Water Electrical Conductivity (EC)

AUS-AIF-IND-WEC General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

1500 µS/cm
Direction: Lower is desirable ↓
Form: MinimumOnly

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 LowerThreshold Guard UpperThreshold Guard Point Guard MinimumOnly Guard Point Guard OptimalRange Guard UpperThreshold Guard Point Guard MaximumOnly Guard MinimumOnly Guard MaximumOnly Guard Point Guard Point Guard

Evidence & Context

A consistent body of evidence points to a threshold of approximately 1,500 µS/cm (equivalent to ~1,000 mg/L TDS) as the point where adverse effects on a range of freshwater biota become apparent.

Metric Definition:

Water Electrical Conductivity (EC)

Benchmark Definition:

This benchmark represents the threshold of water electrical conductivity above which sensitive freshwater biota in arid ephemeral river systems are adversely affected, indicating ecological degradation.

Justification:

Sustained levels above this threshold lead to the loss of sensitive freshwater biota, causing a fundamental shift in community structure and indicating a transition to a degraded state.

Sources (1)

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

Effects of increasing salinity on freshwater ecosystems in Australia - ResearchGate

View Source

Supporting Sources (1)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Preview of Water and sediment quality in the Diamantina-Georgina River catchment, Lake Eyre Basin
Water and sediment quality in the Diamantina-Georgina River catchment, Lake Eyre Basin
Direct Evidence Journal

Water quality in the Georgina-Diamantina River catchment

View Source

Context

  • Region Australia
  • Biome Arid Inland Floodplains & Ephemeral River Systems
  • Land Use Industrial & Infrastructure Use
  • Assessment Pristine Reference
  • Evidence Type DegradationThreshold

Lifecycle

  • Status Active
  • Version 1
  • Effective From 18 Mar 2026

Notes

This threshold marks the transition from a healthy to a degraded ecological state.