Water Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-TSW-AQU-WEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 5000 to 1.5E+04 µS/cm

Optimal Range: 5000 to 1.5E+04

Direction: Higher is desirable ↑

Form: OptimalRange

Scoring Curve

This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context. The scoring engine uses 18 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 17 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard UpperThreshold Guard Point Guard LowerThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard UpperThreshold Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard UpperThreshold Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard UpperThreshold Guard OptimalRange Guard LowerThreshold Guard UpperThreshold Guard

Evidence & Context

A range of 5,000 – 15,000 µS/cm is proposed.

Metric Definition:

Water Electrical Conductivity (EC)

Benchmark Definition:

The optimal operational EC range for best-practice inland saline aquaculture in Australia's temperate semi-arid woodlands.

Justification:

The benchmark is synthesized from multiple lines of evidence including groundwater EC in ISA regions, species physiological optima, and analogous operational data.

Sources (3)

Preview of Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (2000), accessed May 11, 2025,

Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (2000), accessed May 11, 2025, Journal

Northern Territory Government (2020) Darwin Harbour Region Water Quality Objectives, Report Card Section 3.0.

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Preview of Characterising the relationship between water quality and water quantity, accessed August 5, 2025

Characterising the relationship between water quality and water quantity, accessed August 5, 2025 Journal

Report Card 2022-23 - EPA Victoria

View Source

Preview of Water quality of surface water environments - NSW Government Water, accessed August 1, 2025,

Water quality of surface water environments - NSW Government Water, accessed August 1, 2025, Government

National Guidelines for Water Quality | Department of Natural ...

View Source

Supporting Sources (1)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Salinity | Land and soil - Environment and Heritage - NSW Government, accessed August 11, 2025

Direct Evidence Government

Australia state of the environment 2021: land, accessed July 28, 2025

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Temperate Semi-Arid Shrublands & Open Woodlands
Land Use Aquaculture
Assessment Pristine Reference
Evidence Type TargetCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 20 Mar 2026

Notes

The benchmark reflects sustainable use of naturally saline groundwater for culture of euryhaline species, not freshwater targets. A full functional range is defined with a lower critical threshold at <1,500 µS/cm and an upper detrimental threshold at >30,000 µS/cm.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSW-AQU-WEC family.