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
Tugg501 - Canada Drop Down Creek
Site Condition Summary
Canada Drop Down Creek is within the Ourimbah State Forest. The site was surrounded by dense rainforest vegetation on both sides which provided extensive shading of the stream.
Visual assessments indicated a relatively undisturbed site, with excellent water quality and riparian and instream habitat. Water quality variables were within the ranges expected for small coastal-fringe streams.
Macroinvertebrate communities were rich, and AusRivAS assessments indicated they were similar in richness to those expected under the reference condition (O/E-Taxa values >1).
Location Map
| Map Name | Wyong 9131-2-N |
| Map Zone | 56 |
| Map Scale | 1:25000 |
| Easting | 345600 |
| Northing | 6311900 |
| Distance from source (m) | 3437 |
| Elevation (m asl) | 20 |
| Average Annual Rainfall (mm) | 1100 |
Sampling Data and Assessments
Single Season Assessments
| Autumn '97 | Spring '97 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Jun-97 | 12-Nov-97 | |
| O/E Taxa | 1.04 | 1.06 |
| Band | A | A |
| O/E SIGNAL | 1.00 | 1.03 |
Riffle
Combined Season Assessments
| Seasons | AUT97SPR97 |
|---|---|
| Model | Eastern |
| O/E Taxa | 1.13 |
| Band | A |
| O/E SIGNAL | 1.04 |
Riffle
Taxa Collected
X= Taxa Predicted & Collected, O = Taxa Predicted & NOT Collected, + = Taxa Collected & NOT Predicted
| Autumn '97 | Spring '97 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phylum | Class/Order | Family | 3-Jun-97 | 12-Nov-97 |
| Arachnida | Hydracarina | X | O | |
| Crustacea | Amphipoda | Ceinidae | + | |
| Crustacea | Decapoda | Atyidae | O | X |
| Crustacea | Ostracoda | X | ||
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Dytiscidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Hydraenidae | X | + |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Hydrophilidae | O | O |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Scirtidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Diptera | Ceratopogonidae | + | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Chironominae | X | X |
| Insecta | Diptera | Culicidae | + | X |
| Insecta | Diptera | Orthocladiinae | X | |
| Insecta | Diptera | Tanypodinae | X | X |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Baetidae | + | |
| Insecta | Ephemeroptera | Leptophlebiidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Gerridae | O | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Hydrometridae | O | X |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Mesoveliidae | X | |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Notonectidae | O | |
| Insecta | Hemiptera | Veliidae | X | X |
| Insecta | Odonata | Corduliidae | + | |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Calamoceratidae | + | |
| Insecta | Trichoptera | Leptoceridae | X | X |
| Mollusca | Gastropoda | Ancylidae | + |
Riffle
Water Quality Data
| Autumn '97 | Spring '97 | |
|---|---|---|
| Variable | 3-Jun-97 | 12-Nov-97 |
| Water Temperature (°C) | 10.3 | 17.9 |
| Conductivity (µS/cm) | 510 | 521 |
| Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) | 5.7 | 2.3 |
| Alkalinity (mg CaCO3 /L) | 18 | 24 |
| pH | 6.27 | 6.37 |
| Turbidity (NTU) | 22 | 0 |
| Low Total Phosphorus (µg/L) | 22 | 41 |
| Free Reactive Phosphorus (µg/L) | ||
| NOx Nitrogen (µg/L) | 40 | 10 |
| Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (mg/L) | 0.41 | 1.0 |
| Ammonia (µg/L) | ||
| Nitrate (µg/L) | ||
| Nitrite (µg/L) |
Key
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