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Managing Water Quality To Enable Future Irrigation Development In The Kimberley Region, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources commissioned reports

Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Modelling to Evaluate the Effect of Farm Chemicals on the Lower Pools of the Keep River

The National Water Grid Authority awarded the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) a project entitled ‘Managing Water Quality to Enable Future Irrigation Development in the Kimberley Region’.

The purpose of the project is to review the current and future risk profile of agrichemicals (pesticides) in the Keep River catchment (Ord - East Kimberley) in the context of irrigation development across the last decade and proposed in the medium term. The results of the review were to define prospective mitigation …

Report On And Recommendations Arising From The Visit Of Dr Michael Warne (University Of Queensland) And Robert Sluggett To Kununurra, Michael Warne Dr, Rob Sluggett

Natural resources commissioned reports

Dr Michael Warne of the Reef Catchments Science Partnership and Robert Sluggett of Farmacist Pty Ltd were invited by Richard George of Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to visit Kununurra, Western Australia.

The project was financially supported by the National Water Grid Authority project “Managing water quality to enable future irrigation development in the Kimberley Region”. The aim of the visit was for Dr Warne and Rob Sluggett to engage with farmers, key stakeholders and staff from DPIRD in order to understand the agriculture and water quality in the Ord and Keep river region; and to share …

Arkansas Bulletin Of Water Research - Issue 2021-2022, Erin Grantz, Lillie Haddock, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research

The Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research (Bulletin) is a publication of the Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC). We publish the Bulletin to communicate the major findings of research funded by the Water Resources Research Act Section 104(b) in Arkansas. This research is relevant to Arkansas water stakeholders, and the Bulletin provides an easily searchable and aesthetically engaging access option.

This is the fourth publication of the Bulletin. This issue contains final reports from research projects that were funded by the 104(b) program in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The articles in this issue can be cited as an AWRC publication. …

A Biological Assessment Of Water Quality In El Placer, Ecuador: The Effect Of Agriculture On Stream Health And The Quality Of Historical Versus Current Drinking Water Sources, Danielle Kleinberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although fresh water is one of Ecuador’s most abundant resources, high quality drinking water for its inhabitants is scarce (Wingfield et al., 2021). The most prevalent sources of water pollution in Ecuador are domestic waste, silver and gold mining, oil production, and agricultural chemicals (Buckalew et al., 1997). El Placer, a village located in Tungurahua, Ecuador, is highly dependent on agriculture as a source of income. The first objective of this study was to determine the effect of agriculture on the El Placer’s Tía Anita Stream through comparing the water quality at three sites with varying agricultural influence. The second …

Smallholder Farmers, Environmental Change And Adaptation In A Human-Dominated Landscape In The Northern Highlands Of Rwanda, Apollinaire William

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Climate change and crop intensification are key challenges to the livelihoods and wellbeing of the majority of rural smallholder farmers in developing countries, particularly in human-dominated, climate-sensitive landscapes such as the northern highlands of Rwanda where issues of fluvial floods, soil erosion pose serious threats to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. In this mixed methods study conducted between August and December 2015, I explored smallholder farmers’ perceptions by examining what barriers might hinder the process of agroforestry adoption by smallholder farmers, what socio-economic and physical factors and attitudes influence crop choices, motivations for smallholder farmers’ willingness to plant trees within …

Goomig Farmlands Development Baseline Water Quality In The Lower Keep River, D L. Bennett, Richard J. George Dr

Resource management technical reports

In 2008 the Ord Irrigation Expansion Project was approved by the Western Australian Government to develop irrigated agriculture on the Weaber Plain. By mid-2014 construction of almost all of the water supply, drainage, access, monitoring and other infrastructure for the 7400ha Goomig Farmlands development had substantially been completed. An important concern is the effect the Goomig Farmlands development may have on the water quality of the downstream lower Keep River aquatic environment, particularly as it relates to threatened species that inhabit or may inhabit the area. Possible increases in salinity, nutrients, suspended sediment, heavy metals and farm chemicals delivered in …

Sp740-A Good Agricultural Practices Series: Testing Water For Fruit And Vegetable Production, Susannah Amundson, Grant Mccarty, Faith Critzer, Annette Wszelaki

Commercial Horticulture

No abstract provided.

Sp740-A Good Agricultural Practices Series: Testing Water For Fruit And Vegetable Production, Susannah Amundson, Grant Mccarty, Faith Critzer, Annette Wszelaki

Commercial Horticulture

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of Grass Filters In Reducing Phosphorus And Sediment Runoff, Ahmed Al-Wadaey, Charles S. Wortmann, Thomas G. Franti, Charles A. Shapiro, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Surface water contamination can often be reduced by passing runoff water through perennial grass filters. Research was conducted in 2006 to 2008 to evaluate the size of cool season grass filters consisting primarily of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb) with some orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata L.) relative to drainage area size in reducing runoff sediment and phosphorus (P). The soil was Pohocco silt loam Typic Eutrochrepts with a median slope of 5.5%. The grass filters occupying 1.1 and 4.3% of the plot area were compared with no filter with four replications. The filters were planted in the V-shaped …

Surface Water Characteristics Of The Weaber Plain And Lower Keep River Catchments: Data Review And Preliminary Results, D L. Bennett, Richard J. George Dr

Resource management technical reports

In 2008, the Ord Irrigation Expansion Project was approved by the Western Australian Government to develop irrigated agriculture on the Weaber Plain.

An important concern is the effect the Weaber Plain agricultural development may have on the water quality of the downstream Border Creek and Keep River

This report assembles and reviews all available physico-chemical water quality data for the lower Keep River and Border Creek systems and presents data from the initial year of a targeted baseline monitoring program (June 2010 – June 2013).

Water Management Plan For The Town Of Pingelly, Mark Pridham

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Options For Achieving And Maintaining Low Salinity In Agricultural Dams, Tilwin Westrup

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Setting Targets For Resource Condition In Doradine Catchment, Leon Van Wyk, Gregory Paul Raper

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Agricultural And Urban Influences On Water Quality In South West Wa, Nardia Keipert, David Weaver, Robert Summers, Christian Zammit, Artemis Kitsios, Simon Neville, Martin Clarke

Conference papers and presentations

In Western Australia, a number of coastal rivers and estuaries have suffered from eutrophication since the 1960’s. Often the focus of the threat to water quality in these areas has been agriculture because of its extensive nature and widespread use of highly soluble fertilisers. Over recent years a focus on nutrient inputs, outputs and nutrient balance in a number of projects provides an opportunity to compare the relative nutrient threats from the agricultural and urban sectors, placed in the context of increasing urbanisation and development. These disparate data sets also allow a comparison of nutrient inputs in each sector in …

Narrogin Townsite Test Pumping Results 2003, Louise Hopgood

Resource management technical reports

Test pumping of a production bore in Narrogin took place for 24 hours in August 2003. Data generated by the test pumping was analysed along with groundwater monitoring, climate and geological data. Laboratory analyses of water samples from the production bore indicate very high levels of salinity and hardness which may lead to severe scaling and corrosion of pumps, pipes and pipe fittings.

Kellerberrin Townsite Test Pumping Results 2003, Louise Hopgood

Resource management technical reports

A production bore in Kellerberrin, Western Australia, was test pumped for 24 hours in August 2003. Data generated by the pumping were analysed with groundwater monitoring, climate and geological data. Laboratory analyses of water samples from the production bore indicate a low pH and very high levels of salinity, hardness, sodium, chloride, iron, sulphate, aluminium and manganese. This is likely to lead to scaling, blockages, staining and/or corrosion of pumps, pipes and pipe fittings.

Swine Waste Demonstration And Training Project, C. V. Maxwell, K. Vandevender, K. P. Coffey, P. A. Moore, I. Chaubey, D. R. Smith

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Addressing Off-Site Nutrient Pollution Through Conventional Management Actions: A Modelling Case Study, David Weaver, Simon Neville, David Deeley

Conference papers and presentations

The ecology of estuaries on the south coast of Western Australia has been disrupted by increased nutrient and sediment discharge from predominantly rural catchments. Seagrass beds have been replaced by macroalgae, and toxic algal blooms threaten human and animal health, and reduce amenity. A range of conventional management actions are available to reduce nutrient loss at source, and it is important to evaluate possible reductions, and costs, so that limited funds can be targeted to realise the greatest moderation of nutrient loss. A lumped landuse nutrient generation rate model was developed for four catchments (Wilson Inlet, Oyster Harbour, Torbay Inlet …

Relationships Between Stream Order And Management Priority: A Water Quality Case Study, David Weaver, Adrian Reed, John Grant

Conference papers and presentations

Seagrass, which once dominated the habitat of Oyster Harbour on the south coast of Western Australia has been replaced by macroalgae because of increased nutrient and sediment discharge from the rural dominated catchment. Total Phosphorus (TP), Total Nitrogen (TN), Suspended Sediment (SS) and Electrical Conductivity (EC) concentrations from a catchment – wide (168 sites), event-driven snapshot, water quality monitoring program conducted from 1994 to 1996, were analysed in relation to stream order and published survey data on riparian zone condition. This analysis was performed to examine relationships between stream order, riparian zone condition and water quality, and implications for the …

Phosphorus In The Landscape: Diffuse Sources To Surface Waters. Land And Water Resources Research And Development Corporation. Occasional Paper 16/98, Richard Davis, Anne Hamblin, E O'Loughlin, Nic Austin, R Banens, P Cornish, P Hairsin, M Mcculloch, Phil Moody, J Olley, B Prove, I Smalls, David Weaver

All other publications

The National Eutrophication Management Program (NEMP) and Environment Australia convened a workshop to develop a coherent overview of the sources and transport of diffuse phosphorus in Australian catchments based on the latest knowledge. The Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC) and the Murray–Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) jointly fund NEMP. A select group of scientists attended the workshop and developed a coherent statement about phosphorus sources and transport in Australian catchments. The group did not extend this statement to include recommended management practices. This paper reports the findings from the workshop. State governments have developed algal and nutrient …

Indicator Bacteria Concentrations Of Two Northwest Arkansas Streams In Relation To Flow And Season, Dwayne R. Edwards, Mark S. Coyne, Tommy C. Daniel, P. F. Vendrell, J. F. Murdoch, P. A. Moore Jr.

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Concentrations of indicator bacteria such as fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS) are often used to assess the suitability of waters for their intended use(s) and to allocate resources for water quality improvement measures. There is evidence, however, that concentrations of FC and FS can be influenced by variables such as season and flow rate during sampling, which could lead to biased results. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of season and flow rate on concentrations of FC and FS. Fecal indicator bacteria concentrations were measured for approximately three years at five sites on two …

The Debate: Are Water Rights And Sustainable Water Use Compatible?, Stuart L. Somach

Sustainable Use of the West's Water (Summer Conference, June 12-14)

12 pages.

Contains footnotes and references.

The Henry’S Fork: Finding Mutual Interest In The Watershed, Janice M. Brown, Dale L. Swensen

Sustainable Use of the West's Water (Summer Conference, June 12-14)

9 pages.

Contains references.

Albany Harbours Sampling Program - Experiences, Myths And The Need For Standards, David Weaver

Conference papers and presentations

Making accurate and precise estimations of pollutant loadings is becoming more important as our waterways suffer from increased inputs of pollutants and as statutory requirements to meet target loads are established. The most studied pollutant in waterways in WA is phosphorus (P) since it is reported to be the stimulus for algal growth. Many reports publish nutrient load data without any discussion of potential errors in sampling, chemical analysis or load calculations, or any discussion of the assumptions made and conclusions drawn from those calculations. The result can be the adoption of incorrect sampling, analytical and calculation procedures, leading ultimately …

Agricultural Water Quality Criteria : Irrigation Aspects., P R. George

Resource management technical reports

Water quality criteria for irrigation are imprecise. The final result of quality evaluation depends on plant, soil and climatic variables all of which can be inter-dependent. A range of management strategies of varying complexity are available to mitigate the effects of poor quality water. The heavy winter rainfall in the south-west of Western Australia affects the applicability of published salinity criteria most of which have been developed in arid and semi-arid environments with little effective rainfall.