River Murray Water Quality Monitoring Program

The primary objectives of the River Murray Water Quality Monitoring Program (WQMP) are to periodically report and assess water quality, to understand the variability and to determine trends, which in turn will guide management actions along the River Murray and the lower reaches of its tributaries and storages. 

Virtually all that is known of the background status of the River Murray's water quality comes from the WQMP. By establishing the background condition of the River Murray, the WQMP forms the basis for all research, investigations and ecosystem evaluations and monitoring.

The WQMP has strategic working relationships with the relevant jurisdictional organisations and has strong research partnerships with scientific organisations and academic institutions.

The WQMP collaboratively funds research and innovation in water quality, ecosystem response, algal monitoring and adaptive management strategies.

Background

The long term collection of physico-chemical parameters at 36 sites along the River Murray and the lower reaches of its tributaries, have been collected since 1978. Depending on the class of station, between 5 and 18 physico-chemical parameters are measured at weekly, monthly and quarterly intervals. The WQMP region where samples are collected is defined by Clause 45 (Schedule of the Water Act 2007), where the Authority must establish, maintain and operate consistent protocols for the collection and monitoring of the quality of the River Murray and the lower reaches of its tributaries.

The WQMP also has specific water quality and legislative responsibilities for the Hume Catchment which includes the major upper Murray storages of Lake Hume and Dartmouth Dam. Other basin storages include Lake Mulwala, Menindee Lakes, Lake Victoria, Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert.

The upper Murray River in the Upper Murray catchment. Photo by: Lucy Patterson

Little Gunbower Creek, Middle Murray. Photo by: Mark Vanner

Lower Murray River, South Australia. Photo by: Judy Swann

Water Quality Priorities

Contribution to Authority Priorities

• Maintain and operate an effective and uniform monitoring system for measuring and monitoring the quality of River Murray water

• Delivery of Authority's statutory obligation (Clause 45c)

• Undertake further investigations and analysis into issues identified by the monitoring results

• Validation and prioritisation of actions to protect and enhance water quality

• Assess the attainment or otherwise of water quality objectives

• Delivery of Authority's statutory obligation (Clause 48)

• Assess floodplain development proposals affecting the quality of River Murray water and make recommendations

• Delivery of Authority's statutory obligation (Clause 49)

• Inform river operation procedures

• Improved protection and enhancement of River Murray water quality

• Inform SRA, TLM and Basin Plan activities

• Improved protection and enhancement of the quality of Basin water resources

• Establish water quality targets for the basin

• As required by the Water Act 2007 and as contributing to the development of the Basin Plan

A long term biological monitoring program supplements the physico-chemical water quality data collected. The primary objective of the MDBA biological monitoring program is to systematically sample and record the aquatic macroinvertebrate populations of the rivers to provide a substantial long-term biological record to complement the physico-chemical parameters collected at 36 sites. It provides an additional natural resource management tool to detect and interpret variations in water quality and ecosystem conditions in the River Murray its tributaries and storages.

Photo by: Judy Swann. Dr John Hawking (MDFRC) macroinvertabrate substrate sampling in the Darling River, Burtundy, NSW.