Donnelly River – Strickland Gauging Station

River condition at the Strickland HRP site (site code: DR148DONN1, site reference: 6081064), located at the Strickland gauging station on the Donnelly River has been assessed on multiple occasions as part of the Healthy Rivers program. The most recent survey was undertaken between 27–28 February 2023.

Healthy Rivers assessments are conducted using standard methods from the South West Index of River Condition (SWIRC), which incorporates field and desktop data from the site and from the broader catchment. Field data collected include the following indicators, assessed over about a 100 m length of stream:

• Aquatic biota: fish and crayfish community information (abundance of native and exotic species across size classes, general reproductive and physical condition)
• Water quality: dissolved oxygen, temperature, specific conductivity, and pH (logged in-situ over 24 hours), as well as laboratory samples for colour, alkalinity, turbidity and nutrients
• Aquatic habitat: e.g. water depth, substrate type, presence of woody debris and detritus, type and cover of macrophytes and draping vegetation
• Physical form: channel morphology, bank slope and shape, bioconnectivity (barriers to migration of aquatic species), erosion and sedimentation
• Fringing zone: width and length of vegetation cover within the river corridor and lands immediately adjacent, structural intactness of riparian and streamside vegetation
• Hydrology: measures of flow (velocity) at representative locations (compared against data from stream gauging stations within the system)
• Local land use: descriptions of local land use types and activities (compared against land use mapping information for the catchment)

Previous Healthy Rivers assessments at this site are listed below, as well as any known third-party assessments. Note: aquatic fauna sampling methods have been specified, given variations between surveys at this site.

• 2017 (8–9 February): Healthy Rivers - full SWIRC assessment
• 2020 (29–30 January): WRM (2020) (their site DS4 was 1 km upstream of the gauging station) non-SWIRC methods including electrofishing, mussel survey
• 2020 (4–5 February): (500 m downstream of the gauging station) Healthy Rivers - full SWIRC assessment
• 2020 (17–18 August): Healthy Rivers - SWIRC method, fish and crayfish only

Other departmental data: This site is at Department of Water and Environmental Regulation's (the department) Strickland gauging station (site reference 608151), which has been in operation since the 1940s.

Search the site code or site reference in the department’s Water Information Reporting (WIR) system to find data for this site and nearby sampling points (flows, surface water quality, groundwater monitoring, the department's meteorological data). See also the Bureau of Meteorology website for additional meteorological data for the area.

The species expected to occur at the Strickland site are based on species found at the site and elsewhere within the wider subcatchment. As differences in habitat within a reach naturally influence species distributions, and variability in methods between sampling programs can affect the species caught, this list is only indicative.

Please note that since the gauging station is the boundary between two subcatchments (for fish expectation) there are two fish tables. Table one refers to upstream of the gauging station weir and table two refers to a site 500 m downstream of the weir. Future assessments will treat these as two separate sites.

Although not included on fish table 1; three species, nightfish, restricted gilgie and rainbow trout were recorded immediately downstream of the weir during the August 2020 assessment. At the time of sampling the water level was high enough that the upstream and downstream subcatchments were connected.

Note: collection of fauna from inland aquatic ecosystems across Western Australia requires a licence from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA). All species collected must be reported to these agencies as part of licence conditions.

Only freshwater fish and crayfish that typically inhabit river channels are targeted by the standard SWIRC sampling methods, however other species are sometimes captured or observed.  The following species were detected at the site:

• Carter’s freshwater mussels (Westralunio carteri) were recorded (sometimes only shells) in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2023. This species is the sole endemic freshwater mussel species in Western Australia and currently listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of threatened species (because of declining range, which is largely attributed to the effects of salinity).
• Evidence of rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster) activity was also recorded (feeding midden with several opened Carter’s freshwater mussels). This species is listed by DBCA as a Priority 4 species (rare, near threatened and other species in need of monitoring).

Macroinvertebrate sampling has not been carried out at this site as part of the SWIRC assessments to date.

For more information on recorded aquatic fauna and other aquatic species, please see the River Science fauna page.