The first combined Waterways report card for the Central Coast has been released.

The report examines the ecological health of Southern Lake Macquarie, Tuggerah Lakes, Brisbane Water and the coastal lagoons over the 2017-18 year, providing a clear picture of the estuarine sections of the whole Central Coast waterways network.

Central Coast Council Environment and Planning Director, Scott Cox said that whilst the report, which is compiled from ongoing monitoring and assessments, shows overall positive results it also provides a valuable tool to Council to identify areas for further investigation.

“Council uses a recognised monitoring program to assess the ecological health of our waterways, allowing us to monitor the condition, monitor changes over time and target investment and on ground works to improve ecosystem health,” Mr Cox said.

“For the 2017-18 year we have seen good results in all of the southern Lake Macquarie, Cockrone and Wamberal Lagoon sites, plus the majority of sites in Tuggerah Lakes, Lake Munmorah and Brisbane Water.

“Other sites that have shown a mix of poorer results, include Budgewoi Lake, Terrigal and Avoca lagoons, and some other sites where creek systems enter larger waterways.

“These results will allow Council to review our management actions and plan for on ground works to help improve waterway health over time.”

Council’s program is delivered in partnership with the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, using a scientifically robust methodology and is the most comprehensive program of its kinds provided by local government in NSW.

Mayor Lisa Matthews said the release of the report card was an exciting step in understanding the waterways of the Central Coast as a whole.

“Our local waterways make up 13% of the total area of the Central Coast, it is important to understand the state that they are in, so that we can make informed decisions,” Mayor Matthews said.

“It’s exciting to have a report that that encompasses almost the whole of the Central Coast for the first time.

“We acknowledge the importance of transparent reporting back to our community on the health of our waterways.

“This report will enable a greater understanding of our waterways and allow the community to take a role, in partnership with Council, to help maintain and improve the health or our rivers and lakes.”

The 2017-18 Waterways report card also outlines the actions Council has taken to target improvements in waterway health including:

• rehabilitation of natural wetlands at Elizabeth Bay, Doyalson, Budgewoi, Toukley, Tacoma, Chittaway Bay, Berkeley Vale, Erina, Davistown, Saratoga, Bensville, Point Clare and Tascott
• protection and rehabilitation of Coastal Saltmarsh and foreshore bushland along the shores of Tuggerah Lake and Brisbane Water 
• construction of new stormwater quality improvement devices at Canton Beach, Summerland Point and Mannering Park to reduce pollutant loads to the waterways
• maintenance of a network of over 418 stormwater quality improvement devices throughout the estuary catchments to improve water quality
• removal of 967 tonnes of sediment and pollutants from stormwater quality improvement devices 
• removal of 14,855m³ of excess seagrass wrack and floating algae from Tuggerah Lakes to enhance water quality and improve circulation in nearshore areas.

For all the details visit the Tuggerah Lakes Estuary page.

ENDS

Additional information/quotes for each of the waterway categories

Tuggerah Lakes Estuary 
Central Coast Council has been monitoring the ecological health of the Tuggerah Lakes estuary since 2011. Council now monitors 16 sites throughout the estuary.
Council’s Environment and Planning Director, Scott Cox said the results for Tuggerah Lakes were good news overall. 
“Our results show the majority of the Tuggerah Lake zone was good, with excellent results at Canton Beach, The Entrance and Chittaway Bay,” Mr Cox said.
“Lake Munmorah was also rated good across the system.
“Ourimbah Creek, Wallarah Creek and the Budgewoi Lake sites were fair, with a range of indicators falling below trigger levels throughout the year.”
Central Coast Mayor, Lisa Matthews said it was important to remember the program looks at ecological health for the waterways.
“We understand that at times our lakes look and smell in ways we don’t expect them to, and that can lead us to believe they are in poor health” Mayor Mathews said.
“However this program shows that for 2017-18 the health of the lakes overall was quite good. 
“We still have a way to go, but these reports can help us make informed management decisions that help fix the problems at the source.”

Brisbane Water
Central Coast Council monitors nine sites within Brisbane Water.
Council’s Environment and Planning Director, Scott Cox said all of the main basin sites, Woy Woy Bay, Cockle Bay and Booker Bay were considered excellent for the 2017-18 year. 
“The naturally well flushed nature of the main sites within Brisbane Water is reflected in the excellent results,” Mr Cox said.
“Reduced water quality coming from the Narara, Erina and Kincumber Creek catchments have highlighted some concerns, with turbidity being the main concern.”
“The Brisbane Water results highlight the importance of looking after our catchments” Mayor Matthews said.

Southern Lake Macquarie
Central Coast Council monitors three sites within southern Lake Macquarie.
Council’s Environment and Planning Director, Scott Cox said all sites were considered excellent for the 2017-18 year.
“Our Lake Macquarie sites all showed excelled results for the chlorophyll-a indicators, turbidity was generally very good although seagrass depth range varied between the sites,” Mr  Cox said.
“This is the first year we have included the southern Lake Macquarie sites in the monitoring program, I look forward to seeing the results for the coming years for this area,” Mayor Mathews said.

Coastal Lagoons
Central Coast Council monitors our four coastal lagoons – Wamberal, Terrigal, Avoca and Cockrone. 
Council’s Environment and Planning Director, Scott Cox said the lagoons varied results reflected the urbanised nature of the lagoons catchments and the pressures they face.
“The good news for our lagoons is that Cockrone and Wamberal are rated as excellent and good respectively,” Mr Cox said.
“However Terrigal has come in with a fair result and Avoca very poor which means we have some more work to do in those catchments to understand exactly what is going on and what we can do to improve those results over time.”
Mayor Lisa Matthews said the lagoons would also benefit from the Terrigal and lagoons catchment audit currently underway in partnership with the NSW Government.
“While the main part of the audit at Terrigal is focused on recreational water quality, the wider audit of the lagoons will help to understand the pressure on them and give us a good idea on what may need to be done,” Mayor Matthews said. 

Editors notes:

• The Central Coast Waterways report card reports on ecological health of our waterways – using seagrass depth range, turbidity and Chlorophyll-a as indicators of health.
• The NSW State of the Beaches Report, the Beachwatch program and the Terrigal Catchment Audit are focused on water quality as it relates to recreational swimming guidelines and uses microbial contamination as the indicator.
• Council are also responsible for monitoring part of the Lower Hawkesbury catchment and the freshwater catchments across the Central Coast. These catchments will be added to future report cards.
• In summary the 2017-18 report tells us:
  
  • Brisbane Water estuary is generally considered excellent, with results in sites where the creeks enter the estuary generally poorer
  • water quality throughout the Tuggerah Lakes estuary was generally good, with a pocket of fair results for Budgewoi Lake and some excellent results at The Entrance, Canton Beach and Chittaway Bay
  • the water quality in our southern Lake Macquarie sites is excellent
  • our coastal lagoons vary from excellent at Cockrone Lagoon to very poor at Avoca lagoon.