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The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) is currently undertaking a program to survey/monitor the State’s stream network.  The survey work will collect information against each sampling location related to fish and/or invertebrates.  This work will provide key inputs into an Index of Stream Condition (ISC) for each of the representative river reaches across Victoria.

Spatial Vision was commissioned to design a GIS based tool that would enable sampling sites to be selected randomly from a set of pre-defined potential sites.  The total number of sites was governed by a complex set of business rules that are based on the standards set for the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.  The tool enables Catchment & Water Service staff to create a sampling design for fish and invertebrate survey teams for each river basin in Victoria.  The tool also has the facility to create a report that provides a basin-wide map of the sampling locations along with a table including location coordinates and Country Fire Authority map book references to assist survey teams in locating the sites in the field.  Each sampling design can be exported for use with input into GPS technology if required.

This tool has significantly increased the efficiency with which Catchment and Water Services can manage and service its survey teams.  The tool also represents a consistent approach to State-wide monitoring of river reaches and is one component of the overall river reach condition assessment work currently underway in Victoria.

This tool represents another addition to the growing portfolio of river assessment/monitoring tools developed by Spatial Vision.