Clean Waterways Water Quality Sampling Program

This paper provides an overview of the sampling strategy developed to obtain water quality data for the Sydney Water Board's Clean Waterways Programme. Intensive pilot studies are being implemented to describe the spatial and site variability within each water body. Ammonia, Total Phosphorus and Faecal Coliform data clearly show the impacts on water quality resulting from sewage overflows and storm water loadings. A statistically powerful long term monitoring program is being designed to detect specified water quality changes resulting from future improvement works to the Board's sewerage system. Data from short term studies on sediment, algae, tidal, diurnal and pollutant discharge effects are used for calibration of water quality models.