Trends in WWTP Nutrient Loads and Water Quality of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River
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w Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program Interpretive Report 2016-17 Trends in WWTP nutrient loads and water quality of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Water Quality Report 2017 Commercial-in-Confidence Sydney Water Project and Services Level 1, 20 William Holmes Street, Potts Hill, NSW 2143 DX2552W Report version: STSIMP Interpretive report 2016-17_revised final to EPA Cover photo: Winmalee Lagoon (November 2015) © Sydney Water 2018 This work is copyright. It may be reproduced for study, research or training purposes subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and no commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those listed requires permission from Sydney Water. Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Interpretive Report 2016-17 Page | ii Executive summary Purpose A requirement of Sydney Water’s Environment Protection Licences (EPLs) is to undertake an ongoing Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program (STSIMP) to identify and quantify environmental impacts associated with Sydney Water’s wastewater services across our area of operations. The program aims to monitor the environment within Sydney Water’s area of operations to: • determine general trends in water quality over time • monitor Sydney Water’s performance • determine where Sydney Water’s contribution to water quality may pose a risk to environmental ecosystems and human health. The sampling program is designed to provide a longitudinal and spatial dataset that allows the identification of statistically significant changes in water quality or ecosystem health parameters that may be related to discharges from wastewater systems. The STSIMP generates two types of reports: an annual data report and an interpretive report. The annual data report presents the latest data from the monitoring program with limited interpretation. An interpretive report is compiled every four years to identify and assess water quality and ecological health trends that may be related to Sydney Water’s wastewater systems. The report is based on the best available data and scientific understanding of waterway health mechanisms. This 2016-17 Interpretive Report was compiled to analyse and assess both the long-term (1992-2017) and short-term (post major upgrade) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) nutrient loads and receiving water quality trends in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment. It also explores factors driving change in concentrations of nutrients, chlorophyll-a and algae in the river and its tributaries. Background The STSIMP interpretive report is prepared every four years to satisfy condition M5.1 of the Environment Protection Licences (EPLs) for Sydney Water’s WWTPs. The content of this 2016-17 Interpretive Report was negotiated and agreed with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA). This year’s focus is on the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment where Sydney Water’s 15 inland WWTPs discharge tertiary treated wastewater into the catchment. Comprehensive analysis and interpretation of the long-term WWTP discharge loads and instream water quality concentrations provide an understanding of current river conditions, trends and the influence of WWTPs on water quality. The findings from this report will inform the EPL review process and other catchment management projects. Over the last 25 years, Sydney Water has implemented a number of improvements at its inland WWTPs to reduce the nutrient loads entering the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment. This report assesses both long-term (~1992-2017) and short-term (~2011-2017) trends in key nutrient loads (nitrogen and phosphorus) from WWTPs and changes in water quality in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Interpretive Report 2016-17 Page | iii River and its tributaries, particularly nutrient concentrations and algal growth. It also explores factors that contribute to high nutrients and chlorophyll-a concentrations and high algal biomass at 11 key sites. The key sites were selected based on consistent long-term datasets, a history of high nutrient concentrations or algal blooms and their location covering the entire river, and its tributaries where Sydney Water’s WWTPs are discharging. The long-term trend analysis presented in this report covers the last 25 years, from 1992 to 2017. Currently, 15 WWTPs and one Advanced Water Treatment Plant (St Marys AWTP) operate in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River catchment. Previously, an additional 10 WWTPs operated in the catchment, but were progressively decommissioned between 1993 and 2008. Receiving water quality is currently monitored at 14 locations on the main stream of the river from Maldon Weir on the Nepean River to Leets Vale on the Hawkesbury River. Monitoring is also undertaken at six other sites; five in major tributaries (Stonequarry, South, Cattai and Berowra creeks and the Colo River) and at one lagoon (Winmalee) (Figure ES-1). Figure ES-1 Location of Sydney Water WWTPs and water quality monitoring sites; shaded areas are five sub-catchments used to calculate nutrient loads Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Interpretive Report 2016-17 Page | iv An appropriate and widely accepted statistical technique, the Seasonal Mann-Kendall Test (Gilbert 1987; McBridge 2005), was used to determine the trends in WWTP nutrient loads in five sub- catchments (Figure ES-1), as well as the total load discharged to the river from these WWTPs. These five sub-catchments are: • the Upper Nepean River • the Lower Nepean and Upper Hawkesbury River • South Creek • Cattai Creek • Berowra Creek The same test was also applied to flow-adjusted water quality data to determine the long-term trend in 13 water quality parameters including nutrients, chlorophyll-a, algal biomass and other physico- chemical indicators. Flow-adjusted data enables trends from anthropogenic changes to be identified by excluding the influence of flow or wet weather. Trend analysis was conducted on the entire 25-year dataset, as well as on subsets before and after major events, such as WWTP upgrades or the introduction of environmental flow releases to the river. As these events heavily influenced or significantly changed the water quality, step trends analysis was conducted. The long-term trend provides a high-level picture, while the trends in the more recent period (or short-term trends) show the current outlook on nutrient loads and instream water quality. Data for the last six years (2011-2017) were analysed using Spearman Correlation Analysis at the 11 key sites to explore the possible factors influencing the high chlorophyll-a and algal biomass. The test assessed the relationship between the site-specific WWTP nutrient loads, flow and actual nutrient concentrations with chlorophyll-a and algal biovolume. Nutrient loads Long-term trends • Between 1992 and 2017, the total nitrogen load discharged from Sydney Water’s inland WWTPs decreased by 76% and the total phosphorus load decreased by 94% whilst population grew by 73% over the same period in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River catchment Since 1992, the total nutrient load discharged to the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment considerably decreased in response to improvements to wastewater treatment processes and the relocation and decommissioning of older WWTPs. The total nitrogen load consistently decreased from 1992, while the reduction in the phosphorus load was not evident until after 2002 when phosphorus improvement works at WWTPs were completed. At that time, phosphorus was considered the key nutrient responsible for potentially toxic blue-green algal blooms in the lower Hawkesbury River. While the goal of reducing nutrient loads by improving Sydney Water’s WWTPs has been realised, there are localised pockets where the total nitrogen load has increased in the long-term. In the Upper Nepean River and Cattai Creek sub-catchments, the total nitrogen load increased by 57% and 115%, respectively (Table ES-1). The total phosphorus load significantly decreased in four sub-catchments, Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Interpretive Report 2016-17 Page | v with Cattai Creek the only sub-catchment where no significant trend in the total phosphorus load was evident. The increase in nutrient loads in the Upper Nepean River and Cattai Creek sub-catchments was likely related to population growth, with a more than 14% increase in population each year between 1992 and 2017. Higher inflows of wastewater entering WWTPs reduces the efficiency of treatment causing higher nutrient concentrations in the discharge. Table ES-1 Summary of long-term and short-term trends in WWTP nutrient loads Lower Upper Nepean and South Cattai Berowra Parameters Total Nepean Upper Creek Creek Creek Hawkesbury Long-term period 1992-2017 1992-2017 1992-2017 1992-2017 1992-2017 1992-2017 Total nitrogen load Total phosphorus load Short-term period 2008-2017 2011-2017 2011-2017 2009-2017 2005-2017 2011-2017 Total nitrogen load Short-term period 2009-2017 2011-2017 2011-2017 2011-2017 2005-2017 2011-2017 Total phosphorus load Legend Insignificant trend in nutrient load Significant decreasing trend in nutrient load Significant increasing trend in nutrient load Short-term trends • Since 2011, there has been an overall increase in the total nitrogen load discharged to all five sub- catchments, and total phosphorus load to four sub-catchments with the exception of the Lower Nepean/Upper Hawkesbury River sub-catchment. Despite the increasing trends, loads remain within the current Environment Protection Licence load limits and well below