Creek to Coral Community Monitoring

Program start date

Monitoring commenced in each catchment at different times:

• Louisa Creekwatch in 2001
• Ross River Network, and Sachs, Mundy and Bluewater Creekwatch in 2006
• Whites, Stuart and Bohle Creekwatch in early 2007.

Program end date

Ongoing

Objectives of the program

To involve the local community in catchment management activities, such as water quality monitoring, through the Creekwatch initiative. In this way, Creekwatch helps create local ownership of Townsville’s waterways through education and involvement. Creekwatch activities provide environmental benefits to the local environment and social benefits to volunteers, while also providing valuable data that may be used in decision making.

Who is involved?

Lead organisation

Creek to Coral Initiative (Townsville City Council) and Conservation Volunteers Australia

Contact details of lead organisation: enquiries♲townsville.qld.gov.au

Partner organisations

Department of Environment and Resource Management, NQ Dry Tropics and community groups including Scouts Australia, Rotary Australia and local schools.

List of indicators monitored

• Dissolved oxygen
• Electrical conductivity
• pH
• Temperature (air and water)
• Turbidity
• Fish (presence)
• Macro-invertebrates (SIGNAL score)
• Presence of other riverine flora and fauna

Scale of program

Local government area

Brief description of sampling locations

Monitoring is conducted at a number of sites associated with Louisa Creek, Ross River, Sachs Creek, Mundy Creek, Bluewater Creek, Whites Creek, Stuart Creek and Bohle River in the Townsville local government area.

Frequency of monitoring

Monitoring is intended to be ongoing at all sites, with monitoring of biological and water quality indicators occurring on a monthly basis.

Where is the program reported?

Data is intended to be embedded on the Creek to Coral website for public access. Open communication lines have historically existed between Townsville City Council officers and Conservation Volunteers Australia for sharing data and observations within catchments. The Creekwatch program will be reviewed during 2011-12 to improve reporting and feedback to community groups and to improve the quality of data collected and recorded.