First Creek

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Introduction

First Creek is a freshwater stream that flow into the Torrens River near the Adelaide Zoo. The upper section of First Creek runs through a natural catchment area (i.e. Cleland Conservation Park), while the lower reaches of the creek pass through the Adelaide metropolitan area. The monitoring site is located at Waterfall Gully, at the bottom of the natural part of the catchment. The water quality at the First Creek monitoring site is considered to represent a background or reference condition for streams in the Mount Lofty Ranges. Stream flow data flow for this site is available from the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. >> Map (3MB PDF)

Water quality assessment

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

Ecological health is assessed in spring and autumn using the AUSRIVAS model. 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 May 2006

Habitat	Ecological health
Edge	Good
Riffle	Good

The ecological health rating of the edge and riffle habitats at this site were rated as good.

Mayflies (Caenid Tasmanocoenis tillyardi and juvenile Leptophlebiids), chironomid midge larvae (Tanytarsus species), stoneflies from the family Gripopterygidae, and oligochaete worms were the most common species in the water edge habitats. The most common species in the riffles were Gripopterygid stoneflies, worms, Baetid mayflies and caddisflies (Lingora aurata).

A number of rare species were collected from the site including two Hydrobiosidae caddisflies (Taschorema evansi and Ulmerochorema membrum) and Elmidae beetles (Simsonia leai). The site was also unusual because it included two types of cnidarians (Hydra and Cordylophora species) and two types of blackfly larvae (Austrosimulium furiosum and Simulium ornatipes); most sites generally only have one of these macroinvertebrates present. Consequently, this stream rates highly in terms of its river health assessments and also has high biodiversity value as well.

Download ecological health data

• Macroinvertebrate summary for First Creek
• All the macroinvertebrate data for First Creek

Water chemistry

The indicators that are measured in First Creek 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	Good
Soluble Phosphorus	Good
Total Phosphorus	Good
Turbidity	Good

The nutrient and turbidity levels at this site is generally at low concentrations because most of the catchment is covered with native vegetation (Cleland Conservation Park) and is therefore unimpacted by urbanisation or agricultural landuses.

>> Archived results

Download water chemistry graphs

• Oxidised nitrogen in First Creek
  
• Total nitrogen in First Creek
  
• Total phosphorus in First Creek
  
• Soluble phosphorus in First Creek
  
• Turbidity in First Creek
  
• Salinity in First Creek

Download raw chemistry data

• All chemistry data for First Creek

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

Reports

SA's Rivers and Streams (Chemical and Physical Quality)-Report No 1 (554KB PDF)

This page was last modified 25-09-2007