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State of the Environment Report 2005/06 Supplementary State of the Environment Report

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State of the Environment Report 2005/06 Supplementary State of the Environment Report GREATGreat LAKESLakes COUNCILCouncil State of the Environment Report 2005/06 Supplementary State of the Environment Report 2005 Supplementar y Great Lakes Council Supplementary State of the Environment Report 2006 Prepared by: Great Lakes Council Natural Systems & Estuaries Section Enquires should be directed to: Great Lakes Council PO Box 450 FORSTER NSW 2428 Ph: (02) 6591 7222 Fax: (02) 6591 7242 Email: [email protected] © 2006 Great Lakes Council 2 Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary ..................................................................................................4 2 Introduction .............................................................................................................16 2.1 An Overview of the Great Lakes.................................................................................................... 16 2.2 State of the Environment Reporting in NSW ................................................................................. 17 2.3 State of the Environment Reporting in the Great Lakes................................................................ 19 3 Water ........................................................................................................................21 3.1 Water Quality ................................................................................................................................. 21 3.2 Water Usage.................................................................................................................................. 24 3.3 Algae Blooms................................................................................................................................. 26 3.4 Fish Kills......................................................................................................................................... 28 3.5 Stormwater Pollution...................................................................................................................... 29 3.6 Fish Passage Barriers ................................................................................................................... 33 4 Biodiversity..............................................................................................................36 4.1 Native Vegetation .......................................................................................................................... 36 4.2 Conserved Land ............................................................................................................................ 40 4.3 Corridors ........................................................................................................................................ 43 4.4 Noxious & Environmental Weeds .................................................................................................. 44 4.5 Seagrass........................................................................................................................................ 48 4.6 Recovery Plans and Threat Abatement Plans .............................................................................. 49 5 Waste & Toxic Hazards...........................................................................................53 5.1 Waste............................................................................................................................................. 53 5.2 Sewage Treatment & Disposal ...................................................................................................... 56 5.3 Toxic Spills..................................................................................................................................... 58 6 Land..........................................................................................................................60 6.1 Development Pressures ................................................................................................................ 60 6.2 Open Space................................................................................................................................... 64 6.3 Roads............................................................................................................................................. 65 7 Air .............................................................................................................................67 7.1 Electricity Usage and Green House Gas Emissions ..................................................................... 67 8 Noise.........................................................................................................................69 9 Heritage....................................................................................................................70 9.1 Non- Aboriginal Heritage ............................................................................................................... 70 9.2 Aboriginal Heritage ........................................................................................................................ 71 10 Community Involvement.........................................................................................74 10.1 Community Survey ........................................................................................................................ 74 10.2 Community Submissions ............................................................................................................... 79 11 Environmental Plans and Strategies .....................................................................83 12 Acronyms & Abbreviations ....................................................................................85 13 Appendix ..................................................................................................................86 3 1 Executive Summary Located on the lower Mid North Coast of New South Wales the Great Lakes Local Government Area (LGA) of 3,373 km2 in size supports a rapidly expanding population of approximately 34,000 residents. Containing a unique environment of immense natural, social and economic value the region relies heavily on the health of its natural surroundings and landscapes. However the integrity of our natural environment is under threat and unless protected appropriately we stand to lose the uniqueness that makes this region a great place to live, work and play. The growing and widespread recognition, during this year, of the potential consequences of global warming clearly demonstrates the link between the integrity of the environment and our economy and lifestyle. Continuation of damaging land uses combined with significant growth in residential and visitor populations, as well as associated infrastructure provisions, probably remain the greatest threat to the quality of our environment. As such water deterioration, land degradation and loss of biodiversity are amongst the major environmental issues facing the region. Unless these threats can be managed appropriately we will experience a continuing decline in the health of the local environment. The deterioration of the environment will inevitably impact on our economy, our way of life and the general aesthetics of the LGA. This document, Great Lakes Council’s 2005/06 supplementary State of the Environment (SoE) Report, seeks to monitor the health of the region’s environment. To achieve this Council has established set indicators to assist with determining changes and trends within the environment. In line with current legislation these indicators fall under several themes, Water, Biodiversity, Waste and Toxic Hazards, Land, Air, Noise and Heritage. Council has also identified the importance of community involvement in the development of this document and has utilised community comment to assist knowledge gathering and to help set priorities for action. The SoE reporting framework is a valuable communication tool and this report seeks to outline to the public the actions and responses of Council with respect of the environment. This supplementary State of the Environment report forms the second of four data collection periods for the 2008 Comprehensive SoE report. As this is only the second year of data collection, no trend analysis has been conducted for this report. Last year’s data is presented with this year’s data to allow simple comparisons to be drawn by the reader, however, caution is urged against the forming of conclusions based on this limited data set. A summary of the issues and pressures associated with each indicator has been presented below. 4 Table 1.1: Summary of issues, pressures and responses associated with environmental indicators Sector Indicator Issues and Pressures Council’s response Community response- What you can do Water Water Quality • Deterioration of water quality • Wallis Lake • Avoid putting any impacts on environmental and Catchment substance down human health as well as our Management stormwater drains economy and society Plan • Wash cars on lawn • • Water pollution occurs through Wallis Lake, • Limit chemical & point-source or diffuse-source Smiths Lake and fertiliser use in the pollutants entering stormwater Port Stephens/ garden/farm systems and water ways. Myall Lakes • Pick up after your • Estuary Removal/disturbance of vegetation, pets increased use of impervious Management • Dispose of waste surfaces (e.g. roads and carparks), Plans and litter in bins application of chemicals (e.g. • Coastal • Sweep leaves and farming), disturbance of acid soils Catchments debris away from and disposal
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