Annual Waterways Report
Meander Catchment
Water Assessment Branch 2007
ISSN: 1835-8489
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Department of Primary Industries and Water
Meander Catchment
Contents
1. About the catchment
2. Streamflow and Water Allocation
3. Water Quality
4. River Health
1. About the catchment The Meander catchment (area ~1,600 km 2) is a land-locked sub-catchment of the South Esk Basin which drains a large part of the central east of Tasmania and discharges into the Tamar Estuary at Launceston. The Meander River is the largest river in this catchment, originating in the foothills of the Great Western Tiers (altitude 1,200 m) and flowing over 100 km to join the South Esk River at Hadspen to the east. Significant tributaries to the Meander River are Western Creek, Quamby Brook and the Liffey River, all three which collect runoff from the northern perimeter of the Tiers and Quamby Bluff, where average annual rainfall exceeds 1,600 mm and intense thunderstorms are generated. At the catchment outlet at Hadspen, local rainfall is about 700 mm per annum. Although there is some forestry occurring in the headwaters of the catchment, a large majority of the catchment is used for agricultural production ranging from cattle and sheep grazing to irrigated cropping and dairy farming. In the Liffey sub-catchment, additional water has been diverted from the Poatina Power Station tailrace at Brumbys Creek into the Liffey River near Bracknell to support agricultural activities.
DEPARTMENT of PRIMARY INDUSTRIES and WATER - 2 -
2. Streamflow & Water Allocation Three streamflow monitoring stations are maintained in this catchment as part of the DPIW River ML/d Stage % Restriction Statewide monitoring network. These are; Meander at 25 1 No more than Strathbridge 0.55ML/d • Jackeys Creek downstream Meander at 20 2 50 50% s5 on Tues, Jackeys Marsh (station Strathbridge Thurs, Sat 18221); Meander at 15 3 100 Ban on s5 direct • Meander River at Strathbridge Strathbridge takes (station 852); and Western Creek 1.5 Ban on direct • Liffey River at Carrick (station takes 164).
1,000
Total Water Allocation 800 The following table shows the breakdown of water allocations in 600 the catchment. 400
Total day) per (Megalitres Streamflow 200 Allocation
Irrigation 0 21,477 ML Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Date Stock & Domestic 1,138 ML Water Supply 611 ML Fig: Time series of streamflow in Jackeys Creek (station 18221) during 2007. Other 4,529 ML 14,000 Of the total licensed water allocation within this catchment, 12,000
16,791 ML is stored within 10,000 constructed storages and 9,955 ML is extracted directly 8,000 from rivers and streams. 6,000
4,000 Streamflow (Megalitres per day) Water Use Restrictions 2,000 Water restriction triggers have been developed for the Meander 0 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 River and Western Creek. When Date streamflow falls to the levels indicated, water restrictions are Fig: Time series of streamflow in the Meander River at normally considered. Strathbridge (station 852) during 2007.
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4,200
3,600
3,000
2,400
1,800
Streamflow (Megalitres per day) 1,200
600
0 Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Date
Fig: Time series of streamflow in the Liffey River at Carrick (station 164) during 2007.
6,000 Historical Average Current Year (2007)
5,000
4,000
3,000 TotalDischarge (ML) 2,000
1,000
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month
Fig: Comparison of the total monthly discharge with historical average monthly discharge for Jackeys Creek (station 18221).
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100,000 Historical Average
90,000 Current Year (2007)
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000 Total Discharge (ML) Discharge Total
30,000
20,000
10,000
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month
Fig: Comparison of the total monthly discharge with historical average monthly discharge for the Meander River at Strath Bridge (station 852).
20,000 Historical Average 18,000 Current Year (2007)
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000 Total Discharge (ML) Total Discharge
6,000
4,000
2,000
0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month
Fig: Comparison of the total monthly discharge with historical average monthly discharge for the Liffey River at Carrick (station 164).
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3. Water Quality Under the DPIW Statewide baseline monitoring network, instream sensors were maintained throughout 2007 at the following locations within the catchment: • Jackeys Creek downstream Jackeys Marsh (station 18221); • Meander River at Strathbridge (station 852); and • Liffey River at Carrick (station 164). Water temperature, electrical conductivity and turbidity are monitored continuously at all three stations. Missing data is due to inconsistencies in data or instrument malfunction.
3 0
2 5
2 0
1 5
1 0
WaterTemperature C) (Deg 5
0 1 8 0
1 6 0
1 4 0 S/cm) S/cm) µ µ µ µ 1 2 0
1 0 0
8 0
6 0
4 0 Electrical Conductivity ( 2 0
0
3 5
3 0
2 5
2 0
1 5
Turbidity (NTU) 1 0
5
0 01-Jul-07 01-Oct-07 01-Apr-07 01-Jun-07 01-Jan-07 01-Feb-07 01-Mar-07 01-Nov-07 01-Aug-07 01-Sep-07 01-Dec-07 01-May-07 Fig: Continuous instream water quality for Meander River at Strathbridge (station 852) during 2007; Data quality coded as: Excellent; Good ; Fair ; or Fair Estimated Data.
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2 5
2 0
1 5
1 0
5 Water Temperature (Deg C) (Deg WaterTemperature
0
7 0
6 0 S/cm) S/cm) µ µ µ µ 5 0
4 0
3 0
2 0
ElectricalConductivity ( 1 0
0
8
7
6
5
4
3 Turbidity (NTU) Turbidity 2
1
0 1-Jul-07 1-Apr-07 1-Oct-07 1-Jun-07 1-Jan-07 1-Feb-07 1-Mar-07 1-Nov-07 1-Aug-07 1-Sep-07 1-Dec-07 1-May-07
Fig: Continuous instream water quality for Jackeys Creek downstream Jackeys Marsh (station 18221) during 2007; Data quality coded as: Excellent; Good ; Fair ; or Fair Estimated Data.
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3 0
2 5
2 0
1 5
1 0
Water TemperatureWater (DegC) 5
0
1 6 0
1 4 0
S/cm) S/cm) 1 2 0 µ µ µ µ
1 0 0
8 0
6 0
4 0
Electrical Conductivity ( Electrical Conductivity 2 0
0
3 0
2 5
2 0
1 5
Turbidity(NTU) 1 0
5
0 01-Jan-06 13-Jan-06 25-Jan-06 06-Feb-06 18-Feb-06 02-Mar-06 14-Mar-06 26-Mar-06 07-Apr-06 19-Apr-06 01-May-06 13-May-06 25-May-06 06-Jun-06 18-Jun-06 30-Jun-06 12-Jul-06 24-Jul-06 05-Aug-06 17-Aug-06 29-Aug-06 10-Sep-06 22-Sep-06 04-Oct-06 16-Oct-06 28-Oct-06 09-Nov-06 21-Nov-06 03-Dec-06 15-Dec-06 27-Dec-06
Fig: Continuous instream water quality for Liffey River at Carrick (station 164) during 2007; Data quality coded as: Excellent; Good ; Fair ; or Fair Estimated Data.
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Monthly water sampling is also conducted at the following locations within the catchment: • Jackeys Creek downstream Jackeys Marsh (station 18221); • Meander River at Strathbridge (station 852); and • Liffey River at Carrick (station 164). Sampling consists of spot measurements of selected water quality parameters on-site (water temperature, turbidity, conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen). Bottled samples of water are also collected for analyses of nutrients (collected monthly) and pesticides (collected quarterly) at the Analytical Services Fig: Liffey River at Carrick. Tasmania laboratory.
Links 1. Water Information System of Tasmania 3. DPIW surface water quality www.water.dpiw.tas.gov.au/wist www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/waterquality
2. Pesticide Monitoring in Tasmania 4. National water quality guidelines www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/ www.environment.gov.au/water/quality pesticidemonitoring /nwqms/
Jackeys Creek downstream Minimum Median Maximum Number of Jackeys Marsh samples
Temperature (deg C) 2.2 8.2 18.6 12 Turbidity (NTU) 1.32 1.79 3.23 12 Electrical Conductivity ( µµµS/cm) 46.0 49.5 61.0 12 Field pH 6.12 7.16 7.51 12 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 7.80 11.15 12.90 12 Dissolved Oxygen (percent saturation) 88.0 102.5 107.4 12 Total Nitrogen (mg/L) 0.165 0.313 0.562 12 Total Phosphorus (mg/L) <0.005 0.010 0.019 12 Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus (mg/L) <0.002 0.004 0.005 12 Nitrate-N (mg/L) 0.013 0.140 0.321 12 Nitrite-N (mg/L) <0.002 <0.002 0.007 12 Ammonia-N (mg/L) 0.005 0.009 0.023 12 All statistics derived from monthly spot samples.
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Meander River at Strathbridge Minimum Median Maximum Number of samples Temperature (deg C) 2.7 13.2 24.0 12 Turbidity (NTU) 1.6 2.5 8.1 12 Electrical Conductivity ( µµµS/cm) 48.0 79.0 110 12 Field pH 6.54 7.46 7.81 12 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 6.00 9.40 13.10 12 Dissolved Oxygen (percent saturation) 63.0 93.1 105.0 12 Total Nitrogen (mg/L) 0.180 0.278 0.990 12 Total Phosphorus (mg/L) 0.007 0.013 0.071 12 Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus (mg/L) <0.002 0.002 0.007 12 Nitrate-N (mg/L) <0.002 0.053 0.554 12 Nitrite-N (mg/L) <0.002 0.002 0.010 12 Ammonia-N (mg/L) 0.003 0.009 0.030 12 All statistics derived from monthly spot samples.
Liffey River at Carrick Minimum Median Maximum Number of samples Temperature (deg C) 2.4 12.5 23.0 12 Turbidity (NTU) 3.5 4.3 5.4 12 Electrical Conductivity ( µµµS/cm) 40.1 58.1 85.6 12 Field pH 6.46 7.57 7.86 12 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 6.83 10.0 12.60 12 Dissolved Oxygen (percent saturation) 69.7 95.4 105.8 12 Total Nitrogen (mg/L) 0.130 0.289 0.510 12 Total Phosphorus (mg/L) <0.005 0.013 0.038 12 Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus (mg/L) <0.002 0.003 0.006 12 Nitrate-N (mg/L) <0.002 0.018 0.307 12 Nitrite-N (mg/L) <0.002 <0.002 0.003 12 Ammonia-N (mg/L) 0.003 0.012 0.022 12 All statistics derived from monthly spot samples.
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4. River Health Meander River at Birralee Rd This site is located in the Meander River The Australian River Assessment approximately 2.5 kilometres upstream of the System (AUSRIVAS) is a confluence with Quamby Brook. The surrounding standardised national system for land is used primarily for agriculture (grazing) assessment of river condition that although a picnic area is located on the right-hand uses benthic macroinvertebrates. bank immediately upstream of Egmont Bridge. The AUSRIVAS models predict the Riparian vegetation is sparse and modified by the aquatic macroinvertebrate fauna intrusion of exotic species such as willows, gorse that would be expected to occur and blackberries. at a site in the absence of The river at this point is 22-28 metres wide and is environmental stress such as characterised by fast flowing riffles over boulder pollution, habitat degradation or substrate except for a deeper, slower flowing flow regulation. A comparison of section which is used as a swimming hole. Water the macroinvertebrates expected quality was generally good. to occur at the test site with those actually collected (O/E ratio) Combined season AUSRIVAS assessments of the provides a site specific measure of riffle habitat have classed this site as significantly the biological impairment of the impaired (Band B) with losses of 20 to 35% of the test site. Further details about predicted taxa. These assessments also display a AUSRIVAS can be found at: trend toward a decline in the health of this site with O/E scores decreasing from 0.78 in 1994/1995 to www.ausrivas.canberra.edu.a 0.63 in 2006/2007. The edgewater habitat is in u/ausrivas better condition, with most assessments resulting AUSRIVAS assessments are in an equivalent to reference condition (Band A) carried out at two locations on the rating. However a loss of predicted taxa resulted in Meander River mainstream: at this site being classed as significantly impaired Birralee Road and at Falls Road (Band B) in the spring 2003/ autumn 2004 and on two tributaries: Jackeys assessment. Creek and Liffey River. Season O/E Taxa Band O/E Taxa Band Riffle Edgewater Spr94/ Au95 0.78 B 0.94 A Spr95/ Au96 0.8 B 0.9 A Au99/ Spr99 0.65 B 0.87 A Spr03/ Au04 0.74 B 0.76 B Spr04/ Au05 0.68 B 0.87 A Spr05/ Au06 0.65 B 0.93 A Spr06/ Au07 0.63 B 1.05 A
1.4
1.2
1
0.8 Fig: Meander River at Birralee Road. 0.6 O/E Taxa O/E 0.4 Riffle Edgewater 0.2
0 Spr94/ Spr95/ Au99/ Spr03/ Spr04/ Spr05/ Spr06/ Au95 Au96 Spr99 Au04 Au05 Au06 Au07 Season
Fig: Combined season AUSRIVAS O/E Taxa scores for the Meander River at Birralee Road.
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Meander River at Falls Road This site is located about 400 metres above Mother Cummings Rivulet in the upper reaches of the Meander River, within the Meander State Forest. The site is surrounded by native forest and the riparian zone appears to be in an undisturbed state with the exception of a small area on the left bank, which has been cleared as a picnic area. The river at this site is 7-10 metres wide and consists of shallow riffles and runs flowing Fig: Meander River at Falls Rd. between large, exposed boulders. Water quality is high with low turbidity, conductivity and Season O/E Taxa Band O/E Taxa Band Riffle Edgewater nutrients. Spr94/ Au95 1.01 A 1.08 A This site has been monitored Spr95/ Au96 1.18 X 1.07 A Au97/ Spr97 1.04 A 0.92 A continuously since spring 1994. Au98/ Spr98 1.04 A 1 A Single and combined season Au99/ Spr99 0.93 A 0.8 B assessments of the riffle habitat Au00/ Spr00 1.09 A 0.96 A indicate the richness of Au01/ Spr01 1.04 A 0.94 A macroinvertebrate families is Au02/ Spr02 1.05 A NS Au03/ Spr03 1.03 A 1 A similar to that expected at a Spr03/ Au04 1.04 A 1.07 A reference condition site (Band A). Spr04/ Au05 0.95 A 0.99 A Similarly, assessments for the Spr05/ Au06 1.04 A 1.08 A edgewater habitat indicate an Spr06/ Au07 1.08 A 1.02 A essentially undisturbed site (Band A). 1.4 1.2
1
0.8
0.6 Riffle
O/E O/E Taxa 0.4 Edgewater
0.2
0 Spr94/ Au97/ Au99/ Au01/ Au03/ Spr04/ Spr06/ Au95 Spr97 Spr99 Spr01 Spr03 Au05 Au07 Season
Fig: Combined season AUSRIVAS O/E Taxa scores for the Meander River at Falls Road.
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Jackeys Creek downstream of Jackeys Marsh
This site, located within the Meander State Forest is in the lower reaches of Jackeys Creek, approximately 1.2 kilometres upstream of the confluence of Jackeys Creek and the Meander River and 1.5 kilometres downstream of DPIW’s streamflow monitoring station. The site is surrounded by dense riparian vegetation, which provides extensive shading. Intrusion by exotic species is minor. Jackeys Creek at this point is 7-10 metres wide and consists of Fig: Jackeys Creek downstream of Jackeys Marsh. shallow riffle /run sequences. The substrate is predominantly boulder and bedrock. Season O/E Taxa Band O/E Taxa Band Riffle Edgewater Water quality is generally good Spr94/ Au95 1.03 A 0.88 A with low conductivity and Spr95/ Au96 0.97 A 1.02 A turbidity. Au97/ Spr97 1.01 A 1.13 A Au98/ Spr98 1.06 A 1.01 A This site has been sampled Au99/ Spr99 0.99 A 1.05 A continuously since spring 1994. Au00/ Spr00 1.09 A 1.02 A All AUSRIVAS assessments for Au01/ Spr01 1.05 A 1.01 A this site indicate high Au02/ Spr02 1.04 A 1 A Au03/ Spr03 1.02 A 1.01 A macroinvertebrate richness. All 26 Spr03/ Au04 1.03 A 1.11 A combined season assessments for Spr04/ Au05 1.08 A 1.18 X edgewater and riffle habitats have Spr05/ Au06 1.02 A 1.09 A yielded O/E taxa values greater Spr06/ Au07 1.05 A 1.07 A than 0.88 with most values over 1 (Band A). Similarly, all single season assessments indicate the 1.4 macroinvertebrate community is similar to that expected at a 1.2 reference site (Band A). 1
0.8
0.6 Riffle O/ETaxa 0.4 Edgewater
0.2
0 Spr94/ Au97/ Au99/ Au01/ Au03/ Spr04/ Spr06/ Au95 Spr97 Spr99 Spr01 Spr03 Au05 Au07 Season
Fig: Combined season AUSRIVAS O/E Taxa scores for Jackeys Creek downstream of Jackeys Marsh.
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Liffey River Upstream of Liffey This site is within the Liffey Falls Scenic Reserve and approximately 7 kilometres upstream from the town of Liffey. The site is surrounded by native forest however a large section of the right-hand bank has been partly cleared for a camping/ picnic area. The land outside the reserve is used for forestry activities. The river at this point consists of a single 6-8 metre wide channel, although the river splits into multiple channels above the sampling site. The confined valley, Fig: Liffey River upstream of Liffey. relatively steep gradient and moderate discharges, means that small substrate (sand, gravel, Season O/E Taxa Band O/E Taxa Band Riffle Edgewater pebbles) are readily transported through this reach, causing the Spr94/ Au95 0.99 A 0.92 A streambed to be dominated by Spr95/ Au96 1.13 X 1.04 A boulders and large cobbles. Au97/ Spr97 0.99 A 1 A Au98/ Spr98 1.09 A 1 A Water quality is very good with Au99/ Spr99 1.09 A 0.98 A low turbidity and nutrient Au00/ Spr00 1.09 A 0.92 A concentrations and with all other Au01/ Spr01 1.02 A 0.95 A Au02/ Spr02 0.94 A 1.06 A physico-chemical variables within Au03/ Spr03 0.98 A 0.93 A expected ranges. Spr03/ Au04 1.06 A 1.12 A Spr04/ Au05 1.1 A 0.92 A Single and combined season Spr05/ Au06 1.1 A 0.99 A assessments of the riffle and Spr06/ Au07 1.12 A 1.06 A edgewater habitats have classed this site as equivalent to reference (Band A) or above (Band X) on the majority of sampling 1.4 occasions. However single season 1.2 edgewater assessments were 1 highly variable with O/E scores 0.8 ranging from 0.78 to 1.24. The 0.6 Riffle low scores are a reflection of the Taxa O/E 0.4 Edgewater limited amount of edgewater 0.2 habitat available for sampling in a 0 high gradient stream such as this. Spr94/ Au97/ Au99/ Au01/ Au03/ Spr04/ Spr06/ Au95 Spr97 Spr99 Spr01 Spr03 Au05 Au07 Season
Fig: Combined season AUSRIVAS O/E Taxa scores for the Liffey River upstream of Liffey.
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