Boston Bay is a coastal embayment on the southern Eyre Peninsula.
The town of Port Lincoln is on the shores of Boston Bay. The predominant
land use is rural, with mainly broad acre cropping and grain farming.
Sea and land based aquaculture such as sea cage tuna farming is
a major industry in the area and water quality has been a concern
since a mass fish kill occurring in 1996. The SA Water wastewater
treatment plant at Billy Lights Point discharges into Boston bay,
which is also affected by urban stormwater from Port Lincoln and
runoff from agricultural catchments. The largest commercial fishing
fleet in Australia operates in Boston Bay, further adding to the
pressures on the region's ecology. >>
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Water quality within Boston Bay is assessed as being in good,
moderate or poor condition by interpreting water chemistry and
algal (chlorophyll) data, according to the needs of ecosystem
protection, recreation and aquaculture. >>
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Water quality classification for April to September 2006
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Indicator
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Good
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NA
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Good
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Good
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NA
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NA
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Good
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NA
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NA
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Good
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NA
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NA
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Good
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Good
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NA
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Moderate
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NA
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NA
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NA
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Good
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NA
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Notes NA = not applicable
The water quality monitoring results for this period were generally
consistent with, or lower than, previous seasonal results for
this site.
Chlorophyll (a) was classified as moderate, which indicates there
was excessive algal growth in Boston Bay during this period. The
algal growth is related to the nutrient concentrations, which
are occasionally elevated. Various nutrient reduction strategies
such as the Coast and Clean Seas stormwater reuse project are
helping to reduce the amount of nutrients entering Boston Bay.
>> Archived results
