Smart sampling for Lakeland water

Automated sampling and new testing sites are among the latest innovations being introduced at Lakeland to improve the detail of water quality information in the local area. Cape York NRM has been working with landholders and the Department of Environment and Science to ensure real-time information on just how healthy the waterways are.

As part of this project, the Department will be installing an autosampling station, which will be maintained by Cape York NRM, on the Laura River.

Autosampling stations are just as they sound—they collect water samples automatically when a certain set of conditions are met. For example, when a stream gets to a certain height it will trigger a sampling event; or samples might be taken at a certain time of day every day.

The samples are stored in a refrigerated unit until they are all collected and sent to Brisbane for analysis.

The autosampling station will also include a real-time nitrate sensor, which will upload data straight to the cloud.

Several new monitoring sites are also being established for grab samples—samples collected by hand— in waterways within the Lakeland area. They will be collected by trained Cape York NRM project staff and will provide landholders with up-to-date information on nutrients, pesticides, and suspended sediments in local waterways.

This project is funded by the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science