A successful WQM program will be contingent upon a good program design, including clear objectives, design of the sampling regime, laboratory analysis, data management, quality assurance and quality control, occupational health and safety and reporting.

In considering principles and practices which can inform the development of your WQMS a number of resources can be drawn upon, including:

• ANZECC Monitoring Guidelines
• Regional integrated monitoring initiatives, such as the Hawkesbury-Nepean Integrated Water Monitoring Framework
• Regional resources such as that prepared for the Sydney Coastal Councils
• Shared experiences of other Local Government organisations.

The link to the right provides a very good and comprehensive list of “process matters” that should be considered in the design of a WQM program.

Sampling design

Generally, a sample is considered to be representative of the general condition of a body of water. Monitoring water quality over a large geographic area or over a long timeframe can be prohibitively expensive. The key to minimising cost is a monitoring program which is targeted at meeting specific regional priorities and local recreational objectives.

In practical terms, sampling design will need to consider:

• Selection of sites for monitoring, including deciding how many sites to monitor and the method of selecting locations. Depending on the objective of your study, monitoring sites should be selected to include a variety of sites, representative of the types of waterways, land and water uses, and impacts in each river basin.
• Determination of the methodology and timing for taking individual water samples at each site (how, when, how often).
• Choice of parameters tested for each site.
• Evaluation of the results in relation to objectives and/or hypotheses.

For specific guidance, it is suggested you use the “Australian Guidelines for Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting 2000” which discuss study design for WQM in detail, including considerations of sampling design (Section 3.4.).

The Beachwatch Partnership Program’s Draft Information Package and Field Manual discusses practical aspects of study design for recreational water quality monitoring (pages 20 to 25), including sample design, and is a good example of the design process.

Many councils, particularly those that operate their own water supply and wastewater treatment plants, will have the resources and expertise to design and undertake their own water sampling. In other cases, council may have to engage a consultant (see website to left) to assist (see link on right for an example of a consultant’s brief).