As part of this project we developed a new indicator to identify water affected by acidic drainage from disturbed acid sulfate soil. With this new indicator we sampled estuaries, rivers, streams and drains in south-western Australia.
Drainage from acid sulfate soil was found to be impacting both fresh water and estuarine water in the region. The impact observed was more subtle when compared with the large quantities of acid produced behind floodgates reported for many acid sulfate soil-affected sites in Australia’s eastern states.
Forty-one sites in the current study were identified as hotspot sites, with either unusually high aluminium and/or iron concentrations (within the range expected from reported acid sulfate soil-affected waterways) or with signals of acidic drainage identified by the sulfur isotope indicator.
