Publication (Technical report): Outcomes of the NRHP Urban Sub-Program. Report of a workshop held at Environment Australia, Canberra, 21st February 2001

Publication Type:	Technical report / Consultancy
Publication Name:	Outcomes of the NRHP Urban Sub-Program. Report of a workshop held at Environment Australia, Canberra, 21st February 2001

Reference Information

Cottingham, P., Anderson, J., Breen, P., John, J., Langford, J., Moverley, J., O'Connor, N., Parslow, J., Rooney, G., Walsh, C. and Whelan, M. (2001) Outcomes of the NRHP Urban Sub-Program. Report of a workshop held at Environment Australia, Canberra, 21st February 2001. Report No 14, LWRRDC Occasional Paper 21/99, Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.

Optional Information

Attached document(s):

- WSAAUrbanReportFINAL2fromLWA.pdf

ISBN:
642760616

Other information:

Full report attached below
(PDF, 255KB)

The Outcomes of the NRHP Urban Sub-Program. Report of a Workshop Held at Environment Australia, Canberra, 21st February 2001.

Peter Cottingham, John Anderson, Peter Breen, Jacob John, John Langford, John Moverley, Nick O'Connor, John Parslow, Graham Rooney, Chris Walsh, Michael Whelan

CONTENTS


1	INTRODUCTION	1
2	BASIC DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR MANAGEMENT OF URBAN STREAMS	2
2.1	PROJECT SYNOPSIS	2
2.2	OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT	4
3	RIVPACS (RIVER INVERTEBRATE PREDICTION AND CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM) FOR URBAN STREAMS	5
3.1	PROJECT SYNOPSIS	5
3.2	FURTHER DEVELOPMENT	8
4	DIATOM PREDICTION AND CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (DIPACS) FOR URBAN STREAMS	10
4.1	PROJECT SYNOPSIS	10
4.2	FURTHER DEVELOPMENT	13
5	SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY-MACROINVERTEBRATE FAUNA RELATIONSHIPS IN URBAN STREAMS	14
5.1	GENERAL DISCUSSION	15
6	PHYSICAL CLASSIFICATION OF ESTUARIES	16
6.1	GENERAL DISCUSSION	17
7	LITERATURE REVIEW OF ECOLOGICAL HEALTH ASSESSMENTS IN ESTUARIES	18
8	ESTUARINE HEALTH ASSESSMENT USING BENTHIC MACROFAUNA	20
9	ESTUARINE EUTROPHICATION MODELS	22
9.1	GENERAL DISCUSSION	24
10	FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR URBAN WATERWAY RESEARCH	26
11	CONCLUSIONS	31
12	REFERENCES	32

	APPENDIX 1	34

Acknowledgements
The inputs and suggestions of those who attended the workshop on the 21st February 2001 were greatly appreciated. In addition to the authors, Barry Ball (Brisbane City Council), Gary Bickford (EPA New South Wales), Bruce Gray (Environment Australia), Brian Hall (River Info), Neil Hughes (Environment Australia), Bob Humphries (Water Corporation), Peter Komidar (Environment Australia) and Tony Wong (CRC for Catchment Hydrology). The assistance of Barry Sheedy was also appreciated.

1 Introduction
The National River Health Program (NRHP) was established in 1993,with the aim of improving the management of Australia’s rivers and floodplains for their long-term health and ecological sustainability. The Urban Sub-Program of the NRHP was established in 1994 to produce tools for measuring the health of urban streams and estuaries. The Sub-Program was delivered via a portfolio of eight research projects that were developed to meet the research priorities identified for urban streams and estuaries and complement other NRHP research projects being conducted on rural streams. The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) was contracted by Land & Water Australia (then LWRRDC) to manage the Sub-Program. The research projects commenced in 1996 and were completed in 2000.

WSAA convened a workshop, held on the 21st February 2001, to explore the knowledge gained and lessons learnt from the Sub-Program and to consider future directions for research and management of waterways (streams and estuaries) in urban areas. The workshop was attended by key researchers associated with the eight projects and representatives from agencies with an interest in the outcomes of the program (Appendix 1). This report is a summary of the findings and recommendations that emerged from the workshop.

A short synopsis of the eight Urban Sub-Program projects is presented in chapters 2-9, along with suggestions for ‘value-adding’ to the work already undertaken. The research projects include:

1. Decision support system for management of urban streams
2. River inVertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS) for urban streams
3. Diatom Prediction and Classification System (DIPACS) for urban streams
4. Sediment chemistry-macroinvertebrate fauna relationships in urban streams
5. Classification of estuaries
6. Literature review of ecological health assessments in estuaries
7. Estuarine health assessment using benthic macrofauna
8. Estuarine eutrophication models

Future research directions that emerged from general discussion about the Sub-Program and individual projects are discussed in chapter 10.

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