Checking your farm waterways
DISCOVER
Where to look
Water running through your farm will end up back in the river at some point. If you have streams or rivers running through or around the farm check the wildlife to know how they are doing.
If there are pollution issues, look for the points where drains, open or piped, flow into the waterway. See diagram to the right. Check for other potential sources from outside your land as well – illustrated
by the red line.
Discover
What to look for
There of lots of indicators for water quality if you know what to look for.
Grey, brown sewage fungus – like a furry covering on the stones on the bed of a river is a sure sign that something is wrong.
The Biotic score is a way of rating the water quality at any site based on the presence of indicator invertebrates.
The most tolerant, like the red bloodworms, the red blotch in the photo to the right, get a score of 1.
The most sensitive like stonefly nymphs get a score of 10.
Learn more about Biotic Indicators
