Hindmarsh River

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Glossary

Introduction

The Hindmarsh River is a fresh stream that flows south from the Southern Mount Lofty Ranges to the Southern Ocean near Victor Harbor. Land uses in the catchment are predominantly irrigated and non-irrigated grazing with patches of forestry. Other land uses include dairy farming, forestry, and horticulture. Elevated turbidity and nutrient levels are the most likely water quality problems.

The monitoring site at the flow-gauging station is located at about the mid-point of the catchment, some 10 km from the river's source. The site has patchy aquatic plants and thick native riparian vegetation, including eucalypts and shrubs. Stream flow data flow for this site is available from the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. >> Map (756KB 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 June 2006

Habitat	Ecological health
Edge	Good
Riffle	Good

The edge and riffle habitats at this site are almost always rated in good ecological health, and the results in autumn 2006 were no exception.

Hydrobiid snails and oligochaete worms were the most common species in both habitats, suggesting that there was a large organic food source present at the site. Several different types of snails, mites, chironomid midge larvae, mayflies and caddisflies were also found at the site.

The occurrence of two types of blackfly larvae (Austrosimulium furiosum and Simulium melatum) and two mayflies from the genus Atalophlebia (A. australasica and A. australis) was unusual. The riffle habitat also had two types of rare hydrobiosid cadddisfly larvae present (Ulmerochorema membrum and Taschorema evansi), indicating that the site has high biodiversity value.

Download ecological health data

• Macroinvertebrate summary for the Hindmarsh River
• All the macroinvertebrate data for the Hindmarsh River

Water chemistry

The indicators that are measured in the Hindmarsh River 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	Poor
Total Phosphorus	Moderate
Turbidity	Good

Nitrogen and phosphorus levels can be elevated by fertilisers or animal wastes being washed off farms during storms. The nutrient and turbidity levels in the Hindmarsh River tend to vary seasonally, with highest values being recorded in winter months when there is runoff from the catchment and the river is flowing. Total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations were generally lower than normally observed in winter. Longer term monitoring is required to determine whether this is a trend of improving water quality or simply due to low flows evident during the drought.

The salinity (ie total dissolved solids) tends to have high values recorded in summer months due to reduced flows and fresher water in higher flows during winter. The Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board is developing a regional NRM Plan, which will address catchment management issues affecting the condition of watercourses such as the Hindmarsh River.

>> Archived results

Download water chemistry graphs

• Oxidised nitrogen in the Hindmarsh River
  
• Total nitrogen in the Hindmarsh River
  
• Total phosphorus in the Hindmarsh River
  
• Soluble phosphorus in the Hindmarsh River
  
• Turbidity in the Hindmarsh River
  
• Salinity in the Hindmarsh River

Download raw chemistry data

• All chemistry data for the Hindmarsh River

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