1. DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT, THE ARTS AND SPORT 1 River Health Monitoring Aquatic Health Unit Julia Fortune, Julia Schult

2. Overview IntroductionIntroduction New NRETAS fundingNew NRETAS funding Nutrient monitoring and researchNutrient monitoring and research Daly River Monitoring Status ReportDaly River Monitoring Status Report DiscussionDiscussion

3. DRMAG Suggested Approach Phase 1: –Coordinated reporting of current monitoring (focus on pressures) Phase 2: –New monitoring by NTG and community –Dependent on extra resources

4. Current Work NRETAS funding $60k: Nutrient Monitoring Nutrient Limitation Research Daly River Monitoring Status Report

5. Nutrient Monitoring and Research Why nutrients? Most likely impact of development: increased nutrients Modelling shows potential doubling of algal biomass with nutrient addition Some doubt about accuracy of historical nutrient data

6. Proposed Nutrient Monitoring Dry Season 2011 Extensive nutrient sampling using new more accurate analysis technique Determine reference condition and water quality objectives Provide opportunities for community involvement in sampling

7. Nutrient Limitation Research Limited information on nutrient limitation and likely effects of nutrient increases Nutrient limitation research in collaboration with TRaCK

8. Bring together information from different agencies Status Report Provide template for future reporting Introduce P-S-R model Reporting by subcatchment to highlight areas of greatest pressure

9. Status Report Style similar to Darwin Harbour Report Cards

10. Status Report (Example only) Pressure Monitoring Land Use Clearing Water extraction/bores Fire frequency Flows/gauge stations Mining No of licensed bores999 Total groundwater allocation (GL) 99999 Current Use (2010)9999 Percent10%

11. SubcatchmentWater Quality Fringing vegetation HydrologyGeo- morphology 1Bamboo CreekXXXX 2Bradshaw CreekXXXX 3Chilling CreekXXXX 4Daly River √ XXX 5Dead Horse CreekXXXX 6Douglas River√X√X 7Fergusson RiverXXXX 8Fish RiverXXXX 9Flora RiverXXXX 10Greenant Creek√XXX 11Hayward CreekXXXX 12Katherine River√X√X 13King and Dry RiversXXvX 14Limestone CreekXXXX 15Seventeen Mile CreekXXXX 16Stray CreekXXXX Status Report (Example only) Stressor Monitoring Overview of current stressor monitoring Historical WQ monitoring (2005-2010)

12. Status Report (Example only) Biological Monitoring Fish monitoring (DoR) –E.g. catch per unit effort data Macroinvertebrates (DoR) –E.g. disused mine monitoring

13. Status Report - Outcomes Highlight sub-catchments of concern Show current bias towards pressure monitoring Highlight gaps in current monitoring Provide background info for public consultation Template for future reporting Expected publication Mid 2011