Lower Hawkesbury-Nepean River Nutrient Management Strategy DECCW
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Lower Hawkesbury-Nepean strategy River nutrient management Lower Lower Hawkesbury-Nepean River nutrient management strategy DECCW www.environment.nsw.gov.au Lower Hawkesbury-Nepean River nutrient management strategy © 2010 State of NSW and Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW The State of NSW and Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW are pleased to allow this material to be reproduced in whole or in part, provided the meaning is unchanged and its source, publisher and authorship are acknowledged. Published by: Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney PO Box A290, Sydney South 1232 Phone: (02) 9995 5000 (switchboard) Phone: 131 555 (environment information and publications requests) Phone: 1300 361 967 (national parks, climate change and energy efficiency information, and publications requests) Fax: (02) 9995 5999 TTY: (02) 9211 4723 Email: [email protected] Website: www.environment.nsw.gov.au Report pollution and environmental incidents Environment Line: 131 555 (NSW only) or [email protected] See also www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pollution Cover: (Top and bottom centre left and centre right) Office of the Hawkesbury–Nepean (Bottom left and bottom right) R Hogan/DECCW ISBN 978 1 74232 616 0 DECCW 2010/255 September 2010 ii Foreword It is my pleasure to present this Strategy for managing nutrients in the Lower Hawkesbury-Nepean River, prepared by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, with contributions from a range of stakeholders, including local councils, NSW Government agencies, conservation groups and members of the public. The Lower Hawkesbury-Nepean River Nutrient Management Strategy aims to tackle nutrients in one of Sydney’s most important environmental assets. The Hawkesbury- Nepean river system not only supplies drinking water but is also critical to the continued supply of agricultural and fisheries produce. It is also an important ecological asset, adjoining the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains, and is enjoyed by many recreational users and tourists. Healthy waterways help make our cities and regional centres attractive places to live but algal blooms and excessive aquatic weed growth in the river have hampered its recreational and commercial use and affected aquatic life. The Strategy strives to address these and other nutrient management issues by setting out actions that will be taken to improve the river’s health by building on the important work to date. By adopting this Strategy, we are confident that we can significantly reduce nutrient loads from a range of sources in the catchment including urban stormwater, agriculture, sewage systems and degraded land. However it will take a coordinated effort from a range of stakeholders and the NSW Government will continue its commitment to building strong partnerships to ensure the actions of the Strategy are achieved. I thank all those involved in contributing both to the report and to the programs that protect this important waterway and its catchment. Frank Sartor Minister for Climate Change and the Environment iii Contents Foreword..................................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations ..............................................................................................................vi Executive summary.................................................................................................... vii 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Need for nutrient management in the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean ............. 1 1.2 Objectives and purpose of the Strategy...................................................... 1 1.3 Scope of the Strategy ................................................................................. 2 1.4 Context of the Strategy ............................................................................... 4 1.5 Consultation and development of the Strategy........................................... 4 2. Priority nutrient sources in the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment................ 5 2.1 Identification of priority nutrient sources ..................................................... 5 2.2 Factors affecting the importance of nutrient sources.................................. 5 2.3 Priority diffuse sources of nutrients............................................................. 6 2.4 Priority point sources of nutrients.............................................................. 13 3. Actions to manage nutrients in the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment ....... 18 3.1 Identification and implementation of actions............................................. 18 3.2 General nutrient management actions...................................................... 20 3.3 Urban stormwater nutrient actions............................................................ 22 3.4 Agricultural practices nutrient actions ....................................................... 25 3.5 On-site sewage management systems nutrient actions ........................... 27 3.6 Sewage treatment system nutrient actions............................................... 29 3.7 Degraded land and riparian vegetation nutrient actions ........................... 31 Appendix 1: Objectives for water quality and guidelines for nutrient levels .............. 33 Appendix 2: Relationship to other plans and strategies............................................ 35 Appendix 3: Nutrient background information ........................................................... 37 Appendix 4: Background to diffuse source assessment: – Land-use mapping and nutrient loads....................................................................................... 41 Appendix 5: Further reading and resources.............................................................. 44 References................................................................................................................ 47 iv List of figures Figure 1: Estimated percentage contribution to total nitrogen and phosphorus loads from diffuse, human sources in the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment ............... 7 Figure 2: Estimated nitrogen and phosphorus loads from human activities in all sub-catchments of the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean..................................................... 8 Figure 3: Reductions in nutrient loads between 1995 and 2008 from Sydney Water Corporation’s Hawkesbury-Nepean STPs ................................................................ 15 Figure 4: Percentage of total nitrogen and phosphorus discharged from STPs in 2007–08 ................................................................................................................ 16 List of maps Map 1: Area covered by the Strategy – lower Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment......... 3 Map 2: Estimated annual nitrogen export from diffuse, human sources in the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment................................................................................. 9 Map 3: Estimated annual phosphorus export from diffuse, human sources in the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment ..................................................................... 10 Map 4: Location of the main sewage treatment plants operating in the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment............................................................................... 14 v Abbreviations ANZECC Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council ARMCANZ Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand CAP Catchment Action Plan CMA Catchment Management Authority DCP Development Control Plan DECCW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water DLG Department of Local Government DoP Department of Planning DSWP Strategy Diffuse Source Water Pollution Strategy EP&A Act Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 GCC Growth Centres Commission HNCMA Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority HRC Healthy Rivers Commission I&I NSW Industry and Investment NSW MACROC Macarthur Regional Organisation of Councils MER Monitoring, evaluation and reporting OHN Office of the Hawkesbury-Nepean POEO Act Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 SCA Sydney Catchment Authority STP Sewage treatment plant SWC Sydney Water Corporation WSROC Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils WSUD Water sensitive urban design vi Executive summary Need for a nutrient management strategy for the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean The demands on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River to supply water to Sydney and its farmlands, and the pressures from land-use change for urban development, mean there are significant stresses on the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean River, downstream of Sydney’s major dams. Elevated nutrient levels and reduced river flows are the two major factors contributing to algal blooms and excessive aquatic weed growth, which hamper recreation and commercial uses of the river and affect aquatic life. While long-term environmental monitoring data indicates some improvements in water quality, these are improvements from what has been very poor water quality in a number of areas. There is still significant improvement required; aquatic weeds have become more abundant in recent years, and there is a continuing history of algal blooms in the river. A range of programs and initiatives have been in place to reduce and manage elevated nutrient loads, and a number of these have been very