1.5.2.1.4 Gaps

Electrical conductivity data are not available for all tributaries of the Hunter River. At the 23 long-term observation sites where data are available, there are gaps in the EC record.

Electrical conductivity and other water quality data were not available for the Macquarie-Tuggerah lakes basin. Unlike at stream gauging locations in the Hunter river basin, DPI Water does not routinely collect data for the Macquarie-Tuggerah lakes basin but does receive data from Wyong Council monitoring on the Wyong River at Gracemere. Water quality issues tend to relate to quality of water for town water supply and for aquatic habitats in the coastal lakes. TN, TP and TSS are important factors in the health of seagrass beds.

The summary of Hunter subregion water quality data provided here is not exhaustive. Other water quality data are likely to be held by universities, mining companies, environmental consulting groups and other private organisations. While some of the mining data might be useful at a local scale for understanding water quality around mining sites, other data are expected to reflect community concern about coastal lake water quality issues arising from agricultural and urban runoff. As previously stated, project-specific water quality data can be difficult to interpret due to short-term, sparse records and/or lack of supporting information. The data can take a lot of time to sift through and understand and will often not be sufficient to build a regional view of water quality.