NSW Water Quality and River Flow Objectives About the Objectives Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water   Select from the scrolling list, statewide map or catchment list Select a catchment Barwon-Darling and Far Western Bega River Bellinger River Border Rivers Brunswick River Camden Haven and Hastings River Castlereagh River Clarence River Clyde River and Jervis Bay Cooks River Georges River Gosford and Northern Beaches Lagoons Gwydir River Hacking River Hawkesbury-Nepean River Hunter River Karuah River and Great Lakes Lachlan River Illawarra Lake Macquarie and Tuggerah Lakes Macleay River Macquarie-Bogan River Manning River Moruya River Murray River Murrumbidgee River and Lake George Nambucca River Namoi River Richmond River Shoalhaven River Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River Towamba and Genoa River Tuross River Tweed River Williams River

Clyde River and Jervis Bay
Community comment on the objectives

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• Overview
• Water quality and value of the resource
• River flows
• Major issues
• Existing programs

Overview

Two community discussion meetings attended by a total of more than 70 people were held in Batemans Bay and Sussex Inlet; a meeting of Aboriginal people was held at Narooma (attended by representatives of many of the south coast Aboriginal communities) and several written submissions were received.

Water quality and value of the resource

The catchment community supported all the proposed environmental values and the objectives needed to sustain these values. Of particular significance were a healthy aquatic ecology (protection of aquatic ecosystems), safe swimming (primary contact recreation), water looking pleasant and clean (visual amenity), being able to drink the water after some treatment (drinking water supply) and being able to irrigate with water of a quality suited to the crops grown (irrigation water supply).

Most comments indicated a high level of community support for having healthy catchments. Good quality water and sufficient flows were thought to be important-both from a resource point of view, and because of the feelings of attachment and well-being associated with knowing the catchment was healthy.

The community recognised that the benefits of a healthy ecosystem included:

• continuation of a desirable lifestyle, including protection of human health
• maintenance of the undeveloped nature of local catchments with the opportunity for the 'isolation experience' this provides
• continued sustainability of local water-dependent industries such as tourism, recreation, fishing and oyster-growing, with the consequent support of local employment opportunities.

The costs identified for delivering the desired level of ecosystem protection included:

• restrictions on development (although this was seen as being both positive as well as negative)
• possible reductions in the amount of water available for irrigation
• financial costs involved in reversing some of the existing environmental degradation.

It was generally felt that the benefits would outweigh the costs, particularly in the long term.

River flows

The responses indicated that the community thought that the most important river flow issues were:

• low flows or lack of flow
• the connection between inundation from the river or estuary and the viability of adjoining wetlands,

and the need to:

• sustain groundwater quality and quantity
• retain some natural variability in the flow regime
• minimise the impact of instream structures
• protect the estuary.

People concerned about the state of the estuarine lagoons wanted upstream extraction to be limited at times of low or no flows.

Major issues

The process of developing the objectives identified several major issues that could need progressive action to achieve healthy and viable Clyde River and Jervis Bay catchments. Comment on some of these is included in Section 3, as part of the supporting information for the recommended objectives.

Major issues identified were the need to:

• protect the estuarine environments from adverse impacts on water quality, including the effects of drainage from acid sulfate soils. This was considered a major goal in protecting the local oyster-farming, fishing and tourism industries.
• improve controls on stormwater from urban areas. Greater use of filtration and tighter controls on littering were mentioned as possible solutions.
• examine the problem of poor tidal exchange (flushing) in some coastal lagoons. Artificial openings to these lagoons can have positive and negative effects, so need very careful consideration. Some people felt that water diversion from the river within the catchments of these lagoons, especially during low-flow periods, could be accelerating the process of lagoon closure by reducing the volume of water flowing out of the systems. It was suggested that some of these problems could be resolved by better catchment management, leading to improved upstream flows and water quality.
• reduce the ecological impact of water diversions under low-flow conditions. Extraction of water at these times can also move the estuarine saline-water zone upstream, with consequent impacts on irrigators at the downstream ends of river systems.
• minimise the entry of nutrients into the river from fertilisers, from public toilets in areas of high recreational use, and from generally inadequate sewage control. This was mentioned as requiring attention. There were also calls for improved on-site effluent management.
• minimise problems of bank erosion, and consequent sedimentation and navigation problems caused by wash from pleasure-craft. Restrictions on vessel speed were suggested.
• manage stock access to streams. Uncontrolled access was causing increased erosion and elevating the levels of nutrients and bacteria in waters. The associated grazing pressures on riparian zones and creek banks was also a concern.
• improve bushfire management in the interests of protecting public safety, preventing poor-quality runoff and enhancing protection of conservation values
• run community education programs to empower people to take action (e.g. on stormwater) and overcome the fear of change evident in some sections of the community
• give legal force to the objectives, particularly in relation to inappropriate local planning decisions. A related recommendation was to impose tougher conditions on developments, and the subsequent policing of those controls.
• reduce the stress in river systems identified as being under stress
• protect rivers in the catchment that have high conservation value. As a guide, such rivers should not be allowed to further degrade in water quality or flow regime, and may require restoration where they have poor water quality, a changed flow regime and habitat loss or degradation.
• control willows, which are choking streams and causing problems of flooding and erosion
• overcome the effects of erosion and sedimentation from roads and road-building
• protect wetland areas and clear the obstruction to fish passage in areas where this is a problem
• respect Aboriginal spiritual and cultural values associated with rivers, creeks, wetlands and lakes; and traditional Aboriginal management roles in, and uses for, these areas-including as a source of traditional foods that are safe to eat
• allow the catchment community to be actively involved in developing future strategies and actions associated with the interim environmental objectives.

Two water management committees (WMCs) will operate in the Clyde and Jervis Bay catchments to implement the objectives. The Jervis Bay catchment will be covered by the Illawarrra-Shoalhaven WMC and the Clyde River catchment by the South Coast WMC.

Existing programs

Some of the above issues already receive considerable attention and resources. Communities-through Landcare, Rivercare and other programs-are already undertaking important on-the-ground projects. The NSW Government has established and funded programs such as Blue-Green Algae Management, Estuary Management Program, Floodplain Management Program, Wetlands Action, the Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Program and the NSW Shellfish Quality Assurance Program. At the Commonwealth level, relevant programs are being funded through Landcare and the Natural Heritage Trust.

Where programs such as these are already underway in the catchment, they should be acknowledged and, where possible, incorporated in water and estuary management plans.

This page was published 1 May 2006