Blackford Drain

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Introduction

Blackford Drain is a saline stream in the upper South East region. It discharges into the Southern Ocean north of Kingston. Land uses in the catchment include grazing and some horticulture. The monitoring site is on the lower section of the catchment, approximately 3 km from the mouth. Elevated nutrient (especially nitrogen) levels are the most likely water quality issue. There are a few aquatic plants in the channel at the site and woodland scrub surrounds the stream. Stream flow for this site is available from the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. >> Map (943KB PDF)

Water quality assessment

Water quality is assessed as being in good, moderate or poor condition by interpreting water chemistry data in the context of protecting environmental values. >> More

Ecological health is assessed in spring and autumn. We use macroinvertebrates for this purpose because they provide a relatively simple way to assess the health of an aquatic ecosystem. >> More

Water chemistry is measured each month. We measure chemical indicators because when they reach a certain level they can cause stress or toxicity to animals and plants in an ecosystem. Some indicators can also indicate if the water is suitable for drinking water or for activities such as swimming. >> More

Ecological health

We collect two samples of macroinvertebrates, one from riffle (or flowing water) habitat and one from edge (still water) habitat. The diversity of the macroinvertebrate community is used to describe ecological health as being in good, moderate or poor condition.

Go here to find out how we classify ecological health in streams.

Ecological health assessment for June 2006

Habitat	Ecological health
Edge	Good
Riffle	Moderate

The edge habitat at this site has always been rated in good condition. Occasionally, a riffle is also present but due to the lack of pebbles, cobbles and boulders in the drain, the macroinvertebrates that inhabit flowing water habitats are consistently poorer than expected. The brackish-high salinity of water in the Blackford Drain (ca. 6,000 mg/L in autumn 2006) also influences the types of macroinvertebrates found in this waterway.

The edge habitat included 32 different macroinvertebrate species. The most common species were amphipod crustaceans (Austrochiltonia australis), biting midges (Culicoides species), non-biting midges (Procladius species) and the salt lake snail Coxiella species.

The riffle community had 20 different types of macroinvertebrates, the most common being Austrochiltonia australis, Procladius species and oligochaete worms. The riffle habitat lacked macroinvertebrates that require flowing water (e.g. simuliid blackfly larvae, mayflies, beetles) and resembled a limited edge habitat community.

The macroinvertebrates found in the drain were all saline tolerant forms and the only unusual finds were the snail Coxiella and the leptocerid caddisfly Notalina spira.

Download ecological health data

• All the macroinvertebrate data for Blackford Drain

Water chemistry

The indicators that are measured in Blackford Drain are nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), turbidity and salinity. The concentrations of these indicators are used to classify the water chemistry as being in good, moderate or poor condition, according to the needs of aquatic ecosystem protection.

Go here to find out how we organise and classify the chemistry data.

Water chemistry classification for April to September 2006

Indicator	Classification
Oxidised Nitrogen	Good
Total Nitrogen	Poor
Soluble Phosphorus	Good
Total Phosphorus	Good
Turbidity	Good

Elevated nitrogen in Blackford Drain is likely to be due to animal wastes that can wash off farms during storms or percolate to groundwater that flows to the drain. These classifications are consistent with previous results, although oxidised nitrogen has occasionally been measured at quite elevated concentrations. The highest nitrogen levels occur in the winter months, coinciding with increases in overland and groundwater flow into the drain.

>> Archived results

Download water chemistry graphs

• Oxidised nitrogen in Blackford Drain
  
• Total nitrogen in Blackford Drain
  
• Total phosphorus in Blackford Drain
  
• Soluble phosphorus in Blackford Drain
  
• Turbidity in Blackford Drain
  
• Salinity in Blackford Drain

Download raw chemistry data

• All chemistry data for Blackford Drain

What is being done to improve the condition of South Australian rivers and streams

Efforts to improve the condition of South Australia's rivers and streams are being driven by various government agencies, primarily

The Environment Protection Authority
The Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation
Natural Resource Management Boards
Department for Environment and Heritage (SA)

Collaborative projects and programs being run by these agencies are based on the protection of environmental values, as explained in the National Water Quality Management Strategy. >> More

This page was last modified 25-09-2007