This project initially set out to advance the industries capacity to manage water quality through the development of constructed wetlands. Background knowledge included positive results regarding increases in biodiversity and improvement in water quality from pilot-scale wetlands. However, it was identified that the predominant concern of the industry was water availability because of dryer than average climates. Additionally, it was established that irrigators were more interested in whether or not the quality of their tailwater actually required improvement, but had no straightforward methods to attain this insight.As a result this project developed a simple water quality test kit to analyse irrigation water. In a pilot study, 20 water quality test kits and protocols were distributed within the industry, including some properties growing crops other than cotton. Key water quality parameters including, turbidity, temperature, EC, pH, carbonate hardness, total hardness and nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, phosphate and chloride ion concentrations were recorded during irrigations.Although the feedback from participants was positive, the amount of data returned was not sufficient to enable a full analysis of water quality. We expect that reduced on-farm staffing levels, as a consequence of very limited water availability, were too restrictive to allow sufficient resources to be made available for the trial.Analysis of preliminary results indicated that at least 15 to 30 % of nitrogen was lost to the tailwater systems as nitrate. This indicates that significant economic gain can be made through improving the efficiency of nutrient use. The main benefit of the water quality kits was that they provided a quantitative approach for environmental management. Site-specific water quality measurements could be collected that were directly related to local practice. Any change in practice, that affects nutrient use efficiency, could be assessed, thereby informing and quantifying environmental management systems such as BMF. Economic value of improvement in practice can be readily determined from tailwater quality data thereby providing further impetus for improvements.The water quality tests provide the cotton and irrigation industry with a simple tool to seek, measure and record economic and environmental improvement.