Water Nitrate
Benchmark Value
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 10 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 9 guard(s) constrain the result.
Evidence & Context
Therefore, the recommended benchmark for Water Nitrate, representing a state of high environmental health in an alpine stream with best-practice aquaculture, is < 0.190 mg/L (as NOx-N).
Concentration of nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−) combined as Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx-N) in water
This benchmark represents the low-risk trigger value for Oxides of Nitrogen in upland rivers, used as a proxy for alpine streams in aquaculture areas, indicating high environmental health.
This value is derived from the national ANZECC & ARMCANZ (2000) guidelines as the most scientifically defensible and ecologically protective benchmark available for upland rivers in South-East Australia, serving as a precautionary threshold for high environmental health.
Sources (2)
ANZECC & ARMCANZ (2000) guidelines - Water Quality Australia
View Source(PDF) Impact of mitigated forestry activities on turbidity: assessing ...
View SourceSupporting Sources (42)
Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.
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View SourceAgricultural impacts on streams near Nitrate Vulnerable Zones: A case study in the Ebro basin, Northern Spain - PMC, accessed August 17, 2025,
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View SourceAustralian fisheries and aquaculture outlook 2024 - DAFF
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View SourceAustralian Alps - Wikipedia, accessed August 17, 2025
View SourceNorthern Territory Government (2020) Darwin Harbour Region Water Quality Objectives, Report Card Section 3.0.
View SourceAustralian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZECC 2000)
View SourceDecades of data sustaining the Australian Alps | TERN Australia
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View SourceGaden Trout Hatchery - Thredbo River - Visit Cooma
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View SourceMurrayDarling basin - Wikipedia, accessed August 17, 2025
View SourceUsing the ANZECC Guidelines and Water Quality Objectives in NSW
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View SourceNitrogen and Water | U.S. Geological Survey - USGS.gov, accessed August 17, 2025,
View SourceNitrogen Limitation in a Sonoran Desert Stream | Journal of the North American Benthological Society: Vol 5, No 1, accessed August 17, 2025,
View SourceNutrient Criteria Technical Guidance Manual: Rivers and Streams - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), accessed August 17, 2025,
View SourceAssessment of the Values of Kosciuszko National Park (Chapter 8)
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View SourceSustaining the Australian Alps | TERN Australia
View SourceThe impact of nitrate pollution in waterways on freshwater species, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceAustralian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (2000)
View SourceReference-site data - Water Quality Australia
View SourceWater monitoring - NSW Department of Primary Industries
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View SourceWater quality objectives for the Darwin Harbour Region
View SourceThe Australian Alps Bioregion - Environment and Heritage, accessed on May 27, 2025,
View SourceSediments and nutrients in north Queensland tropical streams: changes with agricultural development and pristine condition status (Technical Report No. 62, Australian Rainforest CRC, 2006)
View Source