Water Quality Monitoring Program for Port Phillip Bay Western Port

2. Relationship to WQIP

3. Project Overview Project Expectations: Establish a pollutant loads monitoring program that will inform current and future loads monitoring in the region To track attainment of WQIP & other key objectives Better measurement of loads Better characterising of pollutants Not directly addressing sources of pollution Link in with WQIP and other WQIP projects

4. Project Overview

5. Project Overview The project involves 3 Stages: Stage 1: engaging a consultant to undertake a review of existing pollutant loads monitoring arrangements and outputs consider existing and future loads monitoring needs make recommendations for a new loads program. Stage 2: 12-month trial of new loads monitoring program Stage 3: review new program and make recommendations for on-going monitoring

6. Current Loads Commitments

7. Historical Load Monitoring Programs Westernport Suspended Solids Cardinia, Bunyip, Lang Lang Continuous turbidity & flow Monthly TSS and other parameters �Lower Yarra Continuous Monitoring �Flow, EC, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature * Parslow, J., Sokolov, S. & S. Murray (1999) Port Phillip Bay Baseline, Monitoring and Analysis for Nitrogen Load Reductions. Final Report. CSIRO Marine Research August 1999.

8. Stage 1: Consultant Review Aim To establish a stream-based pollutant loads monitoring program in the Port Phillip and Western Port Catchments that will inform the effectiveness of catchment and stream management actions � Primary Objectives To review current water quality monitoring data for the Port Phillip and Western Port region and assess its ability to accurately determine nutrient or suspended solids loads within major waterways discharging to Port Phillip and Western Port To recommend modifications to the current loads monitoring program that will lead to better estimates of nutrient and suspended solids loads within major waterways discharging to Port Phillip and Western Port

9. Consultant Brief Scope Secondary Objectives To identify opportunities and methodologies to enhance the predictive capacity of our water quality decision support systems (e.g. E2, MUSIC) through the targeted collection of pollutant loads data To outline loads monitoring methodologies required to assess the effectiveness of implementing key Water Quality Improvement Plan actions relating to Agricultural Best Management Practice and Water Sensitive Urban Design. Review undertaken by Drs Tim Fletcher & Ana Deletic at Monash University

10. Review Overview �A Review of Melbourne Water�s Pollutant Loads Monitoring Program for Port Phillip and Western Port � (May 2006) 1. Review of relevant documents SEPPs Previous pollution loads assessments in the region (Parslow et al (1999), FILTER model, Duncan (2001), Pettigrove (1997), Fletcher & Deletic (2006)) Current state-of-the-art in loads monitoring 2. Additional water quality monitoring needs (ie 2o Objectives) 3. Criteria and assessment methodology 4. Assessment of current LMP Statistical analysis of current LMP data Assessment against range of criteria 5. Proposed LMP

11. Examined: can pollutant loads be measured using continuously measured turbidity; if so, to with what certainty? how pollutant loads are / can be monitored using discrete sampling (frequency, how many storms, use of auto-samplers), adequacy of existing spatial distribution of monitoring within the region

12. Assessment of Current LMP

13. Key Findings Turbidity meters, if properly calibrated: reliable, low-cost surrogate measure for TSS (uncertainty <10%). Continuous turbidity no good for other parameters. Must capture the widest possible range of event sizes: often have not in past (remote, flashy sites). Continuously monitored turbidity data should be used at an interval of no more than 3 days, preferably daily. Number of events: > 50 and 25 for TSS and TN/TP respectively Discrete sampling of storm events (ie. using autosamplers) not necessary for long-term estimate of pollutant loads. Caveats: other objectives, logistics Gaps: Werribee River catchment, the south-east Peninsula, parts of the Westernport catchment.

14. Key Findings Suggested improvements: Clear and agreed documentation of objectives, methods and uses of data Strengthen Quality Assurance / Quality Control procedures: site installation & operation (esp. calibration), data validation, storage & use Better assessment and incorporation of uncertainty

15. Proposed Load Monitoring Program

16. Desirable Program

17. Progress to Date 13/14 sites active Continuous data at least for a month 1 storm event captured (12/13 sites) with success! Week end event, last Friday 5pm. Rain gauges on Melbourne Water website trigger sampling � Autosamplers remotely triggered by phone Additional parameters (faecal indicators, biocides and hydrocarbons) which will guide indicator selection into future Many teething issues but that is the reason why we are running a trial period! Review scheduled in June 2007