Water Turbidity

AUS-TMI-LVG-WTU General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 2 to 5 NTU

Optimal Range: 2 to 5

Direction: Lower is desirable ↓

Form: OptimalRange

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

Evidence & Context

The proposed optimal range is 2 - 5 NTU.

Metric Definition:

Water turbidity measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) representing the typical range for a healthy, well-managed system during baseflow.

Benchmark Definition:

Optimal functional range for water turbidity indicating a high-health aquatic system under best-practice livestock grazing in tropical maritime islands.

Justification:

Based on median to 80th percentile turbidity values from Queensland Water Quality Objectives for 'Slightly Disturbed' upland fresh waters.

Sources (1)

Preview of Tully River, Murray River and Hinchinbrook Island Basins Environmental Values and Water Quality Objectives

Tully River, Murray River and Hinchinbrook Island Basins Environmental Values and Water Quality Objectives Journal

Environmental Protection (Water and Wetland Biodiversity) Policy 2019: Tully, Murray and Hinchinbrook Island River Basins Environmental Values and Water Quality Objectives

View Source

Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Barron River Basin Environmental Values and Water Quality ..., accessed July 21, 2025,

Direct Evidence Journal

Effects of total dissolved solids on growth and mortality predict ...

View Source

Wet Tropics basins - Queensland Environment Department, accessed July 21, 2025,

Direct Evidence Government

Barron River Basin Environmental Values and Water Quality ..., accessed July 30, 2025

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands
Land Use Livestock Grazing & Pasture
Assessment Not Stated
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 5 Jun 2026

Notes

Waterways with baseflow turbidity consistently within this range are indicative of catchments with excellent vegetative cover, stable streambanks, and minimal soil erosion. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-TMI-LVG-WTU family.