Estuary health and water quality monitoring
Estuaries are unique and important natural environments where freshwater from rivers mixes with the sea. They have a wide range of habitats and ecosystems that support many different species of plants, animals, birds, and fish.
Estuaries also filter pollutants out of the water flowing through them. Pollutants include pesticides, herbicides, and heavy metals.
The different types of estuaries are:
- lagoons
- lakes
- bays
- river mouths
- inlets
How we monitor estuary health
Coastal development, human activity, and natural weather events such as storms and floods have an impact on estuary health.
We help to protect and manage Eurobodalla's estuaries through our Estuary Ecosystem Health and Water Quality Monitoring Program. The program focuses on the estuary health and recreational health of our main estuaries.
- Estuary health: the ecological integrity of an estuary.
- Recreational health: the safety of the water body for swimming, and fish or shellfish harvesting.
We collect, compare, analyse, and evaluate the data of our estuaries. We do this by measuring and recording their physical characteristics and condition. This information helps us to understand the health and condition of our estuaries so we can better manage them.
Read our estuary health reports
Estuary health reports summarise the water quality and aquatic ecosystem health of our estuaries, including swimming suitability. We also monitor and assess swimming health as part of our Beachwatch Program.
See the estuary health reports for our main estuaries on Environment and Heritage's website:
Learn more
Environment and Heritage's website has information about how we protect and manage our estuaries:
Contact us
If you need more information about estuary health and water quality monitoring, reach out to our public and environmental health team:
- T: 4474 1310
- E: Public and environmental health team