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Coopers Creek Catchment Water Users Group

Testing the Waters in Coopers

Mention Coopers Creek and there's a good chance a big river system in Queensland comes to mind, however a much smaller creek with the same name is literally under the spotlight by a farming community near Lismore on the NSW Far North Coast.
For the past eight years farmers living along the NSW Coopers Creek, a tributary of the Richmond River, have been gazing into its depths to find out just how healthy it is.
As members of the Coopers Creek Water Users Group, they began testing the waters because of concerns there was no continual data available and they wanted to create a history of the creek's water quality.
The group was trained in how to do this by the Department of Water Resources and funded the testing from their own resources and some small grants.
But in 2007 these water users, recognising they should belong to an organisation to give them access to improved and updated water testing information, joined Richmond Landcare Inc and Waterwatch.

water testing by member of coopers creek water users group

water testing

 To get up to speed with testing equipment, the group applied for and received a grant from Dilmah Tea to finance the purchase of electrical conductivity meters, water filtering equipment and enough chemicals for a year of testing.
The Dilmah Tea and Landcare Australia partnership has provided water quality testing kits and grants to groups and schools in most of Australia's 56 natural resource management regions.
The Coopers Creek group undertakes water testing on six sites over the creek and, according to group spokesperson, Kaye Bryant, without the Dilmah grant it would not have been able to continue with water quality testing.
Dilmah founder, Merrill J.Fernando, said his company was proud to be taking a positive lead on improving water quality, a vital part of sustaining Australia's communities.

 

Richmond Landcare Incorporated, PO Box 525, Alstonville, NSW 2477, mobile: 0427 485 910
email: info@richmondlandcare.org or cso@richmondlandcare.org
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