Kingston-On-Murray Primary School: Kingston-On-Murray Caravan Park

Collected at: Murray River, Kingston-on-Murray Caravan Park jetty, Kingston-on-Murray, South Australia

Latitude: 34° 13', Longitude: 140° 20'

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Collected by: Kingston-On-Murray Primary School

We started collecting our Waterwatch data at Kingston-on-Murray Caravan Park jetty around 2002.

We chose this site because it was the safest jetty and nearest to the school.

We need a jetty so then it's easier to collect water without stirring up the mud which may affect our turbidity and salinity readings.

Water quality:

ACT Waterwatch says:

These students are doing a great job. While they are thinking a lot about turbidity, a question begging answering is 'Why are the phosphates so high?'

Kingston-On-Murray Caravan Park was first built in 1974. Peter and Lisa Kollmann took over the park in May 2007. On the river front of the park they have a jetty and four canoes. The river is for the canoes and people fish off the bank as well as leaving there boats at the jetty.

What's going on:

The water level doesn't change that much because of Lock 3 at Overland Corner. The plants and growth have died but some of it has survived. Some of the river banks have become loose and fallen into the river, which can change the turbidity and the readings we get. The way we tell that the water level has changed is that there is a drowned tree with a hole in it and we see if the hole is bigger, smaller or not there at all. The reeds are starting to grow towards the end of the jetty and there is a lot more weed growing in the river.

Each week we test the turbidity and salinity for our weekly ABC radio report and once a term we do a water watch snap shot.