# Presentation: 442330

## R.H.Norris 

**BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY: DELIVERY OF A NATIONAL SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA**

- R.H.Norris
- Institute for Applied Ecology and eWater CRC, University of Canberra, ACT, 2601.

- Don’t mess with my rivers!

## National River Health Program

**Why the Program?**

**The 1200 km Darling River**
**Blue-Green algal bloom**
**in 1991 brought the health of the nation’s rivers to prominence.**

**Notes:**
The program was born as a result of public concern over an extensive blue-green algal bloom in the Darling River in 1991. This was a unique opportunity to capitalise on this awareness for the development of a national bioassessment framework. The Prime Minister’s statement on the Environment in 1992 allocated $14 million to what became the National River Health Program in 1993.

## Australian Governments 

**Notes:**
It is important to put the development of this program in the local political context. Australia has six states and two territories each with its own government, with one Federal Government based in Canberra in the ACT.
The Federal Government has no responsibility for water resource management with the exception of a few special cases. Recently however it has taken the lead in national reform of the water industry, enticing State governments to put environmental conditions on water allocations through funding allocations.

State Governments through a range of agencies are primarily responsible for water resource and environmental management, all with slightly to radically different management cultures.

Thus in order to develop a national river bioassessment program, states must be enticed into adopting a standard approach. This has been done with the carrot of substantial federal funding.

## “Resolving Key Issues”

**“****Resolving Key Issues”**

**Temporal variability in macroinvertebrate community composition**

**Mediterranean**
**(winter rains)**

**Cool Temperate**
**(winter rains)**

**Wet-Dry Tropics**

**Summer**
**rains**

**Aseasonal arid**

**Notes:**
A key aspect is the impact of marked interannual variability in rainfall and flows on macroinvertebrate community composition, and the influence of that on the stability of reference site groupings and hence the accuracy and precision of bioassessment using predictive models based on them.

## “Resolving Key Issues”

**Interpretable outputs for water resource managers**

**(where A is > or < 80% of reference site O/E values)**

**(SIGNAL = Australian**
**analogue of BMWP or**
**SASS)**

**Notes:**
A project was funded to conduct a series of regional agency workshops to determine the outputs preferred by managers from AUSRIVAS. The general agreement was for the standard RIVAPCS output O/E and an O/E output based on an Australian equivalent of the BMWP scoring system - SIGNAL.
All managers agreed that reporting in a banding system was also needed.

## Nationally standardized system
Some regionalization for climatic ranges but standard outputs
Easy to use and interpret outputs
Central management and access control
Aim: To demonstrate how the science behind biological monitoring has been packaged and delivered for easy use

- Nationally standardized system
- Some regionalization for climatic ranges but standard outputs
- Easy to use and interpret outputs
- Central management and access control
**Aim**: **To demonstrate how the science behind biological monitoring has been packaged and delivered for easy use**

**AUSRIVAS - **_**Aus**_**tralian **_**Riv**_**er **_**A**_**ssessment **_**S**_**ystem**

**Notes:**
Australia had no system that allowed for national or regional assessments of the state of the water resources
National water quality guidelines have recently been redrafted and now require protection of aquatic ecosystems, thus requiring assessment of the biota.
Some states/territories already had programs running and these and various other state/territory differences meant that any method had to allow for these differences.  Thus, standardization was needed but tempered by some variation
The framework in which the system was set up should also allow for ongoing management the would favour adoption throughout the country and the maintenance of uniformity.

## AUSRIVAS: components

**AUSRIVAS: components**

**Notes:**
AUSRIVAS is more than just a program.  It includes the sampling methods as well as the various steps in analysis to create models.
The most obvious part is the software that runs AUSRIVAS and this is available over the internet.
The software is of little use without the models and these are derived from samples from over 1500 reference sites throughout Australia

## AUSRIVAS: How does it work?

- .

**Anonymous HTTP access**

**AUSRIVAS**

**User**

**AUSRIVAS**

**Manager**

**List of valid Bug/**
**Chem codes**

**Upload selected model data**

**Upload Models list & Bug/Chem codes **

**List of available Models**

**Model data file**

**SAS Raw Model**

**Output**

**AUSRIVAS Manager: TOE**

**AUSRIVAS Manager: LEG**

**AusRivAS Manager: ARM**

**HTTP**

**SITE**

**Bug/Chem Codes**

**Password HTTP access**

**AUSRIVAS: How does it work?**

**Notes:**
The AUSRIVAS manager is used to create and load the models into AUSRIVAS at the Website.  A fair bit of expertise is needed in doing this and this is the part that has probably received most attention in international debate.  Relatively few people need to have an intimate knowledge about the details of building and loading the models - although personnel from all state/territory agencies have received training to ensure that they at least understand the philosophy of the analysis.
AUSRIVAS users only see the Web interface.  After downloading the software there is a couple of simple steps.
Load the user data
Choose a model (there are checks built in so that the inappropriate models cannot be run)
Save the output to a file for interpretation

## ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: why ?

**ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: *****why ?***

***Cooperative ******Research****** Centre for Freshwater Ecology***

**Notes:**
Data from all over Australia are uploaded to the Web site.  The time taken to run models is little different from where ever the connections are made.
The acne on the map indicate the initial 1500 references sites that have now been considerably expanded.

## AUSRIVAS: Bug data input

**AUSRIVAS: Bug data input**

**Notes:**
The AUSRIVAS software looks and operates much like the familiar EXCEL spreadsheet.
Data importing is done in almost the same way as EXCEL
To enable sorting of taxa a nationally standardized set of codes was developed.  These are shown at the top of the columns but to facilitate understanding and checking when the cursor is placed over the code the family name drops down.  If an error has been made entering a code it is highlighted in red
Any non-zero is highlighted in light green

## AUSRIVAS: Phys/chem data input

**AUSRIVAS: Phys/chem data input**

**Notes:**
The phys/chem data are then imported on the next worksheet
Standardizing variable names was a little more difficult than for the taxa and so that columns can be sorted and matched standard names must be used.
The variables used by each of the models, their names and the models available can be found in a pull down menu under the ‘view’ tab in the toolbar
Other functionality is the same as for the bug data sheet

## AUSRIVAS: Outputs - taxa

***Cooperative ******Research****** Centre for Freshwater Ecology***

**AUSRIVAS: Outputs - taxa**

**Notes:**
Models are run from the ‘Run Model’ tab or the switch icon.
At this stage a usercode is asked for and a password
A model that matches the sampling that has been done must be selected
The reference data for the selected model are downloaded from the Web site and the model run - usually in a few seconds
There are several screens of output
1. The probabilities of each test site belonging to each of the groups of reference sites - very useful if further parametric studies comparing sets of sites are to be done - but needs the raw data sets.
2. The probability of every taxon in the model occurring at each site tested. >> indicates that the taxon had a >50% chance of occurring and was collected these are also highlighted light green.  Sites highlighted dark green (not shown) had a >50% chance of occurring but weren’t collected.
3. A statistical test is performed on the predictor variables from each test site and any that fall outside the conditions covered by the reference sites are excluded from further analysis.
4. The bottom line ‘Score’ is a sensitivity score for the SIGNAL index (similar to the Hilsenhof index)

## AUSRIVAS: Outputs - predictions

**AUSRIVAS: Outputs - predictions**

**Notes:**
Main output file with the Number of taxa expected, number predicted, the number collected and the Observed/Expected ratio.
Similar value for the SIGNAL index where the expected is calculated by weighting the sensitivity scores by the probability of occurrence of each taxon thus providing a site specific measure that is then compared with the observed giving a O/E value for the index.  
The assessments are site specific and in the same units - in all cases the value should be near 1 if sites are unimpaired.
Bands of impairment are also calculated and these are based on the distribution of O/E scores for reference sites in each model - they are model specific.

## AUSRIVAS: Advantages

- Standard method with nationally comparable results
- Updates to software and models available immediately
- Standardized methods approved for adoption by NATA & included in National WQ guidelines
- Utilitarian platform to run complex analyses
- Web site with troubleshooting and advice
- Wide range of registered users
- Manual with video clips included, training & accreditation

##  Adoption & implementation of AUSRIVAS

- AUSRIVAS formally adopted as a national indicator for State of the Environment Reporting at Federal and State levels in 1997-8
- AUSRIVAS being incorporated into new National Water Quality Guidelines in 1998/9
- AUSRIVAS being progressively adopted into state licensing and catchment management legislation

**Notes:**
One of the other activities of the program has been in ‘selling’ the use of AUSRIVAS - don’t forget this is a national program led only by funding carrots - no guarantee of immediate adoption.

These are exmaples of some ways in which AUSRIVAS is being ‘hooked’ into environmental regulatory tools and instruments.

## Conclusion

- AUSRIVAS program and manual available via the Internet.  Science packaged easy use. http://ausrivas.canberra.edu.au/ausrivas
- Models by habitat, season & regions if necessary
- Ultimately many users - agencies, Waterwatch, consultants etc.
- Flexible management and up-dating needs
- Updates easily done and immediately available
- Troubleshooting and advice available
- Widely adopted in legislation & management