Inman River

Water quality links:

Home

What is water quality?

Direct to data

Monitoring program & assessments

Major threats & issues

Legislation & programs

Other resources & initiatives

Publications

Glossary

Introduction

The Inman River is fresh to brackish and 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 and nature conservation. Other land uses include dairy farming, forestry, and horticulture. The monitoring site at Swain's Crossing is near the bottom of the catchment, just upstream of Victor Harbor. Elevated turbidity and nutrient levels are the most likely water quality problems.

Vegetation at the site is mainly native, with extensive reed growth in the channel and patchy grasses and eucalypts on the bank. Stream flow for the Inman catchment is available for a site near Swains Crossing, just upstream of the Victor Harbour sewage treatment works from the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. >> Map (983KB 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	Habitat not present

The edge habitat at this site is usually rated in good condition. A riffle habitat has not been present at this site since monitoring began in 2003.

In autumn 2006, a total of 34 different types of macroinvertebrates were found at the site. The most common were hypogastrurid springtails and amphipods (Austrochiltonia australis). The macroinvertebrate community consisted of common macroinvertebrates from similar habitats in the Mt Lofty Ranges. A major reason for the good rating at this site was due to the broad range of habitat, with variable water depths and stands of emergent macrophytes along the creek. The most interesting observation was the presence of two types of amphipods (Ceinidae and Corophiidae) from the same site.

Download ecological health data

• All the macroinvertebrate data for the Inman River

Water chemistry

The indicators that are measured in the Inman 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	Moderate
Total Nitrogen	Moderate
Soluble Phosphorus	Moderate
Total Phosphorus	Moderate
Turbidity	Good

Water quality results during this period were generally consistent with autumn and winter results from previous years. However, the maximum nutrient concentrations were somewhat lower than the last few years. 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.

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 Inman 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.

The salinity (ie total dissolved solids) tends to have the reverse seasonality, with high values recorded in summer months due to reduced flow. 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 Inman River.

>> Archived results

Download water chemistry graphs

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

Download raw chemistry data

• All chemistry data for the Inman 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

This page was last modified 25-09-2007