Torrens River at Mount Pleasant

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Introduction

This site on the Torrens River is on the upper reaches of the catchment near the town of Mount Pleasant. The river is fresh to brackish and has permanent pools near the gauging station. However, upstream the river is often dry during the summer.

Land uses in the upper section include grazing and rural residential. This site is located upstream of the River Murray transfer discharges (to supplement the Kangaroo Creek reservoir). Elevated turbidity and nutrient levels are the most likely water quality problems. Stream flow for this site is available from the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. >> Map (3MB 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 May 2006

Habitat	Ecological health
Edge	Good
Riffle	Good

The ecological health at this site is generally good during autumn surveys, and the results from 2006 were no exception.

A total of 48 species of macroinvertebrates was recorded from the edge habitat. The most significant species were oligochaete worms and hypogastrurid springtails. The riffle habitat was also moderately biodiverse with 42 species, with the most common being oligochaetes, caddisflies (Cheumatopsyche sp. 2), hydrobiid snails and the introduced snail Physa acuta. The most interesting find for the site was the presence of the hydrophilid beetle Limnoxenus zealandicus from the non-flowing edge habitat.

Download ecological health data

• Macroinvertebrate summary for the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant
• All the macroinvertebrate data for the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant

Water chemistry

The indicators that are measured in the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant 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	Good
Turbidity	Good

The results of this monitoring period were generally consistent with, or lower than previous seasonal results for this site, where nitrogen and phosphorus have frequently been at elevated concentrations in the past.

The amount of nutrients in the river can be increased by fertilisers or animal wastes being washed off farms during storms or due to effluent inputs. The elevated nutrient concentrations can lead to excessive algal growth, particularly during the warmer months. The Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board is developing a regional NRM Plan, which will build on the catchment water management plans prepared previously.

>> Archived results

Download water chemistry graphs

• Oxidised nitrogen in the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant
  
• Total nitrogen in the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant
  
• Total phosphorus in the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant
  
• Soluble phosphorus in the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant
  
• Turbidity in the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant
  
• Salinity in the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant

Download raw chemistry data

• All chemistry data for the Torrens River at Mount Pleasant

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)

This page was last modified 25-09-2007