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These changes reflect
the higher value that the community places on healthy
waterways, and the improved information about water
quality that we now have. Waterwatch groups have helped
to change the way that we value our precious water.
If your community group would like to
get involved, we would be happy to register you in the
Waterwatch program and provide you with advice and support
to set up a monitoring and action program.
Once registered, your group can have a
dedicated page on the Waterwatch web site. This "Regional
Notebook" can outline your group, its aims and
objectives, major achievements, and future events. All
of your water quality test results can go directly onto
the Waterwatch database, which gives water quality information
on hundreds of locations across the state
If you think you may like to be part of
Waterwatch, or if you have any questions about the program,
please e-mail water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au
or phone 02 9895 7402.
Waterwatch NSW Community Kit
A Waterwatch NSW Community kit will be
available in the latter part of the year 2002. The kit
will include information on:
- getting started
- monitoring your stream health,
- starting a riverbank rehabilitation project,
- finding help from others,
- promoting your project, and
- associated activities
This page lists a summary of the things
outlined by the manual. If you would like to register
for a copy of the manual, please contact water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au
or phone 02 9895 7402.
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Getting Started
You have already made the first step by
visiting this page.
There are hundreds of different ways to
get involved. From joining in an activity organised
by someone else, to starting your own group or project.
Getting involved is fun and fulfilling.
If you have a project in mind please call
us for more information on 02 9895 7402 or e-mail water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au.
We would like to help you.
"Getting started" will show you how to:
- Investigate your catchment
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Identify the physical parts of the
catchment, the landform, the rocks and soils, the
rainfall patterns, and the living things such as
plants and animals. |
- Understand what is happening in your catchment
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Look at the land uses in the catchment,
industry, agriculture, roads and rail corridors,
communities, and changes over time. |
- Identify water quality problems
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How is land use affecting water quality?
What are the key problems? Common water quality
problems are pollution, erosion, channel obstructions,
over extraction, recreation, and many more. |
- Set up a monitoring program for water quality
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Monitoring water quality will show
whether the things that are happening in the catchment
are causing water quality problems. |
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For each environmental problem, there
is a range of solutions. Knowing what the problems
are and how bad they are will help you to come up
with the best solutions. |
- Take action to help fix the problems
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All of this effort is aimed at fixing
the problems of our waterways. Some solutions can
be as simple as planting some trees to help stop
erosion. Others are more complex. The solution always
starts with a decision to do something. |
Hundreds of groups, involving thousands
of individuals all over Australia, have shown the benefits
of community action. From being the first to spot and
prevent major oil spills, to finding out crucial information
about a water quality problem, the community have proven
time and again the value of those who care for our water.
An active community can and does make
a big difference.
If you would like to get started, contact
water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au or phone 02 9895 7402.
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Monitoring your stream health
The water quality tests done through Waterwatch
can include any or all of the following tests depending
on the information needs of your project. Your local
Waterwatch Co-ordinator can help you to design a testing
program from the following tests:
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Changes in temperature |
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Clarity of water |
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A measure of dissolved salts in the
water |
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A measure of salinity levels |
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Acidity of the water |
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The amount of Oxygen in the water |
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An important nutrient that feeds
growth of algae |
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A measure of sewage or animal wastes |
Monitoring programs need to be well thought
out so that the right thing is being monitored, at the
right frequency, with the right equipment, and using
the right techniques. After doing your catchment investigation,
you will be able to discuss with your Waterwatch Co-ordinator
the type of testing that you need to do, when to test
and the equipment you will use.
The monitoring program will vary depending
upon your time available, budget, and accuracy needs.
The manual includes a checklist to get you started,
and tips on things to watch out for. For example, a
group monitoring a swimming hole may wish to check for
faecal coliform (which is an indicator for swimming),
temperature and pH, and choose to not do some of the
other tests. Other groups concerned about nutrient levels
may choose to do phosphate tests, dissolved oxygen and
biochemical oxygen demand tests, and ignore faecal coliform.
The timing of tests can also be arranged
to fit with events like the autumn and spring water
bug surveys, or National Waterweek www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/waterweek)
activities held in October each year.
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Starting a riverbank rehabilitation
project
Where do you start?
Two hundred years of land use change can
leave a lot of damage, and in most cases we can't wait
as long again to repair the damage.
A lot has been learned about rehabilitating
streams over the last decades.
Much of this knowledge has been put together
in the publication "A Rehabilitation Manual for
Australian Streams" (Rutherford, Jerie and Marsh
2000). This text is highly recommended and can be downloaded
from the Land and Water Australia website at www.rivers.gov.au.
Land and Water Australia, a research and
development project supported by the Co-operative Research
Centre for Catchment Hydrology and the Federal Government,
have produced an interactive CD ROM based on the above
manual showing how to carry out a river rehabilitation
project from start to finish. The CD, called "A
Process for Rehabilitating Australian Streams"
is available with the permission of Land and Water Australia
as part of the Waterwatch NSW Community Manual.
A full electronic copy of "A Rehabilitation
Manual for Australian Streams" is included in the
CD ROM. More information on this topic is available
on the project web site www.rivers.gov.au.
The manual also includes a comprehensive
summary of the series of River Information Fact Sheets,
"Riverwise" with facts on a range of things
such as stabilising streambanks with planting, choosing
plants, structures to prevent erosion etc.
Finding Help From Others
There are many sources of information
and help when it comes to repairing our waterways. Your
catchment investigation should identify who owns the
land in the area you are interested in and what government
authorities are involved.
The main sources of help and information
are:
- Local Councils
- Department of Land and Water Conservation
- Environment Protection Authority
- National Parks and Wildlife Service
- Local Community Environmental Groups
Other sources of help include sponsorship
and local media.
If you don't ask, you don't receive! Sponsorship
can be very useful in helping to purchase equipment
and promote your project. Examples of the type of sponsorship
helping the program across NSW are:
- local industry
- local community organisations (eg Rotary, Lions)
- local councils,
- P & C committees,
- Progress Associations, and
- fund raising activities (eg sausage sizzles).
Don't be afraid to have a go at getting
sponsorship, you might be surprised at the response.
Local media are always on the look out
for an interesting story. If you would like to promote
your project, or encourage other people to help achieve
your aims, the local media can be a big help.
Media opportunities
Tips on getting an article in the local
media are:
| Let them know in advance |
An advance warning phone call, letter,
or media release about your planned activity can
allow the media to schedule your activity for an
article or an interview.
If the media are unable to be there on the day,
send a follow up media release anyway with a photograph
including people and it will often get published. |
| K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) |
Keep the information brief and relevant.
Give all of the facts including who's involved,
why you are doing it, what you expect to achieve,
and how others can help. But always remember, keep
the information simple, brief and relevant.
A media release should usually be no more than one
A4 page, using an easy to read font size. Always
include an available contact so that if further
information is required the media can follow up. |
| Focus on people or other
visible connections to the story |
If there is a key person involved,
give a personal perspective. Always include quotes
in the media release, or list contact details of
people who can give quotes. Make your quotes brief
and to the point.
If there is a visual symbol of the project, eg a
platypus, fish, or rare species, make it a symbol
of the project and give the vital statistics eg
last breeding pair in this section of the river,
range restricted to X. |
| Photographs are essential |
Always send print media a photograph
with an article. Photo's should not be large panoramas,
(unless of a very high quality). Avoid staged "mug
shots" in unnatural looking photos.
Focus on a few key people doing an activity and
keep them large in the photo. |
| If getting interviewed on radio |
Relax, be natural, and don't try
and rehearse your answers or they may sound artificial.
Have a "cheat sheet" with all of the facts
written down such as contact numbers, dates, meeting
points etc. |
| If getting interviewed on television |
Ok, now you can panic!
Not really, most television interviewers will do
their best to make you feel comfortable. Relax,
act naturally, speak slowly and clearly, and always
remember, get a friend to set the video! |
Associated Activities
Remember, one of the key objectives of
Waterwatch is to have fun. It's easy to get so caught
up in a project that you forget to have fun.
Two key things to remember are the NSW
Water Bug Survey, and National Waterweek.
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The NSW Water Bug
Survey is a twice
yearly activity where group's test for "water bugs"
to help get a picture of how healthy their waterway
is. The tiny creatures that live in water vary in their
sensitivity to changes in the water. In highly disturbed
poor water quality streams, only the very hardy bugs
that are not sensitive to changes will be present. In
good quality streams, water bugs that are sensitive
to change will also be found.
You would be amazed how much fun you can
have looking through magnifying glasses to see what
sort of bugs your stream has. The bug survey is a great
way of getting local children and adults to understand
more about their local environment. They may not understand
why a polluted stream is a bad thing in itself, but
if they see the little animals that may get killed if
a stream becomes polluted, they get a much clearer idea
of how pollution can effect the environment.
For more information, visit www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au
or contact water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au,
or phone 02 9895 7402.
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National Waterweek
is held in October of each year. If you are planning
a promotional or educational activity, it's often a
good idea to list it as part of the national waterweek
celebrations. Each year, the Department of Land and
Water Conservation lists a program of activities happening
across NSW.
If you would like advice on planning an
activity, or you would like to get it listed in the
calendar of events, contact water.watch@dnr.nsw.gov.au,
or
phone 02 9895 7402.
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