Monitoring and Research Services

SERCUL’s water quality monitoring program assesses conditions, designs and implements monitoring programs and analyses results which include management recommendations. Water quality monitoring provides vital baseline information and monitors changes to gain understanding about water quality issues, hotspots and patterns to deliver integrated catchment management. This provides encouragement to continue, and increase, our efforts to protect and improve our water resources for ecosystem health and human well-being.

Services Provided

• Pre-assessment of the catchment
• Sampling Analysis Plans and safety plans – development and implementation
• Water and Sediment sample collection – ongoing/long term or one off monitoring
• Graph preparation showing results per site, per location and per parameter
• Ranking analysis – identify patterns and/or hot spots to be prioritised for improvement and/or protection
• Identify sites/catchments requiring an ongoing sampling program
• Mapping to visualise sampling sites and results
• Catchment and stormwater management recommendations to improve the quality of water entering the rivers and wetlands
• Data summations and/or analysis of water quality data previously collected

Outcomes 2004-2015

• More than 30 partnerships established with local governments, universities, government agencies and community organisations
• 24 Water Quality Monitoring programs established
• 75 Water Quality Reports produced
• Three catchment specific ranking analysis
• Input to Swan-Canning and local Water Quality Improvement Plans

Benefits of using SERCUL

• Existing strong partnerships with stakeholders
• Quality assurance and quality control during the data collection, collation and analysis
• Use of the same standards and methods across the region following state and national guidelines
• Department of Water WIN database registration

Case Studies