What is Waterwatch?

Waterwatch is a national community water quality monitoring and education network that encourages all Australians to become involved and active in the protection and management of their waterways and catchments.

The Waterwatch network is made up of individuals, community groups and school groups who undertake a variety of biological and habitat assessments, including physical and chemical tests to build up a picture of the health of their waterways and catchments.

By monitoring their local waterways over time community members can determine if the health of their waterways and surrounds are improving, declining or being maintained and take action accordingly. The Southern ACT Catchment Group can assist groups in developing projects to help improve water quality within the region. Our CAMPFIRE program was developed to assess the condition of our waterways of the 2003 Canberra Bushfires.

Waterwatch also offers a wide variety of free educational programs which can be tailored to meet the curricular requirements of classes and their teachers. As well as sciences our educational programs can be used to meet requirements in languages, mathematics and even visual art. Most importantly, Waterwatch educational programs are designed to lead students from awareness to action in their care for and commitment to the local environment.

How can YOU get involved?

If you have an interest in your local environment, Waterwatch is a great way to get involved. Contact the Waterwatch Co-ordinator to ask about volunteering to help with the monitoring and health of the the local catchment.

The ‘Friends of Tidbinbilla’ (FOT) Parkcare group are one the longest serving Waterwatch groups in the ACT. They have been providing monthly data on the Tidbinbilla River and its tributaries continuously since the early 90’s. ‘FOT’ support the Tidbinbilla rangers through their invaluable maintenance of walking trails, removal of weeds and monitoring of wildlife populations and in the reserve. Originally approached to provide information about examples of pristine waterways in the ACT, they encountered an unexpected change in the levels of organic pollutants in one of the streams that revealed a population of feral pigs high in the reserve in 1997. Examples like this highlight the importance of our role in regular waterway monitoring. There have been similar stories from other Waterwatch groups around our region and it’s intriguing to see how some tests that we conduct month after month, often with little variation can contribute to the discovery of something quite unexpected.
Fiona Spier, long serving member and current president of ‘FOT’, began Waterwatch monitoring in 1994. She remembers fondly the difference in the water levels in the Tidbinbilla river from those now. Before the 2003 fires the river and creeks would often flow so high that it was a tricky business getting a sample without getting wet.

Lower Tidbinbilla River last summer. Not a drop!

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve became a focus for recovery work in the natural environment in the wake of 2003.
The river was a mess. The salt, mud and organic pollution levels all increased for months afterwards, with many of the surrounding creeks being completed filled with silt.
It took almost 3 years for the turbidity (muddiness) of the Tidbinbilla River to return to something approximating ‘normal’ or pre 2003 levels. Even so Fiona says that the river and creeks have never really been the same since then.
Engineering consultants working on the remodeling of the wetlands were keen to make use of ‘FOT’s data in their planning and design.

Gary Stephenson at Upper Tidbinbilla River monitoring site.

If you are interested in finding out more about the ‘Friends of Tidbinbilla’ Parkcare Group or indeed any of our Waterwatch activities please contact Martin Lind on 6296 6400 (Mon-Wed), or email Waterwatch@sactcg.org.au .

Education For Primary Schools

Waterwatch monthly reports to the SACTCG committee