Water quality is a very important aspect of catchment health, as it reflects and integrates many issues impacting on environmental values. WQM provides an understanding of the patterns and trends in the condition of waterbodies, along with ways to evaluate the effectiveness of management practices.

Who should use this toolkit

This toolkit will assist local government staff who have direct responsibilities in water quality monitoring (WQM).

Others may also benefit from the toolkit, such as Councillors; other Council staff, especially management; those involved in WQM who do not work for local government such as community environmental groups; water industry practitioners; and students.

How to use it

Content

This toolkit provides advice on:

• WQM as a process. No matter what type of WQM is being considered or undertaken, the whole exercise is a process which has generic features and principles. For example, a WQM program for a recreational lake and a WQM program for a sewage treatment plant will have some common principles which underpin them, such as those governing the design of sampling and the management of data generated from the programs. This part of the toolkit sets out the generic features and principles of WQM from the beginning of the process to the end. The diagram in the link to the right illustrates the process.

• Specific WQM issues. This part of the toolkit relates to specific issues which arise from WQM. It represents a “mini-encyclopaedia” and provides information to quite a detailed level on a wide range of WQM issues.

Navigation

The user can simply navigate the toolkit to find information on “process” or a particular WQM topic, using the links that have been provided.

Where relevant information has been identified as being on a website, the user is generally referred to the website for the detail, rather than the information being reproduced in the toolkit itself.

A “Search Function” has been included, so that the user can nominate any WQM subject of interest and find the information the toolkit has on it.

Caveat

This toolkit has been built upon the results of a representative survey of Local Government and their identified needs, a review of the literature and the key involvement of an experienced Council and consultant WQM team. Whilst a great deal of care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information that has been provided, people who use the website do so at their own risk.

Funding and Project Management

The development of this toolkit was funded by the State Government through a stormwater grant. A consortium of organisations were involved in the grant application. The consortium comprised Upper Parramatta and Parramatta River Catchment Trust; Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources; and the Western Suburbs Regional Organisation of Councils and the following councils: Liverpool, Fairfield, Wollondilly, Hawkesbury, Campbelltown and Shoalhaven.

Liverpool Council managed the project on behalf of the consortium.

The project went to tender and was awarded to a consultancy team comprising Molino Stewart, University of Western Sydney, Hornsby Council and Sumix. Molino Stewart led the consultancy team.

This project has been assisted by the New South Wales Government through its Stormwater Trust.