This book was published by ANU Press between 1965–1991. This republication is part of the digitisation project being carried out by Scholarly Information Services/Library and ANU Press. This project aims to make past scholarly works published by The Australian National University available to a global audience under its open-access policy. An ecological basis for water resource management An ecological basis for water resource management W D W illiam s Editor First published in Australia 1980 Printed in Australia for the Australian National University Press, Canberra © 1980 W. D. Williams and the several authors, each in respect of the paper contributed by him; for the full list of the names of such copyright owners and the papers in respect of which they are the copyright owners see the Table of Contents at pp. vii-viii of this Volume. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry An ecological basis for water resource management. Index Bibliography ISBN 0 7081 0836 9 (Cloth) ISBN 0 7081 1946 8 (Paper) 1. Water resources development—Environmental aspects—Australia. I. Williams, W. D., ed. 333.9 F00994 Library of Congress No. 78-74750 United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, and Africa: Eurospan Ltd, 3 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8LU, England North America: Books Australia, Trumbull, Conn., U.S.A. Southeast Asia: Angus & Robertson (S.E. Asia) Pty Ltd, Singapore Japan: United Publishers Services Ltd, Tokyo Preface There are many reasons why editors panying the final squeeze on some few indulge in the masochism of putting authors; editors take pleasure in vicari­ books like this one together. Without ous ways! elaborating on all those that induced me Also acknowledged is the Research to undertake the task, let it be said that and Publications Committee of the the main one was the obvious need for University of Adelaide who provided the book. Almost every Australian lake, financial support to enable the inclusion river, stream and pond now bears the of certain illustrations. The staff of the imprint of man, or will shortly do so. Australian National University Press, And, like it or not, the future of the who have been most courteous and Australian inland aquatic environment is helpful, and various members of the for man to determine. It follows that the ancillary staff of the Department of more that is known about how to manage Zoology, University of Adelaide, espe­ this environment, the greater the chance cially Miss Ruth Altmann who prepared that its present and future quality will be all drawings, and Mr Philip Kempster optimised. Moreover, as perceived over who was responsible for all photography a century ago, wise environmental are thanked too. management is a most important Separate acknowledgment and thanks measure of man’s capacity to live less is accorded Miss Sandra Lawson, dangerously as a dominant ecological Secretary to the Department of Zoology, agent. This book attempts to aid for without her help the book simply management by drawing together some would not be. useful ecological knowledge into readily Finally, I acknowledge the benefits of accessible form. my association in various ways with the A number of colleagues and organisa­ engineering firm of Gutteridge, Haskins tions have helped produce the book. and Davey Pty Ltd; their attitude to They are thanked most sincerely. Fore­ environmental matters has been a source most, of course, are those colleagues of both stimulation and enlightenment. who contributed. It is a source of It remains to note that the opinions of genuine pleasure for me to record that authors expressed in this book are not every colleague approached accepted necessarily those of the organisation to the invitation to contribute, and all but which they are attached. two, and they with impeccable excuses, produced contributions. The pleasure is not in the least lessened by the slight W. D. W. amount of editorial agitation accom­ Adelaide, 1978 Contents Preface 9 Managing urban lakes V P. Cullen and R. S. Rosich 90 About the authors xiv 1 Introduction 10 Catchment management W. D. Williams 3 W. D. Williams 100 I The nature of the resource III Water usage 2 Distinctive features of 11 Australian water quality Australian water re­ criteria sources B. T. Hart 117 W. D. Williams 6 12 Public health aspects of 3 Chemistry of Australian water usage waters: the basic pattern J. R. L. Forsyth 128 with comments on some 13 Medically important dis­ ecological implications eases with aquatic vec­ R. T. Buckney 12 tors and hosts 4 The benthos of Aust­ T. Petr 137 ralian Lakes 14 Wastewater as a re­ B. V. Timms 23 source II Management problems A. G. Strom 149 5 Limnological problems 15 Water as a waste trans­ in the management of port and treatment Tasmanian water re­ mechanism: an ecolog­ sources ical evaluation P. A. Tyler 43 W. D. Williams 155 6 Ecological considera­ tions in the management IV The impact of man on inland waters of reservoir phyto­ 16 Conservation plankton P. S. Lake 163 G. G. Ganf 67 17 Environmental impact of 7 Algal problems in water reservoir construction: supplies the Dartmouth Dam I. C. Smalls 74 invertebrate survey: a 8 Aquatic weeds case history D. S. Mitchell 81 J. D. Blyth 174 Contents 18 The downstream influ­ VI Man-made lakes ence of Lake Hume on 27 Lake Hume the River Murray R. L. Croome 305 K. F. Walker 182 28 North Pine Dam 19 Biological monitoring C. R. King and R. G. W. D. Williams 192 Everson 311 20 Environmental surveys 29 Lake Burley Griffin B. T. Hart 205 T.J. Hillman 317 30 Some limnological feat­ V Aquatic fauna ures of the Sydney water 21 Aquaculture supply system N. M. Morrissy 215 L. D. Bowen and I. C. 22 Management of fresh­ Smalls 324 water fish and fisheries 31 Limnological features of D. A. Pollard, L. C. some Victorian reservoirs Llewellyn and R. D. J. I. J. Powling 332 Tilzey 227 VII Some special aquatic environments 23 Introduced fish 32 Farm dams R. D. J. Tilzey 271 B. V. Timms 345 24 Introduced amphibians: 33 Waste stabilisation ponds the cane toad B. D. Mitchell 360 M. J. Tyler 280 34 Billabongs of the Mur­ 25 Waterfowl resources ray-Darling system and their management R. J. Shiel 376 L. W. Braithwaite 287 35 Estuaries and coastal 26 Ostracoda and water lakes resources: diagnosis and I. A. E. Bayly 391 prognosis K. G. McKenzie 295 Index 399 Plates I Manganese deposits inside a IX Lagoon of Islands, Tasmania, in hydroelectric pipeline 45 1963 61 II An experimental recirculatory X Lagoon of Islands, Tasmania, in system 48 1974 62 III Detail of a recirculatory XI Potamogeton tricarinatus imped­ apparatus 49 ing flow in an irrigation supply IV A larger-scale experimental channel 82 system 50 XII Salvinia molesta covering the V The anastomosing network of surface of a sheltered cells and hyphae of the man­ reservoir 84 ganese-oxidising budding bac­ XIII A view of Hume Dam 183 terium Pedomicrobium 51 VI Applied limnology in action 52 XIV Bufo marinus 282 VII The densely forested Mersey XV Dartmouth Dam site before Valley, Tasmania 54 impoundment 340 VIII Lagoon of Islands, Tasmania, in XVI Aerial photograph of a 30 km sec­ 1963 60 tion of the Goulburn River 377 Tables 1 Species diversity and mean biomass 14 Information and environmental in some Australian lakes and indicators needed to study algal impoundments 24 problems 209 2 Benthos of four saline maars in 15 Commercial catches of Australian western Victoria 27 freshwater fishes 228 3 Benthic biomass and organic matter 16 Freshwater fish of coastal rivers and in sediments 34 streams 231 4 Percentage contribution to total 17 Freshwater fishes of the Murray- biomass by species 35 Darling drainage system 240 5 Some commonly recorded algae in 18 Freshwater fishes of the Lake Eyre reservoirs in south-eastern Internal and Central Western Desert Australia 74 drainage systems 258 6 Effluent disposal from Australian 19 Endemism and distribution of Aust­ sewage treatment plants 108 ralasian continental ostracode 7 Some examples of water-borne genera 296 infective agents causing infection by 20 Salinity ranges of representative contact 128 saline and freshwater ostracode 8 Some examples of water-borne genera 297 infective agents causing infection 21 Some morphometric and hydrologic when swallowed 129 data for Lake Hume 306 9 Medically significant arboviruses 22 Morphometric data for North Pine and their vectors in Australia 139 Dam 312 10 Potential resources in wastewater 23 Typical major ionic composition in from a population of 100,000 149 North Pine Dam 312 11 Number of examples of effluent 24 Morphometry of Lake Burley reuse in Australia and geographical Griffin 318 pattern 150 25 Water budget of Lake Burley 12 Abundance of principal macroin­ Griffin 319 vertebrate fauna of Mitta Mitta River before and after construction 26 Analysis of zinc pollution of Dartmouth Dam 178 sources 320 27 Nutrient budgets for Lake Burley 13 Number of species in Mitta Mitta Griffin 321 River before and after construction of Dartmouth Dam 179 28 Some salient morphometric infor-