June 2024: Chemical, Water Quality and Macroinvertebrate Analysis

Hi everyone

I trust you are well and enjoying the wonderful winter sunshine; we could be in worse places. Where else can you wear trousers in the morning and shorts in the afternoon, in the middle of winter?

Please find attached the results of our sampling for June, 2024.

In respect of the results the following material is offered by way of explanation.

Salinity was less than in the past, possibly due to excess groundwater still flowing from a very wet summer
Regatta Waters salinity is slightly less than in the Coomera River however the even distribution of salinity offers the observation that the CoGC pumps which pump water in and out of Regatta Waters are working well; certainly there are many fish (mainly bream and mullet) in the lake
Having traversed the river from Paradise Point to above the weir, the river appears to be in good health, despite the increase in suburban pressures
Waterhen Lake is doing OK with phosphorous levels about normal and ammonia nitrogen still keeping relatively low
Water temperatures in winter are lower in freshwater than in the salt, however the lowest this year has been 11 degrees C in the fresh (as opposed to 9 degrees C in past years) at Guanaba Creek
In terms of chemical analyses, Waterhen Lake has some variation, possibly due to fertiliser usage which I would think was in ignorance, rather than intentional on behalf of property owners
Otherwise there are variations in Regatta Waters and the Coomera River, which have some peaks in readings however, because they are not sustained throughout the river system, it would appear they are localized.
Many thanks to Helen and Ross and to my friend Brian for their tremendous assistance in Water Quality Monitoring; greatly appreciated.

In other news, we enjoyed a lovely morning the Councillors Naomi Fowler and Donna Gates who, between them, gave us the funds for a new Horiba. At a cost of nearly $ 10,000 this was greatly appreciated. Thank you to both Councillors for not only providing the funds but also assisting in our plantings at Regatta Waters Park. We christened the new equipment at the Coomera River Weir last Thursday; many

thanks to the members of CRCA who turned up to witness and support the event. And many thanks to Kim who secured the grant and organised the publicity for the event.

We have our next planting at Regatta Waters Park on Saturday 10th August, 2024 commencing at 8am. You are most welcome to join us, and the good news is that I have managed to secure some gluten free cupcake mix for everyone to enjoy.

I look forward to seeing your smiling faces and sharing the good company of well-intentioned and intelligent people.

Kindest regards

Steven Gill