Corangamite Catchment Management Authority 64 Dennis St (PO Box 159) Colac Victoria 3250 (T) 03 5232 9100 (F) 03 5232 2759 (E) info@ccma.vic.gov.au www.ccma.vic.gov.au

The Barwon Estuary Monitoring Pilot Project (BEMPP) is a citizen science program developed to monitor public health and recreational water quality indicators whilst keeping the community informed about public health impacts.

Sixteen community volunteers participated in the project and evidence has been collected regarding the health of the Barwon River Estuary.

The community are now more informed about stormwater discharge and the impact it can have on public health.

Volunteers collected water quality information along the Barwon River Estuary at eight sites in Barwon Heads and Ocean Gove.

Each site was in proximity to stormwater outfalls and areas of high recreational use.

The water quality monitoring program was designed to specifically measure parameters relevant to recreational use of waterways. Regular monitoring of the estuary’s physical, biological and chemical health assisted to develop an understanding of estuary water quality.

Citizen scientist tested water quality parameters including ammonia, pH, turbidity and microbial enterococci (which was analysed in the laboratory), observational data including tides as well as the appearance of the site.

Water quality assessments were carried out twice a month at eight sites between December 2018 and May 2019. Results were analysed against State Environment Protection Policy (SEPP) Waters and reported back to the community through newsletters, public meetings and social media.

If you would like to know more about BEMPP, Corangamite EstuaryWatch or similar citizen science programs, contact the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority

www.ccma.vic.gov.au

info@ccma.vic.gov.au

Stormwater can have a significant influence on estuary health. Run-off from urban areas can carry litter and bacteria-laden pollutants such as faecal matter which carries disease-causing organisms.

BEMPP collected water samples to test for enterococci, an indicator of faecal pollution in the estuarine environment.

Estuary: Barwon River Estuary

Nearest town:

Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove

Estuary length: 19km

River length: 160km

Mouth state: Open

BARWON ESTUARY MONITORING PILOT PROJECT 2018-2019

Project Summary

About BEMPP

BEMPP volunteers participated in training and field safety workshops where they learnt about sampling techniques, the stormwater system in Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove as well as safety in the field.

Each BEMPP site was inspected for accessibility and a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS), a formal risk assessment to identify risks and hazards, was prepared.

BEMPP volunteers were all provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that included high visibility safety vests, hats and appropriate footwear.

The Barwon Estuary Monitoring Pilot Project has exceeded all expectations and project targets.

The BEMPP volunteer citizen scientists were highly motivated and regularly engaged their local community to promote the project.

Immediate trends in water quality are not clear and a longer-term data set will be required to support decision-making and predict water quality for recreational users.

There is strong community enthusiasm to continue to monitor water quality in the Barwon River Estuary and to explore other tools used to predict water quality for recreational users.

Enterococci is an indicator of faecal pollution in an estuarine environment.

Enterococci results varied at all monitoring sites with no clear patterns emerging. Each site recorded enterococci well below the SEPP short-term water quality objectives. Laboratory analysis also detected single recordings greater than the objective of 500 enterococci organisms per 100ml of sample.

Site 1 The Heads Site 2 Barwon Heads bridge Site 3 Ozone Jetty

Ammonia is an indicator of potential toxic pollution. There was no ammonia recorded at any of the monitoring sites during the sampling period.

Site 4 Talbot St Site 5 River Parade Site 6 Sheepwash Rd

pH measures the acidity or alkalinity of the water. pH was in the expected range for an estuary at all sites during the 5-month monitoring period. It ranged between 6 – 8.3 pH units.

Site 7 opposite Ozone Jetty Site 8 Dare St Ocean Grove

Turbidity is a measure of the clarity of the water. Turbidity results were good with all sites recording results less than 10 NTU, although the turbidity at site 8 varied between <10 – 55 NTU.

Safety First