A water quality improvement plan aims to help NRM North better understand water quality issues in the Brid catchment, the organisation's latest magazine northern exposure has reported.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The magazine said that the catchment is sued extensively for forestry and agriculture, including, dairy, beef and sheep grazing and intensive cropping.
Water theme manager Amanda Locatelli said that naturally occurring nutrients and sediments, ilke nitrogen and phosphorus, entering Brid River had doubled since European settlement.
But pathogens like bacteria from cow, sheep and native animal faeces had increased more than 40 times the natural load, she said.
``The sources of these pollutants (can be) attributed primarilyto land uses including dairy, grazing, green space and native production forests,'' Ms Locatelli said.
``The water quality improvement plan uses a combination of modelling, community consultation and scenario testing to determine the most cost effective on-ground actions to improve water quality ... and provide a buffer against further ... decline.''
Ms Locatelli said that it was aniticipated the plan would be completed by the end of the month and would provide a future blueprint for investment in the Brid catchment.