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Results from Monitoring: physical Results from Monitoring: nutrients |
Summary of the Estuarine Monitoring Programme Conducted in Wilson Inlet 1995 to 1998
Over the past decade there have been reports of algal blooms and excessive growth of the seagrass Ruppia megacarpa within Wilson Inlet. These observations of increased aquatic plant growth may be a symptom of nutrient enrichment, or eutrophication of the Inlet. If the nutrient enrichment of the Inlet is allowed to progress unchecked, over the course of several years (maybe decades) the Inlet water quality may degrade, and algal blooms and other nuisance plant growth could become more prevalent. Such a pattern of degradation has occurred in several West Australian waterways including the Albany harbours and the Peel-Harvey Estuary. To intervene effectively against the eutrophication of Wilson Inlet, it is important to understand the sources and processes that are contributing nutrients to the Inlet and the processes controlling the cycling and movement of the nutrients in the Inlet.
The Wilson Inlet Management Authority together with the Water and Rivers Commission commenced catchment and Inlet water quality monitoring in a response to the need for
information on the processes operating in the Inlet and its catchment. Regular water quality monitoring started in 1995, and has continued to the present day. This report presents the data that was collected between 1995 and 1998 with a discussion of the results, and is a summary of the full report entitled "Water Quality in Wilson Inlet 1995 to 1997, Water and Rivers Commission Report No. WRT 14, 1999". A glossary of terms is provided at the end of this report. The monitoring data collected on the tributaries of Wilson Inlet are the subject of subsequent reports.
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