Semaphore Beach

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Introduction

Semaphore Beach is approximately 6 km south of the entrance to the Port River and Outer Harbor. The surrounding land is heavily urbanised. It is close to the Port River and the wharves at Outer Harbor. Water Quality at Semaphore may also be influenced by the Bolivar wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and heavy industries in the Port River. >> More

>> More on Adelaide's metropolitan beaches

Water quality assessment

Water quality at Semaphore 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)	Poor	NA	NA
Heavy Metals	Poor	NA	Good
Bacteria	NA	Good	NA

Notes NA = not applicable. NC = not classified due to laboratory failure.

Recent Chlorophyll (a) results were classified as poor and ammonia classified as moderate at Semaphore. This is most likely due to nutrient-rich discharges from the Bolivar WWTP, heavy industries in the Port River and urban stormwater. Increased nutrients promote algal growth, particularly during the warmer months.

Heavy metals were classified as poor (copper). 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 Semaphore
  
• Oxidised Nitrogen at Semaphore
  
• Total Nitrogen at Semaphore
  
• Total Phosphorus at Semaphore
  
• Turbidity at Semaphore
  
• Chlorophyll (a) at Semaphore
  
• Cadmium at Semaphore
  
• Copper at Semaphore
  
• Mercury at Semaphore
  
• Lead at Semaphore
  
• Nickel at Semaphore
  
• Zinc at Semaphore
  
• Enterococci at Semaphore

Download water quality data

• Water Quality at Semaphore Beach

Is the water quality at Semaphore Beach safe to swim?

The EPA provides a monthly update (fortnightly in summer) on beach water quality which details if the water during the past two weeks was safe to swim. >> More

What is being done to improve the condition of Semaphore beach?

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 and is designed to answer the main questions we have about coastal waters, including how to rehabilitate marine 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