Monitoring and Evaluation
SECTION D MONITORING AND EVALUATION
D2.0 Current M&E Measurement
Monitoring within Torbay catchment is continuing to occur in three key areas:- Surface water (quantity and quality)
- Groundwater (level and quality)
- Catchment health indicators.
D2.1 Surface water monitoring
There are six gauging stations within the Torbay catchment with monitoring records since January 1997. They are located to measure stream flow in:- Five Mile Creek
- Seven Mile Creek
- Cuthbert Drain
- Grasmere Drain
- Marbellup Brook
- Torbay Main Drain
The location of these monitoring stations is shown in Figure B2. The gauging stations provide measures of Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Phosphorus (TP) and turbidity (T - a measure of sediment load). Each of these are recorded as concentrations (both observed and flow-weighted) although they can be converted to annual load measurement (as a product of average concentration and annual stream flow).
An analysis of the trends for TN, TP and T for the 1997-2004 period is provided in Appendix 4.
D2.2 Groundwater Monitoring
Groundwater was monitored at 24 locations in the lower catchment from May 2003 to May 2005. The water level was measured in all wells monthly and nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were measured in 12 of the bores every three months. The location of the monitoring wells is shown in Figure B7. The outcome of the monitoring was the production of a report by the Department of Environment, "What lies beneath... Impact of groundwater and subsoil geochemical processes on the health of waterways in the lower Torbay catchment."D2.3 Catchment Health Indicators
Catchment Health indicators show achievement of the communities' aspirational goals and targets. The selection of catchment health indicators for the Torbay catchment is described by Duxbury (2003). The environmental, economic and social characteristics for which indicators are proposed were derived from a social survey undertaken during 2002. They are:- Quality of water in waterways and lakes
- Weed infestation in the catchment
- Level of protection and extent of native vegetation and fauna
- Level of rehabilitation of waterways and drains with vegetation and bank stabilising
- Status of fish stocks in the Inlet and waterways
- Income levels of people living in the catchment
- Level of community participation in local organizations
- Degree of satisfaction about living in the catchment area
The suggested indicators for each of these characteristics are given in the report "Catchment Health indicators for Torbay Western Australia".