Advice on Basin Plan Dissolved Oxygen target to inform the Basin Plan Review

In 2020, a review was undertaken into the effectiveness of water quality targets in the Water Quality and Salinity Management Plan in accordance with s13.07 of the Basin Plan 2012 (RM Consulting Group Pty Ltd report Review of water quality targets in the Basin Plan, October 2020). The review found that the current dissolved oxygen target allowed environmental water managers to have regard to dissolved oxygen (DO), however it also found that the DO target was not informing flow management and was therefore not effective. This project was commissioned to provide advice on potential improvements in three key areas:

1. to the value of targets as both a measure of success and as part of effective adaptive management
2. to update Basin Plan advice to environmental flow managers
3. to identify potential improvements in monitoring.