Water Turbidity

AUS-TMI-LVG-WTU General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

15 NTU

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 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 upper detrimental threshold is 15 NTU.

Metric Definition:

Water turbidity measured in Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) representing the upper detrimental threshold beyond which the system is considered moderately disturbed.

Benchmark Definition:

Upper detrimental threshold for water turbidity indicating significant ecological degradation under livestock grazing in tropical maritime islands.

Justification:

Defined by Queensland Water Quality Objectives for 'Moderately Disturbed' developed freshwater streams in tropical catchments.

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 DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 5 Jun 2026

Notes

Turbidity levels consistently exceeding 15 NTU indicate significant degradation from suboptimal land management. AssessmentContext defaulted to 'Not Stated' because the source document did not state one.

Related Benchmarks

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