Berri Barmera Local Action Plan

  - Irrigation & Drainage
  - Wetlands & Floodplains
  - Water Quality
  - Conservation & Biodiversity
  - Education & Awareness
  - Monitoring & Evaluation

Page last updated: 24/08/04

Water Quality

The prosperity of the region is closely linked to the availability of good quality water for beneficial uses; including irrigation, industrial, domestic, recreation and tourism. The major water quality problems identified in the Berri Barmera Local Action Planning area are salinity, high nutrient levels, bacteria and turbidity.

Water quality within the region is affected by a number of factors. These include

Quality and quantity of water received from across the South Australian Border
Natural and irrigation-induced groundwater flows to the river within South Australia
Increased diversions of water to irrigation, urban, industrial, stock and domestic uses resulting in reduced flows to dilute pollutants
Land use, waste disposal and land management practices in South Australia

The Berri Barmera Local Action Planning Committee has three primary strategies to address the issue of water quality within the region. These are

Preventing irrigation drainage entering the River Murray
Preventing effluent entering the River Murray
Divert stormwater from the River Murray

Work Conducted and Underway

The Berri Barmera Local Action Planning Committee has over the past four years received Natural Heritage Trust funding to undertake projects which address water quality in the region. Works which have either been completed or are currently being undertaken include:

Measured and quantified stormwater entering the River from Berri, and Lake Bonney.
Ongoing monitoring of water quality at Lake Bonney.
Waterwatch is involved with water quality monitoring at many of the wetlands in the Berri Barmera LAP area.
Money has been obtained to decommission the effluent lagoons at Bamera
Through Land and Water Management Planning, irrigation practices are being improved to reduce the amount of irrigation drainage entering the River Murray
Yellow Fish Road drain stencilling project. For more information on this project, visit the Yellow Fish Road website.

Lake Bonney Water Quality Study. In 1999, the Berri Barmera LAP Committee commissioned PPK to undertake a Water Qualituy Study of Lake Bonney. This report can be downloaded from the link shown above