Tully constructed wetland – Water quality and hydrological monitoring data from 2023 – 2024 (GBRF WQ-TJ-006, Terrain NRM)

This dataset consists of three Excel files containing multiple worksheets of data from a monitoring period starting in July 2023 and ending in April 2024, along with a set of three technical reports containing the monitoring methodology and findings generated from these datasets. 

The datasets capture water quality and hydrological data from a constructed wetland in Tully, within the Wet Tropics region of Queensland, Australia. The data were collected as part of a project assessing the wetland’s water treatment potential, specifically, its ability to remove dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and total suspended solids (TSS) from agricultural runoff.

The Excel files include groundwater and surface water data from continuous, routine and event-based monitoring, including physicochemical parameters, nitrogen levels, total suspended solids (TSS), volatile suspended solids (VSS), particle size distribution, water velocity, local rainfall, and water heights at various sampling points. Informative one-off measurements include bore slug tests and cross-sectional area assessments of surface water sampling points. This dataset provides valuable insights into the hydrological and chemical characteristics of this wetland, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of its function and performance as treatment systems in a wet tropical environment, over a single wet season.

The dataset supplied herein is derived from the Tully-Johnstone Wetland Monitoring Project conducted from July 2023 to March 2024. The primary purpose of the dataset is to assess the efficacy of constructed wetlands in the Wet Tropics region at removing dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and sediment from agricultural runoff. The data were collected to inform the development and validation of wetland models, to better understand the effectiveness of treatment wetlands at a landscape scale. The dataset is available on eAtlas for use by scientists and water quality managers, providing insights into water balance, contaminant removal, and hydrological processes occurring within a constructed wetland.

The Tully wetland was constructed in 2019 as part of the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project (WTMIP) and is known as Landscape Wetland #1 (LW01). This wetland was designed and constructed to optimise natural processes for improving water quality in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchments. Further information on the treatment systems installed and monitored during the WTMIP can be found at https://mip.terrain.org.au/resources/.

The 2023-24 monitoring activities, funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, built on previous datasets from the WTMIP (2019-2021) and post-WTMIP monitoring (2021-2023), both funded by the Queensland Government, Office of the Great Barrier Reef. 

Methods:
The methods used to gather and process this dataset follow a comprehensive monitoring plan designed according to the available funding. The monitoring plan incorporated recommendations from a multidisciplinary team of scientific partners and was aligned with established guidelines for wetland nitrogen removal monitoring. Data were collected from a constructed wetland in Tully, within the Wet Tropics region of Queensland, Australia. Data were collected from July 2023 to March 2024, including both routine and event-based sampling, focusing on groundwater and surface water quality, precipitation, and groundwater-surface water interactions. A combination of manual grab sampling and automatic ISCO Avalanche autosamplers was employed for surface water monitoring. The autosamplers were triggered by rising water levels, with the capacity to adjust sampling intervals to optimise coverage over the hydrograph during stream flow events. High-frequency surface water level recordings were gathered using Seametrics PT12 pressure and temperature sensors, telemetered continuously to the online platform eagle.io, while manual water velocity measurements were taken with a Swoffer 2100 hand-held current velocity meter. Groundwater monitoring involved monthly grab sampling using a peristaltic pump and the deployment of Troll pressure transducers in boreholes. Additional hydrological insights were gained through slug tests.

Samples were analysed in laboratories at Cairns Regional Council and James Cook University (TropWATER), covering parameters like total oxidised nitrogen (NOx), ammonia (NH3-N), Total Nitrogen (TN), Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Particle Size Distribution (PSD). Quality control measures, including the use of field blanks, trip blanks, and replicate samples, were integrated into the project, ensuring data reliability. Data were managed and securely stored on Terrain NRM’s EnviroSys database, allowing for structured and reproducible data analysis.
Physicochemical parameters are recorded monthly at the ground and surface water monitoring sites, including recordings during targeted events at the surface water sites, using a handheld ProDSS multi-meter to measure Temperature, DO, pH, turbidity, and EC. 

Logger data for electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature were collected using in situ loggers deployed at each of the wetland’s surface water sampling points. 
Detailed information about the methods is available in the PDF document ‘Technical Report_GBRF_TJ Wetlands Monitoring Project_October 2024’ which has been included in this submission.

Limitations of the data:
The dataset generated during the GBRF Tully-Johnstone Wetland Monitoring Project, collected from the Tully Wetland between July 2023 and March 2024, has a number of limitations that users should consider avoiding misinterpretation.

Autosampler refrigeration issues occurred during the extreme flooding associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December 2023. This led to a loss of data for dissolved nitrogen forms during a critical four-day period of early wet-season high-flow events, which prevents a full quantification of the wetland's nitrogen treatment efficacy for the season. Additionally, flooding during this period also impacted our ability to accurately quantify discharge volumes. Users should therefore be cautious in drawing conclusions about wetland performance during this first flush period.

Another limitation arises from the sampling and analysis of total suspended solids (TSS) and particle size distribution (PSD). Several sediment samples could not be analysed due to the laboratory being closed during the Christmas-New Year period, meaning sample holding times could not be met and samples were not submitted to the laboratory. Additionally, a courier error resulted in the warm arrival of another batch of samples, rendering them unusable. The relatively low TSS concentrations observed overall, limited the number of samples which could be analysed for PSD. This reduced the number of sediment samples analysed, compared to nitrogen samples, which may limit interpretations of sediment transport and dynamics over a full wet season. 

High-frequency logger data was generally continuous and accurate, except for a few interruptions. A bore sensor at the Tully wetland was knocked out of place by cows, and transducer issues at the inlets during high-flow events caused some data gaps. While these issues only affected a small portion of the overall dataset, users should note these gaps, or apply corrections, when analysing the data.

Finally, manual velocity measurements were taken at multiple surface water sections, but due to site-specific challenges like crocodile exposure, not all sections could be measured consistently. This affects the overall accuracy of flow estimates.

While the dataset greatly increases our knowledge of wetland treatment efficacy, it represents one, atypically wet 9-month period, and should not be used to draw definitive conclusions about nutrient and sediment removal efficacy across varying conditions. Future work should address these gaps through multi-year datasets, further instrumentation, and more refined modelling methods.

These limitations underscore the importance of multi-year datasets to compensate for inevitable data loss in extreme environments. Despite these challenges, the dataset provides a valuable and high-resolution record of the wetland’s hydrological and chemical characteristics, although care should be taken in interpreting data from affected periods.
Detailed information about the data limitations is available in the PDF document ‘Technical Report_GBRF_TJ Wetlands Monitoring Project_October 2024’ which has been included in this submission.

Format of the data:
This dataset consists of three Excel files and three PDF documents. The description of each is provided below:
1.  Excel files:

 •  LW01 Data_WQ-TJ-006_September 2024


Excel file containing multiple spreadsheets from a monitoring period starting in July 2023 and ending in March 2024. The datasets capture water quality and hydrological data from a wetland in Tully, within the Wet Tropics region of Queensland, Australia. The Excel spreadsheets include groundwater and surface water data from routine and event-based monitoring, covering physicochemical parameters, nitrogen levels, total suspended solids (TSS), volatile suspended solids (VSS), particle size distribution, water velocity, local rainfall, and water heights at various sampling points. Informative one-off measurements include bore slug tests, and cross-sectional area assessments of surface water sampling points.

 •  LW01_EC-DO-T_Loggers_NW-TropWater.xlsx


File prepared by Nathan Waltham, TropWater, containing logger data for electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), and temperature (T) collected from the wetland’s three surface water monitoring sites.

 •  LW01 PSA results_NW-TropWATER.xlsx


File prepared by Nathan Waltham, TropWater, containing particle size analysis (PSA) results, including sediment particle size distributions from sediment samples taken at the three surface water monitoring locations.





PDF files: 
     •  Technical Report_GBRF_TJ Wetlands Monitoring Project_October 2024
Technical report document ‘Assessing two Wet Tropics constructed wetlands for dissolved inorganic nitrogen and sediment removal efficacy’. The report summarises the monitoring methodologies and findings from the Tully-Johnstone Wetland Monitoring Project. 

•  Tully Landscape wetland water balance model_02062024_.pdf
This report was prepared by Jim Wallace, TropWater, and provides a detailed analysis of the water balance model applied to the Tully LW01 wetland, using depth measurements and daily weather data to estimate inflows and outflows. The report includes data on surface water, groundwater interactions, and residence time, offering insights into the wetland's water retention and its potential role in nutrient and sediment removal.

•  Report LW_MFAdame.pdf
This report was prepared by Fernanda Adame, Griffith University, and evaluates the ongoing efficiency of nitrogen removal in the LW01 wetland, part of the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project. The report analyses nitrogen and sediment removal, particularly focusing on nitrate reduction and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) balances.



Data dictionary:
available within excel spreadsheets

eAtlas Processing:
The original data were provided as excel and pdf files. Data files were checked for completeness. No modifications to the underlying data were performed and the data package are provided as submitted. Permission to make the reports publicly available was received from the authors of all of the reports. 

Location of the data:
This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\custodian\2020-2029-other\QLD_TNRM_Tully-Constructed-Wetland_2023-2024

Tags: World
Organization: Australian Ocean Data Network