Horseshoe Bay

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Introduction

Horseshoe Bay Beach is approximately 70 km south of Adelaide and is a popular beach in the southern suburbs, especially during the warmer months. The surrounding land use is light urban and rural. Horseshoe Bay beach is close to the Hindmarsh River mouth and also numerous small stormwater drains, all of which can affect water quality. >> More

Water quality assessment

Water quality at Horseshoe Bay jetty is assessed as being in good, moderate or poor condition by interpreting water chemistry and algal data. >> More

Water quality classification for April to September 2006

Indicator	Ecosystem	Recreation	Aquaculture
Ammonia	Moderate	NA	Good
Oxidised Nitrogen	Good	NA	NA
Total Nitrogen	Good	NA	NA
Total Phosphorus	Good	NA	NA
Turbidity	Good	Good	NA
Chlorophyll (a)	Good	NA	NA
Heavy Metals	Moderate	NA	Moderate
Bacteria	NA	Good	NA

Notes NA = not applicable

The water quality monitoring results for this period were generally consistent with previous seasonal results for this site.

Ammonia was classified as moderate at Port Elliot. This is most likely due to nutrient-rich discharges from local the agricultural catchment. Increased nutrients promote algal growth, particularly during the warmer months.

Heavy metals were classified as moderate (copper and zinc). The source of the elevated heavy metals is most likely general urban runoff (stormwater) washing off roads and galvanised iron roofs into the marine environments during rain events. In July 2006, a new analytical method for heavy metals was introduced, which can detect metals at much lower concentrations in seawater than before. It is now possible to confidently compare concentrations to National Water Quality Guidelines for marine waters.

>> Archived results

Download water quality graphs

• Ammonia at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Oxidised Nitrogen at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Total Nitrogen at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Total Phosphorus at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Turbidity at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Chlorophyll (a) at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Cadmium at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Copper at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Mercury at Horseshoe Bay
• Lead at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Nickel at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Zinc at Horseshoe Bay
  
• Enterococci at Horseshoe Bay

Download water quality data

• Water Quality at Horseshoe Bay

Is the water quality at Horseshoe Bay safe to swim?

The EPA provides a monthly update (fortnightly in summer) on beach water quality. >> More

What is being done to improve the condition of Horseshoe Bay?

The EPA established the Adelaide Coastal Waters Study in 2001 in response to concerns about the decline in coastal water quality. This study is expected to be completed at the end of 2006. The study will hopefully answer the main questions we have about coastal waters including how to rehabilitate the seagrass and reef ecosystems.

Reports

Gulf St Vincent Metropolitan Bathing Waters - Report No 1 (493KB) Nov 1997
Gulf St Vincent Metropolitan Coastal Waters - Report No 2 (1.7MB) Jan 2004
Water Quality of Adelaide's Metropolitan Coastal Waters - a community summary (776KB) (This brochure summarises the Gulf St Vincent Report No. 2)

This page was last modified 31-07-2007