Lake Cootharaba
Nitrogen Project
Australian Government Envirofund (start
November 2007)
The purpose of this project is to
facilitate the bringing-together of
local knowledge and scientific expertise
to resolve sensitive water quality
issues in Noosa River. As there have
been community concerns over the slight
decrease in Noosa River’s estuarine
ecosystem health grade caused by elevated
inorganic nitrogen in the middle reaches
of Noosa River (reported by Healthy
Waterways Ecosystem Health Monitoring
Program in 2006), this project will
conduct an scientific investigation
into the causes of the elevated inorganic
nitrogen. A water and sediment monitoring
program has been designed and is supported
by project partners SEQ Catchments
Ltd, Australian Government Envirofund,
Noosa Council, Noosa Waterwatch and
SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership,
to determine whether the elevated
levels are:
|
| 1. |
attributable to groundwater flows
from sceptic outfalls in the Boreen
Point township |
| 2. |
derived from catchment runoff
sources or land uses within the surrounding
Kin Kin catchment to the west of Lake
Cootharaba; |
| 3. |
caused by remobilisation of organic
nitrogen which is deposited in the sediments
of Lake Cootharaba and made biologically
available through resuspension after
periods of high wave energy and processing
in the water column |
| 4. |
disruptions to the benthic nitrogen
cycle following rainfall which slows
the rate of nitrification and denitrification
leading to the release of inorganic
nitrogen |
| 5. |
a combination of all the above. |
Concurrently, workshops will be held
to integrate local knowledge from
the community and traditional owners
with scientific expertise from research
providers, soil scientists and groundwater
experts. Based on the information
gained from the water and sediment
monitoring program and the community
workshops, management actions will
be developed to ensure the ecosystem
health of Lake Cootharaba and Noosa
River is maintained over the long
term.
For further information please contact
Vanessa Moscato on 07 5485 2155 or
email bushcare@noosalandcare.org
>
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WINNERS
OF THE QLD LANDCARE COMMUNITY GROUP
AWARD 2007
WINNERS
OF THE BURNETT MARY NRM BIODIVERSITY
CONSERVATION AWARD 2007
WINNERS
OF SUNSHINE COAST ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL
BIODIVERSITY AWARD 2007 |
