Sustainable management of our natural resources
Proportion of water measurement sites showing no increase in turbidity
N.B. A progress report on this measure is not available because a progress measure beyond the baseline measurement is not yet available.Department of Primary Industry and Water
Turbidity is one measure of soil erosion
Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of water resulting from dissolved or suspended solids in water such as soil particles. DPIW monitors turbidity on a monthly basis (ie discrete grab sampling) at 52 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring stations, a subset of which (37) are also monitored continuously (ie instantaneously – 20 minute intervals). Trigger values have been developed for each station based on monthly and or continuous data and provide benchmarks against which long term changes in turbidity can be monitored. These values are based on data collected between late 2003 to December 2006) When a trigger value is exceeded then it is considered that there exists a low risk that adverse biological (ecological) effects will occur. This should trigger some action where either further ecosystem specific investigations or implementation of management/remedial actions are considered.
| Year | Target |
|---|---|
| 2005 | - |
| 2010 | no increase in exceedences of 2005 trigger levels |
| 2015 | decrease in 50% of monitored disturbed catchments of 2005 trigger levels |
| 2020 | decrease in 75% of monitored disturbed catchments of 2005 trigger levels |