It is recommended that farm operators undertake monitoring of the water quality characteristics throughout the whole system often enough to reveal any significant changes or treatment failures, to trigger a response within a timeframe that is appropriate to the risk it presents to meat chicken health. This applies to both observational monitoring (e.g. inspecting the water system) and analytical measurements (e.g. laboratory analysis). Continuous online monitoring should be used wherever possible and additionally at critical treatments points that have a higher risk to meat chicken health. For water characteristics that are deemed a lower risk, grab samples or regular inspections may be enough.
Frequency of monitoring should be increased at times of increased risk; for example, inspections of surface waters for algal blooms may need to be more frequent during summer, or inspections of reservoirs for increase organic matter after a severe storm event. Additionally, the frequency of monitoring can vary for each water supply, depending on the key characteristics identified through analysis of the water and the resulting risks to meat chicken health.
Table 5 provides the rationale behind water quality monitoring programs.
Table 5. Rationale for water quality monitoring programs
| Location | Characteristic | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| General catchment | Inspection | Detect human and animal activities that could cause contamination; confirm that fences and signs are effective. |
| Rainfall | Understand the impact of rainfall on water quality. | |
| Feeder streams in the catchment | Turbidity, colour, E. coli | Early warning of changes to raw water quality to allow timely changes to treatment processes. Detect local contamination and disturbances. |
| Cryptosporidium | Assess if treatment barriers are needed to remove or inactivate cryptosporidium effectively. | |
| Storage dam or raw water reservoir | Temperature, water quality profile | Information for management of water quality in storage with existing or new management systems. |
| Inspection | Information for management of water quality in storage with existing or new management systems. | |
| Algal cell counts | Early warning to activate management actions to prevent algal blooms in storage and forewarning of need for additional monitoring, observational surveillance. Information for changes to water treatment processes to maintain effective removal of algae and algal metabolites. | |
| Cryptosporidium | Information for changes to water treatment processes to maintain optimal Cryptosporidium removal. | |
| Turbidity Colour | Information for changes to water treatment processes to maintain optimal turbidity and colour removal. | |
| River intake and bore head | Inspection | Detect sources of contamination and activities that could cause contamination. |
| Turbidity Colour | Inform changes to water treatment processes to maintain optimal turbidity and colour removal. | |
| Iron, manganese | Inform changes to water treatment processes to maintain optimal iron and manganese removal. | |
| Algal cell counts | Forewarn of possible algal risk and need for additional monitoring, observational surveillance. | |
| Rainfall-related: turbidity, E. coli, Cryptosporidium, pesticides, colour | Understand rainfall effects. Identify high challenge periods and forewarn downstream processes; identify local point source of contamination. Intervene in catchment before the reservoir affected. Give feedback to industry and source of contamination. | |
| Storage and header tanks | Integrity from contamination | Confirm roof and hatches are effective against ingress of contaminants. |
