Water Nitrate

AUS-TSR-URB-WNI General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

0.015 mg/L
Direction: Lower is desirable ↓
Form: Point

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 13 benchmarks together — the OptimalRange form drives the primary score, while 12 guard(s) constrain the result.

Contributing Benchmarks

OptimalRange Primary MaximumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard Point Guard Point Guard MaximumOnly Guard

Evidence & Context

The WQO for Oxidised Nitrogen (NOx) in the lowland fresh waters of the Black River Basin is 0.015 mg/L (as N).

Metric Definition:

Water nitrate concentration measured as Oxidised Nitrogen (NOx), the sum of nitrate (NO3²2) and nitrite (NO2²2), in lowland fresh waters of the Black River Basin.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the official water quality objective for oxidised nitrogen in lowland freshwaters of the Black River Basin, indicating a high-health state in a managed tropical landscape.

Justification:

Derived using the ANZG referential method, based on the 80th percentile of data from the least-disturbed reference sites in the region. Represents a high level of ecological health.

Sources (1)

Preview of Townsville basins - Queensland Environment Department, accessed August 2, 2025,
Townsville basins - Queensland Environment Department, accessed August 2, 2025,

Environmental Protection (Water and Wetland Biodiversity) Policy 2019 - Schedule 1 (referencing WQOs for Black River Basin)

View Source

Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Black ross (townsville) - water Quality improvement plan
Black ross (townsville) - water Quality improvement plan
Contextual Support Journal

Black ross (townsville) - water Quality improvement plan

View Source
Preview of Land-use effects on water quality in an intensively managed catchment in the Australian humid tropics | Request PDF - ResearchGate, accessed July 30, 2025,
Land-use effects on water quality in an intensively managed catchment in the Australian humid tropics | Request PDF - ResearchGate, accessed July 30, 2025,
Contextual Support Journal

Land-use effects on water quality in an intensively managed ...

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Tropical & Subtropical Rainforests
  • Land Use Urban & Developed Use
  • Assessment Not Stated
  • Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 3 Jun 2026

Notes

No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always worse beyond this point. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TSR-URB-WNI family.

0.015 mg/L Moderate
Urban & Developed Use · Not Stated
MaximumOnly Active v1
— mg/L Moderate
Urban & Developed Use · Not Stated
OptimalRange Active v1
0.015 mg/L Moderate
Urban & Developed Use · Not Stated
MinimumOnly Active v1
50 mg/L Moderate
Urban & Developed Use · Not Stated
Point Rejected v2
0.015 mg/L Moderate
Urban & Developed Use · Not Stated
Point Superseded v1
— mg/L Moderate
Urban & Developed Use · Not Stated
OptimalRange Rejected v1