April, 2001

Volume 5, Number 2

Australasian Hydrographer

Australian Hydrographers Association

Welcome to the April Newsletter

Hello once again. My how time flies when we have to get the Newsletters out once a month.

The previous issue was sent to around 250 people by snail mail, and another 110 by e-mail. Obviously there were several “double-ups”. To date, we have twenty five Members who have paid up. I don’t know that this is a really good sign-up rate, but it’s a start. As I seem to keep saying, please remember that this is your organization, and I think this is probably the last roll of the dice for it!

I haven’t really had much feed-back about our web site. I guess I can take that as meaning that the format is OK. The minutes for the February meeting haven’t been posted there, as promised, as I still don’t have them yet. At last sight, they were over 10 pages, and growing.

Thanks to Jim Tilley and Colin Beard, who have been feeding me lots of web sites that are interesting, and relevant to us. I’ve included a couple of them below for your interest. Thanks also to Dennis Burt for his contribution.

The next Newsletter is due to be a “biggie”, so please give me some ideas for articles. The final format still hasn’t been established, so, again, here’s your chance. Until then…

Text Box: Inside this issue:

Welcome 1

AWA Water News 1

Interesting Websites 1

State Forests of
NSW Project 2

Returned Mail 2

20 Questions With
Ray Alford 3

Office Bearers and Contact Information 4

Returned e-mail 4

From the AWA Water News (25 March 2001)

The Board of SYDNEY WATER has decided to re-integrate its AWT business back into the core Corporation. A team from both organisations is working with MD ALEX WALKER to develop an implementation plan. Maybe our AWT Members can give us some more information?

To subscribe to AWA News, send an e-mail with "SUBSCRIBE - MEMBER" or "SUBSCRIBE – NON-MEMBER", as the case may be in the Subject line to news@awa.asn.au.

Interesting websites

Ecowise Newsletters http://www.ecowise.com.au/econews.htm

Streamstats http://ma.water.usgs.gov/streamstats

Text Box: Give Away

We still have our old faithful Mac. LC. Black and White Steam Vintage. You pay the freight, you can have it!

State Forests of N.S.W. Project

This article from Dennis Burt was held over from last month.

State Forests of N.S.W in conjunction with the E.P.A will, by the end of March this year have twenty one water quality monitoring sites operating in five State Forests from Eden to Coffs Harbour.

The last 5 of these I am building in Kangaroo State Forest one hour drive north west from Coffs Harbour. One is on the Kangaroo River, three are on tributaries of that river, and one is on a tributary of the Little Nimboydia River.

All have natural bed rock controls below pools of varying sizes and depths. Each site has a steel framed, zincalume covered prefabricated shed with a polycarbonate clear panel in the roof. The shed is bolted to a 1.2m x 2.1m x 20mm thick compressed Hardie Panel floor.

The instrumentation consists of 0 to 1 metre gauge plate, Hawk Pressure Transducer , Greenspan Turbidity Probe and Isco sampler suction line, a tipping bucket rain gauge and a 30 watt solar panel and regulator. The probe and sampler lines are fed through two 38mm black poly pipes held to bedrock by several galvanised clamps and 6mm diameter stainless steel Dyna Bolts.

The sheds contain the Isco sampler, a DT50 logger, 2 x 24ah 12volt lead acid gel batteries ( 1 for the Isco ), a relay box that switches the two probes on just before each 6 min log and off after the log (to save on power). The relay box also controls the sampler return pulse to the logger.

Access to the sites required opening up old logging tracks covered in lantana and fallen trees over 3 days with a four wheel drive tractor and blade.

We will sample for suspended sediment and measure turbidity continuously for a pre determined number of storms in an attempt to establish a relationship between suspended sediment and turbidity for all 5 catchments over the next 12 to 24 months. After this, three of the five catchments will be harvested (logged) in accordance with standard practice and E.P.A conditions, and the remaining two catchments will be used as controls.

All 5 catchments will be monitored for approximately three years after logging and reports will be routinely produced for the E.P.A.

A stand alone pluvio with backup manual rain gauge will sit in a clearing above the five catchments. Other manual rain gauges may be added later as I get a better understanding of the rainfall patterns in these forests.

Vegetation is dry eucalypt type forest with riparian rain forest and patches of rain forest along the ridges.

The stream beds contain some of the best natural bedrock bars I have ever seen and there is little evidence of sediment concentration until the stream reaches flatter country.

If any one is in the area when I am and would like to have a look just give me a ring. Home=49921179, mobile=0429441233.

Dennis Burt, Research Hydrographer, Dungog.

Returned Mail

The following Members/Previous Members’ last (printed) Newsletter was returned, mostly with the comment “Left Address”. If you are still in contact with anybody here, could you please get them to get in touch with me?

William Fowlie (WA) Paul Buttsworth (NSW) Alan Hooper (QLD) Ian Johns (ACT)

John Coulson (Vic) Marc Schmidt (NSW) George Truman (NSW) Rodney Kerr (NSW)

Craig Hagenmaier (QLD) Glen Torr (ACT) Penny Cowie(Vic) Rodney Cox (Vic)

Hari Prasad (NSW) Glenn Biggins (WA) Jeff Psaila (NSW) Alf Wojcik (NSW)

Monitor Sensors (QLD) Aqualab Scientific (NSW) Brian Preston (Vic) Leon Tepper (Vic)

Gary Drake (QLD) John Buchanan (Vic) Alex Springall (NSW) Bob Masters (NT)