The Marne River near Cambrai

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Introduction

The Marne River is a fresh to brackish stream that flows east from the Mount Lofty Ranges towards the River Murray. The river is greatly influenced by groundwater flow, recharging aquifers in some sections, and receiving groundwater flows from fresh and saline springs. The main land uses in the catchment are broad-acre cropping and grazing, although there are some horticultural and irrigated pastoral activities close to the river. Elevated turbidity and nutrient levels are the most likely water quality problems associated with these land uses.

Salinity can also be relatively high due to groundwater intrusion. The monitoring site near Cambrai is in the lower section of the catchment located on the plains. The site is usually a disconnected pool in an essentially dry stream channel. Stream flow data for the site is available from the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. This site is one of two sites currently being monitored on the Marne River (see also Marne River - Mannum Rd). >> Map (558KB 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

The 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	Moderate
Riffle	Habitat not present

In autumn 2006 the site rated as moderate (slightly impaired), although there were 22 different species and the presence of a macroinvertebrate fauna typical of waterholes in arid parts of the State.

The most common edge habitat species were the sowbug Heterias pusilla, amphipod Austrochiltonia australis and nematodes. A number of macroinvertebrates were found on bark and branches in the water including the freshwater limpet Ferrissia petterdi, flatworms, Baetid mayfly Cloeon fluviatile as well as sowbugs. The site also included the freshwater shrimp Paratya australiensis, two caddisflies (Ecnomus cygnitus and Triplectides australis) and various waterbugs. The absence of beetles and mites was unusual for this type of habitat, and is the main reason for the moderate ecological health rating.

Download ecological health data

• Macroinvertebrate summary for the Marne River upstream of Cambrai
• All the macroinvertebrate data for the Marne River upstream of Cambrai

Water chemistry

The indicators that are measured in the Marne River upstream of Cambrai 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	Moderate
Turbidity	Good

The results of the Marne River during this monitoring period were generally consistent with previous results.

The total nitrogen concentrations can rise as a result of fertilisers or animal wastes being washed off farms during storms. Historically, there is some variation in nitrogen concentrations, possibly because of a mix of groundwater inflows and surface runoff following storms from the surrounding grazing land.

>> Archived results

Download water chemistry graphs

• Oxidised nitrogen in the Marne River upstream of Cambrai
  
• Total nitrogen in the Marne River upstream of Cambrai
  
• Total phosphorus in the Marne River upstream of Cambrai
  
• Soluble phosphorus in the Marne River upstream of Cambrai
  
• Turbidity in the Marne River upstream of Cambrai
• Salinity in the Marne River upstream of Cambrai

Download raw chemistry data

• All chemistry data for the Marne River upstream of Cambrai

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