1.5.2.1 Surface water

Surface water quality information is very sparse due to the unreliability of surface water flows and the remoteness of the Pedirka subregion. Available surface water quality data focus on a couple of waterholes in the Macumba river basin and Finke river basin. The most extensive surface water quality record is that collected at Eringa Waterhole on Lindsay Creek in SA, part of the Macumba river basin. A limited water quality dataset (for the period December 2011 to April 2015) indicates that the waterhole mostly contains fresh water with mean electrical conductivity less than 200 µS/cm, except when the waterhole is flushed with more saline water during rapid flood inflows (Miles et al., 2015). There is no water quality data available for the Hale River floodout.

Further information about surface water quality is outlined in companion product 1.1 for the Pedirka subregion (Miles et al., 2015). Wohling et al. (2013) also summarised the water quality of surface water systems in the Pedirka subregion.

Some available data can be sourced from the South Australian Government’s (SA Government) WaterConnect website (DEWNR, 2015) and the Northern Territory Government’s (NT Government) Water Data Portal (DLRM 2015).