Sustainability Report 2006/07Monitoring, investigations and research
Melbourne Water undertakes extensive monitoring, investigations and research to develop a comprehensive information base to support our activities and report on progress to government, stakeholders and the community.
We monitor and investigate water quality, streamflow, fish, threatened and flagship species, weeds, sediments, litter and physical stream condition.
We also research the impacts of climate change and urbanisation in stream ecology, methods of urban stormwater treatment, and understanding links between the catchment and estuarine and marine receiving waters.
Melbourne Water has 136 monitoring sites across our region. Each site is monitored monthly and results are reported to EPA Victoria.
Water quality across the region varies from excellent in the forested headwaters to poor in urban areas. Generally, water quality has improved since regular monitoring began in the early 1970s but has remained relatively stable in the past decade, reflecting the difficulty of dealing with widespread sources of pollution in stormwater run-off across Melbourne.