Water Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-TMI-IND-WEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

1500 µS/cm

Direction: Lower is desirable ↓

Form: MaximumOnly

Scoring Curve

Scoring curve unavailable

The scoring engine could not generate a curve for this benchmark context. The primary form is CompositeFramework, but the benchmark data may be missing required fields (e.g., optimal range bounds for an OptimalRange benchmark). This is typically a data quality issue in the benchmark pipeline.

Contributing Benchmarks

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

Evidence & Context

A comprehensive review of the effects of increasing salinity on Australian freshwater ecosystems provides a clear threshold. The research concludes that "aquatic biota will be adversely affected as salinity exceeds 1000 mg L–1".31 A concentration of 1000 mg/L of total dissolved solids corresponds to an electrical conductivity of approximately 1500 µS/cm.

Metric Definition:

Upper detrimental threshold of surface water electrical conductivity (EC) beyond which significant ecological harm occurs.

Benchmark Definition:

Threshold EC value above which salinity causes direct physiological stress and ecological harm.

Justification:

Based on ecotoxicological evidence and reviews specific to Australian freshwater biota.

Sources (1)

Preview of Water quality indicator: Electrical conductivity - Queen Mary University of London, accessed August 11, 2025,

Water quality indicator: Electrical conductivity - Queen Mary University of London, accessed August 11, 2025, Journal

www.qmul.ac.uk

View Source

Supporting Sources (3)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

(PDF) Effects of increasing salinity on freshwater ecosystems in Australia - ResearchGate, accessed August 11, 2025,

Direct Evidence GreyLiterature

(PDF) Effects of increasing salinity on freshwater ecosystems in Australia - ResearchGate

View Source

Norfolk Island Water Quality Assessment - Squarespace, accessed August 4, 2025,

Direct Evidence Journal

Norfolk Island Water Quality Assessment - Squarespace

View Source

Salinity - Murray�darling Basin Authority

Contextual Support Journal

Salinity - Murray–Darling Basin Authority

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands
Land Use Industrial & Infrastructure Use
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 5 Jun 2026

Notes

This threshold represents a fundamental shift from a healthy system to a degraded state due to salinization. The value 1500 µS/cm is described as 'approximately' in the source text; ensure this approximation is acceptable for a hard threshold. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

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Other benchmarks in the AUS-TMI-IND-WEC family.