In March, the North Central Catchment Management Authority WaterWatch team hosted a hands-on workshop to help volunteers get more out of the recently updated WaterWatch website and data portal. The session was generously delivered by long-time WaterWatcher and portal expert David Tiller.
The WaterWatch website and data portal received a significant upgrade last year, making it much easier for users to explore water quality data, identify trends over time, and better understand the important information collected by volunteers across Victoria. David played a major role in developing these improvements and offered to run a tailored session specifically for North Central volunteers.
Seven local volunteers attended the workshop, where David guided participants through the key features of the portal. This included how to view and interpret graphs showing long‑term trends for different water quality tests, as well as the new Water Quality Indicator “traffic light” reports, which summarise site conditions where enough data is available.
A particularly valuable part of the workshop was exploring data from the volunteers’ own monitoring sites. This helped participants see how the portal can be used to better understand changes in their waterways and communicate findings with their communities. Importantly, David demonstrated that all of this information is publicly accessible — no login is required — making the portal a powerful tool for volunteers and the wider community alike.
Anyone can explore WaterWatch data by visiting the WaterWatch website, hovering over “Data”, and selecting “WaterWatch data”. The search bars above the map allow users to find sites of interest and dive into the available data.
For those who couldn’t attend the March workshop, a recorded webinar from last year is available: Exploring the New WaterWatch and EstuaryWatch Websites, which provides a useful overview of the updated portal.
If you’d be interested in attending a future in‑person portal session, and you live in the North Central Catchment Management Authority area, please email asha.bannon@nccma.vic.gov.au to register your interest. You’re also welcome to get in touch at any time with questions about the portal — support is always available to help you make the most of your monitoring data.
