River Murray Water Quality Monitoring Program

To monitor the Basin’s water quality, water samples are collected at regular intervals from 28 sites along the River Murray and across its tributaries in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

This monitoring is carried out under the River Murray Water Quality Monitoring Program which was established under the Murray–Darling Basin Agreement, to monitor water quality on an ongoing basis at select sites.

The MDBA manages this program on behalf of Basin governments, maintaining a uniform system for measuring, analysing and presenting data.

Sampling sites

Samples from each of these sites are analysed for a range of characteristics, including:

• electrical conductivity (indicator of salinity)
• pH (indicator of acid or alkali)
• temperature
• turbidity
• total phosphorus and total nitrogen
• soluble organic carbon
• silica
• sulphate and bi-carbonate
• chlorophyll and phaeophytin (indicators of algal health).

This information helps us to:

• assess the impact of human development in the river system
• detect sources of pollution
• respond to changes in condition such as algal blooms and blackwater events.

Additionally, the monitoring data provides one of Australia’s most extensive long-term record of water quality, it is relied upon by many of our stakeholders for a range of purposes, including research.

The data set is used to determine the health of the River Murray and its major tributaries. The results are used by the MDBA and the Basin states to inform water management decisions on flow, use, control or quality of water in the River Murray and its storages.

An interjurisdictional Water Quality Advisory Panel provides governance and expert advice with regard to the MDBA's role in managing the water quality of the River Murray, its tributaries and storages.

The latest trends analysis of River Murray Water Quality data was finalised in 2022.