Why Monitor Water Quality in the Gippsland Lakes ?
The only way to assess the true health of the Lakes system is to measure key indicators at a suitable number of locations, both on a regular basis and in peak events. This allows for “early warning” of adverse trends or significant changes that may be impacting the ecosystems, and give time for appropriate action to be taken.
Waterwatch – a Citizen Science program
Waterwatch Victoria is a Citizen Science based water monitoring program. All the work is done by volunteers. It’s main value is education and public awareness. We welcome new groups or volunteers to join the Waterwatch program. Please contact us to find out more.
FOGL participates in Waterwatch, currently measuring at three sites ( MacLeod Morass, Mitchell River at Jones Bay Cut, and Tambo River at Swan Reach. ) . The data can be viewed by going to the Waterwatch data portal https://ww-data.waterwatch.org.au/ and selecting a site on the map. A screenshot of data from one of our sites is shown below. We have capability to measure phosphates and Nntrates ,pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen and turbidity.
Data and graphs can be customised by using the “Customise Charts” tool, also raw data can be downloaded in a spreadsheet format.
Waterwatch data is not generally used by agencies, but it can identify potential issues which for reporting to the relevant authority to follow up. Around 15 years go there were, by our count, over 100 active Waterwatch sites around the Gippsland Lakes. Only around 20 are still active ( in the La Trobe River / Heart Morass area, along Forge Creek near Paynesville, and three around MacLeod Morass, Jones Bay and the Tambo River ).
Government Agencies Water Monitoring
A number of agencies currently monitor water quality around the Lakes.
EGCMA Auto Sampling Sites.
East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority operates automatic water sampling sites gathering a variety of parameters. This has progressively been reduced to only a dozen or so actively maintained sites, as seen on the map below. The data from these sites is publicly available on the DEECA Water Measurement Information System
The sites mainly record water level, temperature and EC ( salinity ) while a few also measure pH, Dissolved Oxygen, and Turbidity. Nutrients ( e.g. Phosphates and Nitrates ) are not measured by these sites. Below is a filtered map of ACTIVE sites ( as of July 2025 ) collecting surface and ground water quality data around the Gippsland Lakes. By going to theWMIS and clicking on each site, you can see the latest data.
Environment Protection Authority
The Environment Protection Authority manually monitors water quality at six sites ( currently ) around the Lakes. EPA typically tests for more substances than the EGCMA/DEECA sites. EPA produces an periodic “report card” for Port Philip Bay and Gippsland Lakes a high level “traffic light” summary of water quality. Raw data for the Gippsland Lakes testing is also available via the Vic Data portal. https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/gippsland-lakes-water-quality-data
Other Agencies and NGOs doing water testing
Southern Rural Water performs water testing of outflows from the Macallister Irrigation District into the western Gippsland Lakes ( Lake Wellington). This includes important nutrient ( phosphate ) loads. This data is not publically available on the WMIS. However, we are working proactively with SRW and have been given access to their data and reports.
Non Government Organisations ( NGO ) such as Marine Mammal Foundation also conduct some water testing as part of their research.
We believe other agencies such as East Gippsland Water also conduct some water testing. We do no know of the frequency or extent of this, as the data is not publically available.
What’s missing in agency water testing ?
Currently we are not aware of any comprehensive or regular testing for emerging toxicants ( e.g. PFAS ), microplastics, pesticides, herbicides or nitrogen loads entering the Gippsland Lakes by any Government agency. We believe this is a serious gap and must be addressed.