Water Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-TMI-AGR-WEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

50 µS/cm

Direction: Lower is desirable ↓

Form: MaximumOnly

Scoring Curve

This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context.

Evidence & Context

The benchmark of < 50 µS/cm represents the best available condition for surface waters in this biome, derived from comprehensive field measurements in the low-impact Tiwi Islands, which serve as a real-world reference for a high-health natural state.

Metric Definition:

Water Electrical Conductivity (EC) is a physical measure of a solution's ability to conduct an electrical current, serving as a proxy for total dissolved ionic substances.

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the highest achievable ecological health for water electrical conductivity in agricultural crop production systems within Australia's Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands biome, serving as a reference for best-practice sustainable agriculture to minimize water quality impact.

Justification:

Derived from the Tiwi Islands report, representing a near-natural baseline with minimal agricultural impact, corroborated by analogous mainland streams.

Sources (2)

Preview of Proserpine River, Whitsunday Island and O'Connell River Basins Environmental Values and Water Quality Objectives - Queensland Environment Department, accessed August 2, 2025,

Proserpine River, Whitsunday Island and O'Connell River Basins Environmental Values and Water Quality Objectives - Queensland Environment Department, accessed August 2, 2025, Journal

Bioregional Assessment of the Clarence-Moreton bioregion, which includes the Richmond River basin

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VOLUME 1 WATER RESOURCES OF THE TIWI ... - Tiwi Land Council Government

VOLUME 1 WATER RESOURCES OF THE TIWI ... - Tiwi Land Council

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Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of A Compendium of Ecological Information on Australia's Northern Tropical Rivers - Report 5 - Water quality - DCCEEW, accessed August 1, 2025,

A Compendium of Ecological Information on Australia's Northern Tropical Rivers - Report 5 - Water quality - DCCEEW, accessed August 1, 2025,

Direct Evidence Journal

Threshold Indicator Taxa ANalysis and change points (dots) for the ...

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Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZG)

Contextual Support Journal

Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water ...

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Context

Region Australia
Biome Tropical & Subtropical Maritime Islands
Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
Assessment Pristine Reference
Evidence Type ReferenceCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 10 Jun 2026

Notes

No upper detrimental threshold — higher values are always worse beyond this point. This benchmark represents the highest achievable ecological health in the biome, serving as a reference for best-practice sustainable agriculture to minimize water quality impact.

Related Benchmarks

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