with land on the right bank historically used as a dairy factory with remnants of these activities still present. There was some debris found in stream and also signs of recent earth works as shown in the adjacent photo upstream of sampling area.

The instream habitat had been degraded by rubbish, and the stream hydrology had been altered by the weir upstream. The riparian vegetation had a dense growth of privet in the understorey. With the exception of a higher than expected nitrogen (TKN) concentration in Spring, water quality variables were within expected ranges.

Assessments of edge habitats in December 1999 showed the fauna to be rich in macroinvertebrate families.

Location Details
Map Name	Nabiac 9333-1-N
Map Zone	56
Map Scale	1:25000
Easting	434000
Northing	6449300
Distance from source (m)	19303
Elevation (m asl)	20
Average Annual Rainfall (mm)	1100

Single Season Assessments

Edge
	Spring '99
	16-Dec-99
O/E Taxa	0.96
Band	A
O/E SIGNAL	1.05

Riffle

Combined Season Assessments

Edge

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	11-May-99	16-Dec-99
Annelida	Oligochaeta		+
Arachnida	Hydracarina		O	X
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Dytiscidae	O	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Elmidae	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Gyrinidae		+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydraenidae		+
Insecta	Coleoptera	Hydrophilidae	O	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Scirtidae	O	X
Insecta	Diptera	Chironomidae	+
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	O	X
Insecta	Diptera	Culicidae		O
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	O
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	O	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	O
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae	O
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	X	X
Insecta	Hemiptera	Corixidae	O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Gerridae	O	O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Hydrometridae		O
Insecta	Hemiptera	Notonectidae		+
Insecta	Hemiptera	Veliidae	O	X
Insecta	Megaloptera	Corydalidae	+
Insecta	Odonata	Aeshnidae		+
Insecta	Odonata	Gomphidae	O
Insecta	Plecoptera	Gripopterygidae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Calamoceratidae	O	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydrobiosidae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae	+
Insecta	Trichoptera	Leptoceridae	O	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Philopotamidae	+
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Corbiculidae		+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Hydrobiidae		+

Riffle
			Autumn '99	Spring '99
Phylum	Class/Order	Family	11-May-99	16-Dec-99
Platyhelminthes	Turbellaria		O
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Hydrobiidae	+	+
Mollusca	Gastropoda	Planorbidae
Mollusca	Bivalvia	Corbiculidae	+
Annelida	Oligochaeta	Oligochaeta	X	X
Arachnida	Hydracarina	Hydracarina	O	O
Crustacea	Decapoda	Atyidae	X	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Elmidae	O	X
Insecta	Coleoptera	Psephenidae	O	O
Insecta	Diptera	Simuliidae	O	O
Insecta	Diptera	Tanypodinae	X	O
Insecta	Diptera	Orthocladiinae	X	O
Insecta	Diptera	Chironominae	O	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Baetidae	O	O
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Leptophlebiidae	X	X
Insecta	Ephemeroptera	Caenidae		O
Insecta	Megaloptera	Corydalidae	O	X
Insecta	Odonata	Aeshnidae	O	O
Insecta	Plecoptera	Gripopterygidae	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydrobiosidae	X	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Philopotamidae	O	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Hydropsychidae	O	X
Insecta	Trichoptera	Leptoceridae	O	O

Water Quality Data

	Autumn '99	Spring '99
Variable	11-May-99	16-Dec-99
Water Temperature (°C)	15	20.3
Conductivity (µS/Cm)	618	800
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)	8.86	6.5
Alkalinity (mg CaCO₃ /L)	100	110
pH	7.84	8.2
Turbidity (NTU)	5.7	0
Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L)	41	66
Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L)	12	12
NOx Nitrogen (µg/L)	120	37
Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L)	0.33	0.48
Ammonia (µg/L)	27	44
Nitrate (µg/L)	120	34
Nitrite (µg/L)	2	3

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