Application of a 'whole-of-catchment' model to the Port Phillip Bay catchment, Australia

Abstract

The quality of water travelling through the catchment of, and entering, Port Phillip and Western Port Bays is of considerable interest from ecological and management perspectives. Management agencies for the Port Phillip catchment have to plan for a target reduction of 1000 tonne of nitrogen entering the Bay by 2006, and reduction in sediment loads in Western Port are of similar concern. There are a variety of methods by which nutrient and sediment reduction can be achieved, ranging from direct intervention at point sources, to reductions in and filtering of diffuse loads. This paper reports on development of a coarse whole-of-catchment model for the Port Phillip and Western Port catchments ..