I I I I I NSW DEPARTMENT I OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SERVICES I

I Manly Hydraulics Laboratory I I I

I Hunter Estuary Processes Study I Summary Report I Draft Report MHL1095 March 2002 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I HUNTER ESTUARY PROCESSES STUDY I SUMMARY REPORT I

I Report No. MHLl095

I DRAFT I I I

I NSW Department of Public Works and Services Manly Hydraulics Laboratory I I I, 1 1 I I I I I I I I I I

Report No MHLl095 I DPWS Report No 01010 ISBN 0 7347 4163 4 MHL FIle No LRE6-00092 I FlfSt pubhshed (month) 2002 I © Crown copynght 2002

Th,s work IS copynght The Copynght Act 1968 penmts falf dealmg for study, research, news reporung, cnUClSm or revIew Selected I passages, tables or diagrams may be reproduced for such purposes provIded acknowledgement of the source IS mcluded Major extracts or the enUre document may not be reproduced by any process WIthout wnllen penmsslOn Enqumes should be d,rected to the Pubhcauons Officer, Manly Hydrauhcs Laboratory, I lOB KIng Street, Manly Vale, NSW, 2093 I ~ Manly Hydrauhcs Laboratory IS QUalIty System Cerufied to AS/NZS ISO 9001 1994 1 I I I I, I Foreword

I The New South Wales Estuary Management PolIcy was developed to encourage the mtegrated, balanced, responsible and ecologically sustamable use of the State's estuaries The polIcy IS deSigned to reflect and promote co-operatIOn between the State Government, local I government, catchment management committees, landholders and estuary users m the development and ImplementatIOn of estuary management plans for each estuary I To assist m the development of estuary management plans, an Estuary Management Manual (NSW Government 1992) was publIshed to outlIne the processes of ImplementatIOn I Essentially, the process consists of eight steps These steps are 1) form an estuary management committee 2) assess eXlstmg data I' 3) carry out estuary processes study 4) carry out estuary management study 5) draft estuary management plan I 6) review estuary management plan 7) adopt and Implement estuary management plan, and 8) mOnItor and review management process

I The Hunter Estuary Management Comnuttee was formed m 1997 and amalgamated with the I Hunter Coastal Management Committee Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory, III conjunction with The Wetlands Centre, The Ecology Lab and the Umverslty of Newcastle, was commIssIOned by Newcastle City Council to undertake I the second and third stages of the estuary management process for the Hunter estuary I I I I I I

DRAFT MHL1095 - I I 1 March, 2002 I J I I I Table of Contents

,I 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1 1 AIm 1 1 2 Background 1 I 1 3 Integrated Approach 1 2. DATA INTERPRETATION 3 I, 2 1 IntroductIOn 3 2 2 PhysIcal Data 3 2 2 1 IntroductIOn 3 I 222 Clzmate 3 2 2 3 Geology and SOlis 4 2 2 4 Hydrology 4 I 2 2 5 Hydraulzcs 5 2 2 6 Geomorphology 5 I 2 2 7 Water Qualzty 8 2 2 8 Salinity Structure 10 229 Summary of Water Qualzty Vanabllzty 11 I 2 2 10 Sediment Quality 11 2 3 EcologIcal Data 12 2 3 1 IntroductIOn 12 I 232 Terrestrzal Flora and Fauna 12 2 3 3 Aquatic Flora and Fauna 14 2 4 Human Data 15 I 2 4 1 IntroductIOn 15 242 Hentage 15 I 243 PopulatIOn 16 2 4 4 RecreatIOnal 16 245 Land Use 16 I 2 4 6 RegIOnal Economy 17 247 Flood MitigatIOn Works 17 I I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - II I 1 March, 2002 J I 3. DATA GAPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 19 3 1 IntroductIOn 19 I 32 Data, InfonnatlOn and UnderstandIng 19 3 2 1 Definmons 19 322 Scale 20 I 33 Momtonng 21 3 3 1 IntroductIOn 21 I 332 ConsideratIOns for MOnltonng In the Hunter Estuary 21 333 Complexity of the Hunter Estuary 22 34 ConslderatlOns for RecommendatIOns 28 I 34 1 Estuary Management Framework 28 3 5 RecommendatIOns for Momtonng In the Hunter Estuary 29 I 4. REFERENCES 31 I I Appendices A References from Techmcal Report. Charactenstlcs of the Hunter Estuary and I Catchment, Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory, Report No MHL1118 B References from Techmcal Report Geology and SOils of the Hunter Catchment, and EvolutIOn and SedimentatIOn of the Hunter Estuary, Dr Ron Boyd, UmverSIty I of Newcastle C References from Techmcal Report The Terrestnal Ecology of the Hunter River Estuary, Dr Tracey MacDonald, The Wetlands Centre I D References from Techmcal Report Hunter Estuary Process Study Aquatic Ecology, The Ecology Lab I E References from Techmcal Report Hunter Estuary Water Qualtty, Data Review and AnalYSIS, Dr Bnan G Sanderson and Dr Anna M Redden, Umverslty of I Newcastle

I List of Tables I 2 1 Dlstance Salt Propagates Upstream at Dlfferent Flows 10 2 2 PopulatIOns and ProjectIOns 16 3 1 UnderstandIng Issues and Processes In the Hunter Estuary 24 I· 3 2 LeglslatlOn Assoclated wlth Councll Estuanne Management 29 I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - III I 1 March, 2002 I I I I I List of Figures

1 1 Integrated Approach to an Estuary System 2 1 Hunter RIver Catchment 22 Hunter RIver Estuary 23 Components In the Hunter Estuary System 24 Geology of the Hunter Catchment I 26 SOlI Types of the Hunter Catchment 26 Summary of SedIment Budget 27 Water Quahty Momtonng SItes I 28 Sahmty Structure of the Hunter RIver Estuary 29 Normahsed Values Dunng HIgh and Low Flow CondItIOns I 210 Land Cover Lower Hunter Estuary 211 Change In DlstnbutlOn of Saltmarsh WIthin the Hunter RIver Estuary 1954-1994 212 Change In DlstnbutlOn of Open Water WIthin the Hunter RIver Estuary 1954-1994 213 Change In Mangrove DlstnbutlOn WIthin the Hunter RIver Estuary 1954-1994 I 214 Cadastre Newcastle CIty 2 15 Cadastre Maitland Area 2 16 Newcastle Land Use I 217 Maitland Land Use 218 The EvolutIOn of Structures Restnctlng TIdal Flow WIthin the Hunter RIver DeltaIc Islands and Subsequently, Kooragang Island I 3 1 LocatIOn of Issues 32 Temporal and Spatial Scales In an EcologIcal Process I 33 ConceptuahsatlOn of 'Loss of HabItat' I I I, I I I I,

DRAFT MHLl095 - IV I 1 March, 2002 I I I I 1. Introduction

I 1.1 Aim The aim of this report IS to analyse whether the eXlstmg data for the Hunter estuary~r sufficient to be able to define the 'baseline' conditions of the estuanne processes In a I subsequent phase of the Estuary Management Process For that purpose the current report summarises and synthesises a senes of Techmcal Reports that together provide a comprehensive overview of the estuary characteristics The Techmcal Reports have been I mcluded as a senes of separate reports that address the I) geomorphology, II) terrestrial ecology, III) aquatIc ecology, IV) water quality, and V) other characteristics (mcludmg hydrologylhydraullcs) of the Hunter estuary The compilatIOn and review of eXlstmg data IS a I vital component of the project as work Items may be refmed followmg the review In short, I this synthesIs alms to • provide an overview of data collected, analysed and mterpreted m the context of the Hunter Estuary Processes Study and assess the eXlstmg data gaps I, • address the ImplicatIOn of the data gaps for management Issues • advise on future data collectIOn Issues I 1.2 Background This report uses the Hunter Estuary Data CompilatIOn Report (DLWC 1999) as a startmg I pomt The data sources documented m the data compilatIOn study are not necessanly repeated here Based on the observatIOns m the aforementIOned report, additional data has been collated and analysed The 'assembly of eXlstmg data' IS the second step of the Estuary I Management Process as formulated by the Estuary Management Manual (1992) It forms an I essential prerequlSlte to a successful Estuary Processes Study (step 3) 1.3 Integrated Approach I The pnmary goal of the NSW Estuary Management Pohcy IS to encourage the mtegrated, balanced, responsIble and ecologIcally sustamable use of the State's estuanes (1992) This reqUIres an mtegrated approach to the estuary system m which the estuanne processes are I analysed m then mteractlOn Yet, due to the compleXity of estuary systems, It IS difficult to accurately descnbe the mtegrated functlOnmg of such a system and ItS response to changes Numerous mteractlOns and feedback mechamsms between the varIOus subsystems can be I Identified For mstance, the economic activIties, geomorphological processes and the ecological health of an estuary are tightly coupled and their mterrelatlOns need to be I understood The estuary IS a dynamic system, which will change over time due to the vanous I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 1 I 1 March, 2002 I I

I feedbacks Apart from these Internal dynamIcs, the estuary IS also Influenced by certain external Influences These external Influences wIll affect the indIvIdual elements as well as I the interactIOns between them In the lIght of sustainable estuary management, a full understanding of the processes In the estuary and of external Influences, IS indIspensable I In general, a physIcal, ecologIcal and human system can be dIstIngUIshed In an estuary These Interact In varIOus ways The total estuary system IS also under Influence of, for Instance, clImatIc change, polItIcal or instItutIOnal changes and changes In the world economy ThIs IS I schematlsed In FIgure 1 1 The physIcal system represents the natural a-bIOtIc system and addresses physIcal and I chemIcal processes that are relevant to the estuarIne system ThIs Includes Issues regarding clImate, sOIls, hydrology, morphology, nutrIent and sedIment flows In the estuary The ecologIcal system represents the natural bIotIC system It concerns flora and fauna In the I estuary and addresses Issues of bIOdIversIty, habItat loss etc The human system represents the total human actIvIty In the estuary ThIS Includes all soclo-economlc actIvIty, such as resIdentIal, tOUrIst and IndustrIal use of land It also Includes less tangIble aspects, such as I herItage and the use of the estuary for amemty, cultural and spmtual purposes EstuarIes around the globe, includIng the Hunter RIver estuary, are experIencing increasIng pressure from human actIvIty HIstorIcally, man has been attracted to estuarIes and other I coastal zones for a varIety of reasons including fertIlIty of the land, food and other servIces offered by the envIronment, transportatIOn facIlItIes or the avaIlabIlIty of strategIc locatIOns from the vIewpoint of trade or defence Other reasons are of a spIrItual, cultural or amemty I nature The attractIveness of the coastal enVIronment, both from an ecologIcal and human pOint of VIew, has led to conflIcts over scarce resources Human actIvlt!es have contInuously modIfied the natural functIOning of the estuary system to proVIde for theIr needs These changes may have caused or aggravated problems such as eroSIOn, subSIdence and flooding From a management perspectIve the assessment of the long-term behaVIOur of the estuary In response to dIrect and indIrect human Interference and projected changes IS an increasingly I Important Issue Equally Important IS to assess whether changes are occurnng beyond the 'natural varIabIlIty' of the system

I The data that hatheen collected and analysed WIll be presented In SectIOn 2 under three broad headings of physical, ecologIcal and human data In SectIOn 3 the actual lInkages between the varIOUS parts of the system WIll be dIscussed In the context of current concerns In the I Hunter estuary I I I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 2 I 1 March, 2002 I I I I I I I I I CLIM~ HUNTERESTU~ ~STITUTIONAL CHANGE r------, CHANGE I PHYSICAL ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM SYSTEM I ECONOMIC \ mMANV ~ I CHA~ ,---SYST---,EM~ , I I I I I I I MHL Report 1095 " N'WD""m,m OF PUBLIC WORKS INTEGRATED APPROACH TO AN ESTUARY SYSTEM Figure I AND SERVICES 1 1 M.o\NLY HYDRAULICS LABORATOR) DRAWING 10~'-Ol CDR I I I I 2. Data Interpretation

I 2.1 Introduction he Hunter regIOn IS a coastal regIOn that IS part of the mterrelated Sydney-Newcastle­ 'r --r Wollongong urban area It compnses the Hunter and Mannmg nver catchments, the coastal I r. waterways of the Myall and Wallts lakes, Port Stephens and Lake Macquane (Dept of 2 ~ Plannmg 1989a) The total Hunter RIver catchment area IS about 20,000 km (see FIgure 2 1) .,'\ Its regIOnal centre, Newcastle, IS located about 180 km north of Sydney ThIs study concerns I ~ the Hunter estuary (see FIgure 2 2), whIch IS part of the larger Hunter catchment and the Hunter regIOn The Hunter estuary has played a slgmflcant role m the development of the ~ I ::> regIOn, after the first discovery of coal at the Hunter River mouth m the late 1700s f .. In thIs sectIOn an overvIew gIven of the varIous types of physIcal, ecologIcal and human data that are avaIlable rrentl unavaIlable for the Hunter RIver estuary The subdIVISIon I that has been made wlthm each of the three major components IS shown m FIgure 2 3 A dIscussIOn IS gIven of the 'Importance' of each component, whIch IS deterrmned by the value of the specIfIc data for developmg a thorough understandmg of the system Some data can be I essenttal for descnbmg the estuanne system and the lack of thIS data may be unacceptable from a management pomt of vIew I 2.2 Physical Data I 2 2 1 IntroductIOn ~ ~f~ The phYSIcal data that ha~ been collated 11 represented under a number of general headmgs, namely cltmate, geology and SOIls, hydrology, hydraultcs, geomorphology, water qualtty and I· sedIment qualtty Each of these Issues IS analysed m a more detaIled manner m one of the Techmcal Reports Here, only a summary of the mam fmdmgs IS presented

I 222 Climate The prevallmg cltmate of the Hunter RIver estuary IS warm and temperate, WIth a manttme I mfluence Summers are warm to hot and humId, wmters are cold to mIld The mean annual ramfall m the coastal range of the Hunter catchment IS tWIce that of dner regIOns m the west I of the catchment (Hydrotechnology 1995) Furthermore • temperatures are generally mIld to warm with a mean summer maxImum of 2SoC (wmter l7°C) and a mean summer mmlmum of 19°C (wmter 9°C) I • mean annual ram fall m the Hunter catchment ranges from approxImately 700 mm p a mland to 1,600 mm p a on the coast and at Barnngton Tops • summer wmd speed and duectIOn IS predommantly from the east and north-east, WIth I westerly wmds dommatmg m wmter • evaporation, WIth hIgh values m summer and lower values m wmter, ranges from 7S0 to I 1,000 mm pam the north-east of the catchment to 1,2S0 to 1,SOO mm pam the west

DRAFT MHLI095 - 3 I 1 March, 2002 I I 2 • global solar radiatIOn IS lowest m wmter (mean 7 MJ/m ) and highest m summer (mean 2 22 MJ/m ) Mean values vary largely from day to day dependmg on weather conditions I (clouds etc) • climatic changes may severely affect coastal areas and potential problems need to be I accommodated m plannmg foreshore development, faCilities and services 2 2 3 Geology and Sods I The geology of the Hunter Valley IS complex and contrastmg, because It lies at the boundary of three major tectomc provmces, the New England Fold Belt, Sydney Basm and Eastern Australian Passive Margm (Boyd 2001) Figure 24 shows the geology of the Hunter catchment The types of rocks m the New England Fold Belt are mostly sediments (sandstone, I shale, conglomerate and glacial deposits) and volcaniCS In the Sydney Basm the same types of rocks can be found, m addition to coal measures The rocks m the Eastern Australian Passive Margm consist mostly of subaenal lava field flows of alkali basalts For a more I detailed and comprehensive descnptlOn of the compositIOn, dlstnbutlon and structure of rocks m the Hunter catchment we refer to Boyd (2001)

I The SOlis of the Hunter Valley (see Figure 25), like the geology, are a complex groupmg of multiple types, reflectmg the diversity of geological parent matenal, variatIOns m climate, geomorphology, orgamsms and time In low ram fall parts of the Hunter Valley SOlis With I alkaline honzons are common, but m higher ramfall parts the soils are charactenstlcally more strongly leached, and are aCid throughout the profile The Hunter estuary makes up a dlstmctIve subset of the catchment and IS dommated by allUVial, estuanne and coastal SOli I types, surrounded by low topography of predommantly Permian bedrock (Boyd 2001) Most of the SOil landscapes of the Hunter Valley catchment have a moderate to high erodibility I factor based on soil properties 22 4 Hydrology

~ -.. I • Average runoff from the Hunter catchment IS 1,800,000ML P a, or about' 125% of the total catchment ramfall Of thiS total, 760,000 ML P a comes from the Paterson,Allyn and Williams nvers. I • In large floods, almost 70% of the floodwaters are camed by the Woodberry and Millers Forest floodplams and 30% by the mam Hunter channel upstream of Hexham • The aqUifers m the study area are contmually bemg recharged With fresh ram water and the I groundwater generally has a very low salimty • The present flood mitigatIOn scheme compnses 160 km of levees, 3,800 m of spillways, 12 km of flood canals, 245 floodgates, 14 km of bank protectIOn works and 40 km of I control banks I, • Flood mitigatIOn works IBrut tidal flows and can lead to loss of habitat I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 4 I 1 March, 2002 I I 2 2 5 Hydraultcs The Hunter estuary acts lIke a typICal fiver system, wIth maXImum tIdal flows usually I recorded dunng the two hours folloWIng mId-tIde and mInImUm tIdal flows (or slack water) usually recorded wIthIn one hour after hIgh and low tIde

I • The tIdal lImIt In the Hunter RIver occurs In the VICInIty of Bolwarra, approxImately 60 km from the ocean, In the Paterson RIver between Paterson and Gostwyck approxImately 70-75 km from the ocean, and In the WIllIams RIver at Seaham WeIr I approxImately 46 km from the ocean • Measurements of tIdal flows at the entrance dunng spnng and neap tIdes IndIcate a peak I velocIty dUflng flood of 0 93 ms I and dunng ebb of 0 99 ms I • Changes In water levels wIthIn the estuary are Influenced by a range of phenomena that operate at dIfferent tIme scales, IncludIng astronomIcal tIdes, WInd setup, freshwater I Inputs and floods, ocean storm surges, coastal trapped waves and sea level nse • There IS a gradual reductIOn In the mean tIdal range along the Hunter RIver, wIth the range of approxImately 1 m recorded at the entrance decreasIng to 0 40 m at Belmore Bndge I Along the Paterson RIver there appears to be a slIght amplIfIcatIOn of the mean tIdal range, beIng approxImately 070 m at Dunmore On the WIllIams RIver there IS also slIght amplIficatIon, WIth 091 m recorded at Raymond Terrace IncreasIng to 096 mat Seaham I WeIr • The water qualIty In the Hunter, Paterson and WIllIams nvers IS generally typIcal of an estuary Influenced by tIdes and WInds, WIth tIdal forces havIng the greater Impact There IS I strong honzontal stratIfIcatIon In SalInIty, densIty, pH and backscatterance throughout the system and weak vertIcal stratIfIcatIon In temperature In the upper reaches

I 2 2 6 Geomorphology Over a geologIcal tIme scale, the major sedIment process WIthIn the Hunter estuary SInce sea I level stIllstand over the past 6,500 years has been deposItIOn However, once It has InfIlled, smaller scale depOSItIOn adjustments contInue to Influence the former estuary surface I In the upper estuary above Hexham, there IS both depOSItIOn and erosIOn takIng place ErosIon IS pnmanly occurrIng WIthIn the channel The maIn processes causlllg stream bank erosIOn (SInclaIr KnIght and Partners 1990) III the Hunter are stream currents, raInfall, I seepage, overbank draInage, obstacles In the stream, wave attack, wet-dry cycles, debns, and change In land use patterns SedIment removal may also occur as stream bank faIlure, whIch IS caused by swellIngs of clays due to absorptIOn, pressure of groundwater from WIthIn the I bank, mInor SOlI movements of creep, change In channel shape due to bed scour or erosIOn of the bank face, Increase of load on top of the bank, and rapId drawdown of water agaInst the bank face An addItIonal cause of erosIOn (SInclaIr, KnIght and Partners 1990) IS the removal I of the bar at the Hunter entrance III Newcastle, hence causIng an Increase In tIdal range and hence volume of exchanged water In each tIdal cycle The style of stream sedImentatIOn In a low-moderate sandy system such as the lower Hunter IS to take a meandenng course WIth I depOSItIon on the InSIde of meander bends, and correspondIng erosIOn on the outSIde of the bends It IS thIS style of sedImentatIOn that IS responsIble for most of the erosIon on the lower I Hunter RIver I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 5 I 1 March, 2002 I I I The pnncipal processes causIng depositIOn are channel changes of decreased slope or current velocity, and floodplaIn depOSitIOn after flow expansion In floods when the nver velOCity I decreases after leaVIng the mam channel In general, there IS an excess of sediment beIng supplIed to the Hunter estuary In modem times This excess IS denved from changes to the natural state of the nver resultIng from deforestation and overgrazing However, the sedIment I IS pnmanly transported by major floods, and In particular the 1955 flood, the major flood of record Hence the detailed sedImentatIOn pattern reflects a broad sediment depOSItIOn trend but also areas of local sediment erosIOn These areas are formed In response to major I depOSItIOn dunng the 1955 flood and subsequent attempts to re-establIsh eqUllIbnum by erodIng the channel bed and banks

The major regIOn of current bank erosIOn In the estuary IS on the lower Hunter between Oakhampton and Morpeth The remaInder of the upper estuary between Morpeth and Hexham IS undergOIng net depOSItIon

In the upper estuary above Hexham there are a number of dIfferent styles and locatIOns of sediment depOSItIOn The contrast of upstream (5-10 m) to downstream (0-3 m) floodplaIn I elevatIOn possIbly reflects the ratIO of flood stage to normal stage dIscharge Normal stage In the tIdal reach IS much larger than In the flUVial reach In addItIOn, there may be a net mIgratIOn of sediment towards the Raymond Terrace-Hexham reach This feature has been I IdentIfied In other tIdal estuanne reaches, and results from the confluence of sedIment transport downstream from rIver processes, and upstream from tidal processes The result IS a zone of high SInuousIty meanders such as that developed In the Maitland to Morpeth reach at I the tIme of European settlement Over tIme the locatIOn of thiS POInt of confluence rmgrates downstream and thIS may explaIn the recent Increased development of meander bends I towards Raymond Terrace The lower estuary IS dominated more by tidal processes than the fluvlally dommated upper estuary FlUVial bed load IS conSidered not to be reachIng the lower estuary In slgmficant I quantItIes (Patterson, Bntton and Partners 1989) The major volume of sediment supplIed to the lower estuary IS conSidered to be mud Sized and accumulates In the lower estuary and/or IS flushed further seaward to accumulate on the rmddle of the contmental shelf In water depths I below 60 m Hence the major sedImentatIOn style In the lower estuary IS depOSItIon and the estuary IS contmuIng to Infill

The major process of natural depOSItIOn In the lower estuary IS to accumulate mud In low I energy areas The maJOnty of the natural sIltatIOn has occurred m Fullerton Cove and along the northern and southern channels of the rIver above the Stockton Bndge and the Tourle I Street Bndge The south channel of the Hunter RIver received a sIgmflcant proportIOn of flow until 1930 when a weu was constructed between Hexham and Ash Island Subsequently, flow In the I north channel was Increased at the expense of the south channel which has shoaled (most reaches are less than 2 m deep now) and experIenced lateral accretIOn of the channel margin The north channel was naVigable for ocean-goIng shIps untIl the 1960s, WIth ships loadIng I· coal at Hexham for transport to Sydney The channel was mamtaIned by dredgIng SInce the 1960s the channel has shoaled and the margIns have prograded, partIcularly between Dunns I Island and the Tomago SpIllway A sediment budget (see Boyd 2001) IS denved from the aVailable InformatIOn and I conceptualIsed In Figure 2 6, based on the follOWIng consIderatIOns

DRAFT MHLI095 - 6 I' 1 March, 2002

\ I I • Based on estImates of mean annual sediment Yield for the Hunter River discussed by I ErskIne (quoted In Patterson BrItton 1989) the mean annual sediment load and mean annual suspended sediment load for the Hunter River at SIngleton are 2 million tonnes and 1 6 mIllion tonnes respectively I • Based on measurements of discharge and suspended sediment load (sediment ratIng functIOn for Hexham Bndge) estimated for the perIod 1974-1983, the tYPical suspended sediment Influx to the lower estuary (1 e below Hexham, also referred to as 'the Port of I Newcastle') IS of the order of 1 mIllion tonnes per year (Patterson BrItton 1989) The actual average of the years 1974-83 was 1 9 million tonnes per year Patterson BrItton (1995) also estimated an average mInImUm sediment flux (presumably of bedload) past I Hexham of 25,000 tonnes per year ThIS was based on geomorphological and numerIcal modellIng averaged over the perIod 1955-89 • The average annual dredgIng In the Port of Newcastle between 1859 and 1988 was 1 8 I rruilion barge tons (or 103 mIllion cubiC metres), representIng a removal from the lower estuary to the offshore dump site of 414,000 tonnes per year (Patterson BrItton 1989) • The average annual amount of sedIment accumulatIng In the lower estuary between I Hexham and the entrance to Newcastle Harbour can be estimated from calculatIng the water area of the estuary and assumIng sediment accumulatIOn throughout the estuary at the rate measured for Fullerton Cove of 2 3 mm per year (Boyd 2001) ThiS results In an I average accumulatIOn of 114,000 tonnes per year A second estImate of sediment accumulatIng In the lower estuary can be derIved from the results of W IilIams et al (2000) who found that 750 hectares of Siltation had occurred In the lower estuary In the 193 years I between 1801 and 1994 AssumIng thiS Siltation Infilled an area OrIgInally averagIng 1 m deep, the total sediment accumulatIng In the lower estuary would be an average of approximately 97,000 tonnes per year, a figure that IS In general agreement With the I Fullerton Cove estimate above The lower figure was used, but a value of around 100,000 tonnes seems to be acceptable Note that there IS a disagreement between the amount of sediment accumulatIng In the lower Hunter estuary USIng the methods Identified here, and I the amount removed by long-term dredgIng There are many pOSSIble reasons for thiS, IncludIng enhanced depOSItion In the dredge Sites, Intensive dredgIng In the mIddle of the 20th century removIng more than was deposited, and poor estimates from Inadequate I sedimentatIOn rates and bathymetrIC Information • If 1 million tonnes are Input to the lower estuary per year at Hexham, 414,000 tonnes are dredged out and 97,000 tonnes accumulate, then the remaInder of 489,000 tonnes per year I IS discharged to the mIddle shelf where It accumulates In a large mud depOSit • Major floods are the only tIme that sediment effectively escapes from the channel of the Hunter RIver In the floodplaIn below Oakhampton Only the 1955 flood was capable of I deposItIng major quantities of sediment (5 3 rruilion tonnes) on the floodplaIn In the 20th century (Patterson BrItton 1995) Because thiS was a one-off event, It was not Included In I the sediment budget summary I I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 7 I 1 March, 2002 I I 227 Water Qualtty Water qualIty mOllltonng measurements, made by the Hunter Water CorporatIOn and the I EPA, have been compIled mto a database to facIlItate holIstIC analYSIS of water qualIty data 10 conjunctIon WIth measurements of nver flow The analYSIS Illummates mterestmg spatIal patterns of nutnents and bIota wlthm the estuary and also quantIfIes changes 10 the nutnent I status dunng the last 25 years (Sanderson and Redden 2001)

The data set mcludes 25 water qualIty varIables, measured at lITegular locatIOns and tImes I between 1972 to early 2000 An overvIew of the water qualIty mOllltonng sItes IS presented 10 FIgure 2 7 DetaIls of the water qualIty analYSIS are presented 10 Sanderson and Redden I· (2001 )and an overvIew IS presented here 2271 Comparison with ANZECC (1992) GUidelmes The ANZECC (1992) water qualIty gUldelmes were desIgned to provIde numencal and I narratIve cntena for the sustamable management of AustralIa's natIOnal water resources The cnterIa are based on research aVaIlable at the tIme, and are specIfIc for the mtended use of the waterbody, such as protectIOn of aquatIc ecosystems, raw water for drInkmg water supply or I recreatIOnal water qualIty GUIdelInes for the protectIOn of aquatIc ecosystems are dIvIded mto the broad categones of fresh water or manne water, WIth addItIonal mdlcatlve levels for estuarIes for some water qualIty varIables The use of such broad categorIes hIghlIghts the I recommendatIOn of the gUIdelInes that local water qualIty studIes are desIrable for determmmg approprIate and acceptable background levels for speCIfic water bodIes

I Water qualIty varIables analysed for thIS study are dIscussed below 10 the context of the ANZECC (1992) gUldeimes The ANZECC gUIdelIne levels are provIded as an mdlcatIOn of the range of values typIcally found 10 'healthy' systems The water qualIty varIables analysed I mclude phYSIco-chemIcal and bIOlogIcal mdlcators PhYSIco-chemIcal varIables mclude dIssolved oxygen, turbIdIty and nutrIents such as morgalllc llltrogen, ammOllla, phosphate and phosphorus BIOlogIcally related mdlcators mclude bIOlogIcal oxygen demand, chlorophyll-a I and phytoplankton These van abies are lInked to the presence and concentratIOns of phYSICO­ chemIcal varIables, and are mdlcators of the bIOlogIcal health of a system

I Interestmgly, morgalllc llltrogen levels 10 the estuary are hIgh, relatIve to the 1992 ANZECC mdIcatIve gUldeimes OXldlsed llltrogen, NO, (llltrate plus llltnte) has mcreased slIghtly 10 the north arm and south arm over the last 25 years, and IS mdIcatIve of a trend for mcreasmg I concentratIOns m the downstream end of the estuary HIgh morgalllc llltrogen levels m the maIO channel near the entrance may be attrIbuted to partIcularly hIgh levels 10 Throsby Creek

I The ANZEC (1992) gUldelmes suggest that ammOllla should not exceed 5 flglL Almost all measurements exceeded 5 flg/L, WIth 90% of the readmgs at least 25 flglL AmmOllla (NH3) has been stable through the 25-year penod, WIth mcreasmg concentratIOns towards the lower I end of the estuary NH3 concentratIOns are hIgh 10 Four MIle Creek, but generally concentratIOns m SIde creeks are not anomalously hIgh relatIve to the mam branches of the I Hunter RIver estuary I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 8 I 1 March, 2002 I I I ANZECC mdlcatIve ranges for orthophosphate, PO" are 5-15/lglL m estuarIes The upper lImIt IS exceeded by the mean values of the closely related measure of blOavmlable I phosphorus, namely soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) Indeed, the mmlmum concentration observed IS 5/lglL Even m the more salme lower reaches of the estuary the average values of soluble reactive phosphorus are hIgher than 15/lglL Very hIgh values of soluble reactIve I phosphorus are eVIdent m sIde creeks adjacent to the upper estuary

ANZECC gUIdelInes for total phosphorus (TP) m nvers suggest an mdlcatlve range IS 10- I 100/lglL Hunter estuary waters typIcally exceed thIs range Mean values are, respectively 290/lglL, 157 /lglL and 176 /lgIL for the Hunter, Paterson and WIllIams nvers

I The nutnent levels m the Hunter estuary exceed the ANZECC gUldelmes and are lIkely to be problematIC The mcreased levels of nutnents mfluence factors such as chlorophyll-a I concentratIOn and oxygen levels ANZECC (1992) gUIdelInes reqUIre that dIssolved oxygen (DO) should not fall below 6mglL, as measured over a dIUrnal cycle The present measurements are not made over a dIUrnal I cycle but thIs IS not expected to be a major Issue when all the mechanIsms that cause spatIo­ temporal varIabIlIty m the Hunter RIver estuary are gIven due consIderatIOn The mean value of DO IS 6 4 mglL, wIth mcreasmg concentratIOns at the downstream end of the estuary At I tImes oxygen levels can be suffIcIently low to stress fish, even m the mam branches of the Hunter RIver estuary DIssolved oxygen levels below 3 mglL are lIkely to be fatal to most fish I specIes The lowest DO level measured was 0 9 mglL BIOlogIcal oxygen demand (BOD) IS a measure of the decrease m oxygen content, whIch IS brought about by the bactenal breakdown of organIC matter BOD IS notably hIgh m WallIs I Creek and Wmdeyer's Creek Although waste water treatment plants (WWTP) are known to dIscharge effluent mto these creeks It IS not reasonable to conclude, based on the present data, I that WWTP are responsIble for hIgh BOD m WallIs Creek and Wmdeyer's Creek Chlorophyll-a concentratIOns mcrease progressmg up the estuary Mean values m the lower estuary of 2-7/lglL are wlthm the ANZECC mdlcatIve range of 1-10 /lglL In the upper I estuary the mean values mcrease to 22/lglL Combmed WIth thIS trend of mcreasmg chlorophyll-a upstream In the estuary are seasonal trends In concentratIOn Seasonal cycles of phytoplankton counts and chlorophyll-a concentratIOns suggest peaks m late summer and I early spnng Zooplankton counts peak about a month afterwards, suggestmg grazmg mIght mfluence the phytoplankton populatIOn Clearly, the combmed effect of hIgh turbIdIty and strong vertIcal mlxmg (due to shear productIon of turbulent kmetlc energy by tIdes) suggests I that phytoplankton are probably also lIght lImited Exchange WIth the open ocean mIght also lllrut the phytoplankton concentratIOns observed m the lower estuary by dIlutIOn WIth low chlorophyll-a ocean water The seasonal cycles mdlcate that phytoplankton uptake has no I measurable effect on NO, concentratIOns The mean turbIdIty IS 15 NTU WIth a maxImum value of 260 NTU TurbIdIty IS hIgher m the I upper estuary than m the lower estuary, mostly due to dIlutIOn with low turbIdIty seawater near the ocean In flood condItIOns the estuary behaves lIke a nver and the flux of matenal seaward IS rapId compared to fluxes assocIated WIth many bIOchemIcal processes ThIS I obVIOusly causes dIsturbances to the coastal envIronment dunng floods TurbId waters are not VIsually appealIng and hIgh turbIdity IS symptomatic of land degradation and probably Impacts many benthIC processes On the other hand, hIgh turbIdIty lImIts phytoplankton I blooms and growth of undesIrable plants and algae GIven the hIgh nutnent loads mto the

DRAFT MHLl095 - 9 I 1 March, 2002 I I Hunter RIver estuary, hIgh turbIdIty levels mIght be consIdered to have some desIrable sIde effects, as far as phytoplankton control IS concerned ThIs would need to be balanced agaInst other potentIal adverse Impacts

2 2 8 Salinity Structure I Sanderson and Redden (2001) have profIled the salInIty structure along the length of the Hunter RIver estuary on 22 days dUrIng the fIrSt four months of 2001 A detaIled descnptIon I of thIS analysIs IS provIded In MHL Report 1118 (2002) In flood events (flows of order 200 GUday) the freshwater Inflow was observed to completely flush the estuary of salt water, except at depth In the dredged area of the harbour FollOWIng I floods the estuary IS turbId and dIssolved oxygen concentratIOn can be low (20% saturated) A weaker flood event (peak flow of 20 GUday) was observed to flush the upper estuary and result In stronger hOrIzontal and vertIcal salInIty gradIents m the lower estuary TIdal mlxmg I subsequently eroded vertIcal salInIty gradIents

Followmg flood events, salIne water IS observed to propagate up-estuary at depth as a salt I wedge A dIrect empmcal relatIOnshIp between the salt dlstnbutlOn and the total rIver flow on the prevIOus day has been derIved

I FIgure 2 8 shows the vertIcally averaged salmlty as a functIOn of dIstance up the estuary The empmcal relatIOnshIp admIts estImates of the dIstance upstream that a partIcular IsohalIne (lIne of constant salInIty) may be observed under a partIcular Inflow The dIstance to the I lOppt and 30ppt salInIty values for three flow condItIOns (825 MUday geometrIc mean flow, 5,991 MUd the 90th percentile flow, and 11,918MUd the 95th percentIle flow) are shown In I Table 21 Table 2.1 Distance Salt Propagates Upstream at Different Flows

I Distance to Distance to Flow Flow 10 ppt Isohaline 30 ppt Isohaline Percentile MUday (km) (km) I GeometrIc mean 825 27 135 90th percentIle 5,991 147 43 I 95th percentIle 11,918 117 29 DIstance upstream IS defmed relatIve to the most downstream measurement sIte (as the crow flIes) It must be emphasIsed that the actual dIstance a partIcular Isohallne reaches also I depends on the antecedent flow condItIOns over a perIod of months. HIgh flows proVIde more relIable numbers from the empmcal formulae These results IndIcate that the lower estuary IS rarely flushed fresh to the mouth although the surface water I wIll become fresh as the vertIcal stratIficatIon wIll be strong dUrIng flood events

Sanderson and Redden (2001) have been able to use rIver flow observatIOns to estImate I statIstIcs for the salInIty structure In the lower estuary over the last 25 years A defInItIve model of the salInIty structure and water exchange has not, however, been obtaIned for the Hunter RIver estuary ExtenSIOn of the fundamental knowledge to the upper estuary IS qUIte I feaSIble, but wIll reqUIre applIcatIOn of a more generalIsed model, along wIth a more I sophIstIcated analysIs of eXIstIng data, and perhaps some additIOnal observatIOns

DRAFT MHLl095 - 10 I 1 March, 2002 I I I 229 Summary of Water Quality Vanablltty Sanderson and Redden (2001) have also profiled the structure of a range of other water I quality variables along the length of the Hunter River estuary Empmcal relatIOnships were denved m a similar manner as for salinity Figure 2 9 shows dissolved morganIc llltrogen, chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and salinity as a function of I distance up the estuary The values for each of the water quality variables have been normalised to ease comparison A summary of the trends for each variable IS given below

I Under low flow conditIOns salinity propagates furthest upstream Implymg longer reSidence times for waters m the upstream reaches

I Total phosphorus mdlcates a source at around 25 km upstream that decreases toward the ocean The decrease may be due to a combmatlOn of dilutIOn by lower concentratIOn sea I water, bIOlogical uptake of phosphorus and settling m the lower reaches Dissolved morgallic llltrogen (DIN) tends to mcrease towards the mouth, suggestmg a distrIbuted source of DIN along the lower reaches contrIbutes before the dilutIOn With lower I concentratIOn sea water near the mouth (up to 5 km from the mouth)

Chlorophyll-a mdlcates the high concentratIOns m the upstream reaches and decreases I towards the mouth which could be explamed by a number of processes mcludmg a spatial shift from freshwater species upstream to saltwater species downstream, coupled With the effects of dilutIOn m the lower reaches The dissolved oxygen profile shows a slight mcrease I downstream but IS generally good

Under high flows, the nver becomes almost fresh With brackish water near the mouth Total I phosphorus decreases downstream, most likely due to settlmg of particulate forms of phosphorus DIN and DO are faIfly constant along the length of the estuary, and essentially reflect the character of the mflow waters The avrulable chlorophyll-a concentratIOns I collected m the lower reaches show conSiderable scatter ThiS may be due to the mflux from local areas of high chlorophyll water, seasonal effects or sampling regime It IS not pOSSible to draw any general trends m chlorophyll-a response m the lower estuary under high flows I The concentratIOns at times mdlcate a bloom of phytoplankton but there were not suffiCient algal cell IdentificatIOn data to assess the particular bloom species

I 2 2 10 SedIment Quality

ExtenSive sampling of sediments has occurred III the south arm of the Hunter River, from the area of the Tourle Street bndge through to the entrance approach, due both to the ongomg I dredgmg of the estuary and for the management of the large mdustnal Sites, e g remediatIOn of the BHP closure area and expansIOn of the Kooragang coal termmal The data from these studies has recently been collated and statistically analysed (Patterson Bntton 2001), With I eight geographiC zones bemg defined Laboratory analYSIS has been predommantly for metals and poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), With some analYSIS of organochlonne pestiCides (OCPs) and polychlonnated biphenyls (PCBs) More limited samplmg has occurred I throughout the rest of the Hunter estuary, with samplmg from the nver entrance, through the south arm, north arm, Fullerton Cove, Williams River to Seaham and m the Hunter River up to and mcludmg Wallis Creek (Birch et al 1997) The maJonty of these samples were I analysed for metals, although agam limited analYSIS for OCPs and PCBs was conducted I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 11 I 1 March, 2002 I I • The results mdlcate that the south arm of the Hunter RIver IS contammated wIth metals (cadmIUm (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nIckel (NI) and zmc (Zn» and PAHs For I metals, the mean values for Cd, Pb, Hg and NI often exceed the ANZECC (1999) mtenm sedIment quahty gUldelme ISQG-Iow, and for Zn and, m one mstance Hg, the ISQG­ hIgh For PAHs, the values are often several orders of magnItude above the ISQG-hlgh I The ANZECC gUldehnes suggest that above the ISQG-hlgh there IS a hIgh probabIlIty that there wIll be tOXIC effects on benthIc bIota, although addItIOnal mvestlgatlOns may be reqUIred to determme such aspects as background concentratIOns, blOavaIlabllIty, I mcludmg carbon content, and toxIcIty testmg Based on the metal and PAH results for the south arm, It IS hkely that some level of adverse bIOlogIcal Impact IS occurnng • The other parts of the Hunter estuary have generally been shown to have low metal I concentratIOns, bemg descnbed as' close to background for most elements' (Ingleton and Blfch 1995) AddItIOnally, areas m the south arm whIch are frequently dredged have been shown to be low m contammants It IS thought that fine sedIments from the upper I estuary, wIth low contammant concentratIOns, fill the dredge depressIOns Over tIme, these fme sedIments also become contammated, but are dredged before theIr concentratIOns I approach those of the undredged fme sedIments • From the hmlted analyses aVaIlable, OCP and PCB concentratIOns appear low m the south arm and hIgh m Throsby Creek (Ingleton and Blfch 1995), whIch has mputs from urban and hght mdustnal land uses WIthout more samplmg and analysIs of sedIments for I pestIcIdes throughout the estuary, It IS not pOSSIble to confirm If agncultural mputs have I resulted m elevated pestIcIde concentratIOns. 2.3 Ecological Data I 231 IntroductIOn The ecologIcal data that has been collated IS classIfIed mto terrestnal and aquatIc flora and I fauna 2 3 2 Terrestrial Flora and Fauna I Seven major terrestnal habItat types were defmed (MacDonald 2001) for the Hunter estuary, namely I • tidal flats and salme open water bodIes • mangroves • saltmarsh I • fresh open water bodIes • fresh/fresh-brackIsh wetlands I • Phragmltes australIS (common reed) swamps • Casuarma glauca (she oak) and Melaleuca spp. (paperbarks) stands and remnant forests I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 12 I 1 March, 2002 I I InhabItIng these habItat types are sIgnIfIcant natIve amphIbIan, reptIlIan and mammalIan populatIOns and resIdentIal, seasonal and mIgratory aVlfaunal commUnItIes The estuary I provIdes sIgnIficant resources for a large vanety of mIgratory and resIdent bIrd specIes, but shows a low dIversIty of natIve amphIbIans, reptIles and mammals Much of the natIve fauna has been destroyed as a result of habItat destructIOn and the IntroductIOn of new specIes For a I comprehensIve overvIeW of faunal commUnItIes occurnng WIthIn the Hunter RIver estuary we refer to MacDonald (2001) I ConcernIng the loss of habItat, much of the ongInal temperate raInforest, upland forest stands, saltmarsh, tIdal flats and salIne open water bodIes have been lost These areas have eIther been replaced by human actIvItIes or by fresh/fresh-brackIsh wetlands At the same tIme there I has been a massIve Increase In dIstrIbutIOn of Phragmltes australis ExtensIve research has shown (WIllIams et al 2000) that 13% of the open waters and 67% of the saltmarsh were lost between the 1950s and 1990s FIgure 2 10 shows current land cover of the lower Hunter I estuary The change In dlstnbutlOn of saltmarsh, open water and mangroves In the Hunter estuary IS shown In FIgures 2 11-2 13 I The changes In habItat have consequently lead to changes In floral and faunal bIOdIverSIty The Increase In Phragmltes australIs, at the expense of saltmarsh and freshwater wetlands, has decreased the floral dIversIty and the presence of waterfowl The replacement of I saltmarsh WIth grassland and weed has also reduced the floral dIversIty The removal of thIS habItat also affects a WIde varIety of bIrds, fIsh and Invertebrate fauna The loss of water bodIes and tIdal mud flats also reduces food and habItat sources for fish and bIrds The I destructIOn of raInforest and swamp forest has decreased the refuge habItat of small mammals The removal of mangroves has led to the loss of breedIng grounds for varIOus I specIes of bIrds Data show a declIne In the total number of mIgratory bIrds USIng the Hunter estuary As an example, around 16,000 mIgratory waders were recorded dunng the 1970s, when today only I 3,500 are counted (Hunter BIrd Observers, pers comm) There are many factors that detennIne the number of mIgratory waders retumIng to the Hunter each year One of those IS the aVaIlabIlIty of habItat for roostIng and feedIng Major day-tIme hIgh tIde roost SItes, such as sandy SPItS, Islands and beaches WIthIn the estuary have dIsappeared and many other roost I and feedIng sItes have been degraded (Hunter Bud Observers, pers comm)

Four prInCIpal factors have been IdentIfied as contrIbutIng to the loss of habItat and I bIOdIverSIty In the Hunter estuary These are I • restnctlOn of tIdal InundatIOn to estuarIne wetlands • Increased spatIal extent of mangrove commUnItIes at the expense of saltmarsh • conversIOn of salme vegetatIve systems to freshlbracklsh systems I • IntroductIOn of non-IndIgenous vegetatIOn and faunal specIes to the estuary I I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 13 I 1 March, 2002 I I 2 3 3 Aquatlc Flora and Fauna The uppennost reaches of the Hunter Estuary (upstream of Raymond Terrace) consist of I sandy sediments and are lIned With reeds, whereas the lower reaches are generally muddler and lIned With mangroves and the seaward sectIOns have a sandy bottom Seagrasses have not been seen along the foreshores of the lower Hunter River for at least the past 30 years, but I Ruppw sp (a natIve grass that occurs m fresh water and salt water) has been found m some small channels on Kooragang Island and m Hexham swamp (The Ecology Lab 2001) I Estuanne aquatic fauna mcludes benthic mvertebrates, fish, prawns and oysters The Ecology Lab (2001) dlstmgUlshes four broad categorIes of estuarme habitats for aquatIc flora and fauna, namely mangroves, saltmarsh, unvegetated soft sediments and rocky reefs I and artificial structures

Mangrove forests create a habitat for a wide variety of marIne orgalllsms, mcludmg fIsh, I crabs, marIne snails, seaweeds and tmy alllmals such as marme wonns, amphlpods and Isopods Mangrove habitats are thought to contrIbute slglllfIcantly to estuarIne productiVity (for example, detrItal materIal derIved from mangroves may be an Important food source for I school prawns and the trees also stabilIse shorelInes Mangrove soIls may also playa role as smk for contammants, particularly heavy metals

I Saltmarshes are often found behmd, or close to mangrove forests and lIve m soft, water­ logged sediments Saltmarsh habitats consist of small succulent plants, grasses, rushes, sedges and herbaceous plants In general, the ecology of Australian saltmarshes IS not well I understood Like mangroves, however, saltmarshes are belIeved to have Important physical and bIOlogical functIOns m estuarme ecosystems

I Unvegetated mudflats and sandflats are productIve marIne habitats, supportmg a variety of animals that lIve m or on the sediments These areas are also Important for more transitory vIsitors such as fIsh and buds Unvegetated soft sediment habItats have, however, been I studied far less than mangroves and saltmarshes

There are very few natural rocky reefs m the Hunter Estuary Most of the rocky habitats occur I mtertldally (I e between the level of high and low water) and the vast majOrIty of these are artifiCial rock walls Much of the southern shorelIne of the south arm IS an artifiCial retammg wall which IS cololllsed prImarIly by oysters The breakwalls at the mouth of Newcastle I Harbour consist of large concrete blocks which are home to a varIety of marIne orgalllsms such as aSCIdlans (sea SqUIrtS), barnacles, seaweeds and crabs PIlmgs assoCiated With brIdges and wharves are other artifiCial structures that are often heaVily encrusted With marIne I mvertebrates (especially oysters) and algae Such structures have the potential to mfluence the distrIbution and abundance of a variety of marme organisms, mcludmg fish I I I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 14 I 1 March, 2002 I I Benthic Invertebrates are common In mangroves, saltmarshes, Intertidal and subtidal soft sediments and on rocky substrata For an overview of the presence of macro-, melO- and I microfauna In the Hunter estuary, we refer to The Ecology Lab (2001) There have been a number of quantitative fIsh studies In the Hunter estuary and a wide range of species has been recorded (The Ecology Lab 2001) The major commercial fIshery In the Hunter IS the estuary I prawn trawl fishery Although prawn trawlIng has always been Important to the economy of the Newcastle regIOn, there have been occasIOnal setbacks to the Industry The oyster Industry I In the Hunter River IS no longer as profitable as It once was The most lIkely potential threats to aquatic bIOta In the Hunter Estuary are from I • shorelIne Industry and farmIng, particularly runoff from factones, farms, seepage of contamInated groundwater • dredgIng for maIntenance and further port facIlIties I • tidal restnctlOns due to floodgates, culverts, etc • fIshIng Industry I The discharge of contamInants Into the Hunter River has been occurrIng for many decades and has had senous effects on commercial fIshIng Industnes In the past The oyster Industry was devastated In the mld-1960s due to contamInatIOn of oysters from Industnal pollutants, I and the prawn Industry has also been affected by apparent pollutIOn from Industry

I 2.4 Human Data 2 4 1 lntroductlOn Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Hunter River was a mangrove-fnnged nver with a I dense brush and huge trees lInIng the banks There were lofty forests of eucalyptus, casuarIna and wetlands and the hills were covered with lIght underwood and grass Due to the nchness and variatIOn In the landscape, there was an abundance of species, such as emus, kangaroos, I dIngoes and a vanety of birds, hVIng In the area SInce European settlement the landscape has drastically changed The natural environment has been transformed from forest and wetland areas Into land for residential, agncultural and Industnal purposes Human activity has altered I the natural state of the estuary

The human data that has been collated IS represented under the headIngs of hentage, I recreatIOnal, land use and flood mitigatIOn works For a hlstoflcal overview of the events In the Hunter estuary, we refer to MHL Report 1118 (200 I)

I 242 Rentage The KOOfl people have Inhabited the Hunter River for over 30,000 years When the white I settlers arrIved, the landscape and the flvers In the regIOn had all been Identified by name by the Koon people (MHL 2001) About 2,000 AbongInal sites have been recorded and these Include sites along the valley floors of the major tnbutanes, rock shelter SItes In the sandstone I areas and shell middens around coastal lakes and estuaries However, due to nver works, land reclamatIOn and urbamsatlOn much of the remnants of AbongInal occupation In the Hunter I estuary has been destroyed I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 15 I 1 March, 2002 I I From a European herItage pomt of VIew, the Hunter regIOn IS one of AustralIa's longest settled regIOns European settlement has produced a umque varIety of structures, bUlldmgs, I towns and landscapes Some 800 specIfIc Items that are deemed worthy of conservatIOn for future generatIOns have been IdentIfied They mclude urban and rural dwellIngs, publIc and I commercIal bUlldmgs, archaeologIcal remaInS, brIdges, collIerIes and cemeterIes 2 4 3 PopulatIOn The Hunter regIon accounts for almost 10% of the State's total populatIOn The Hunter I estuary has two maIn populatIOn centres, namely Newcastle (FIgure 2 14) and MaItland (FIgure 2 15) In 1961 the populatIOn of Newcastle was about 142,500 and MaItland's populatIOn was 27,500 (ABS 1996) Newcastle has expenenced a substantIal steady decrease I In ItS populatIOn In the 1970s and 1980s ThIS IS maInly due to a mIgratIOn from the older cIty areas After a drop to 129,500 m 1986 the populatIon of Newcastle recovered and IS projected to contInue groWIng slowly In the comIng years The populatIOn of MaItland has steadIly I Increased over the years MaItland's populatIOn has contInued to grow SInce the 1960s and IS about 50,000 today It IS projected to keep groWIng In the commg years

I Table 2.2 Populations and Projections

1961 1981 1986 1991 1996 2006* 2016* I Newcastle 142574 135193 129490 131309 133686 141400 144000 Maitland 27353 39926 44315 46958 49941 56500 60600 I Hunter Region 355,840 458,704 482,774 513,765 540,499 615,800 663,800 Sources ABS Census 1996, NSW DUAP 1994 I * MedIUm level populatIOn projectIOns 2 4 4 RecreatIOnal The Hunter estuary IS used by people for a varIety of recreatIOnal actIVItIes, but detaIled maps I of foreshore recreatIOn are not aVaIlable BoatIng and flshmg are the most common actIvItIes The Ecology Lab (2001) proVIdes an overvIew of the most popular fIshIng areas, whIch are m the lower reaches of the estuary Boats can be chartered from Newcastle Harbour, pnmanly I for fishmg tnps along the open coast Also, many people fIsh from theIr own boats and from the shore

I It has been estImated that there are approxImately 30,000 recreatIOnal fIshmg events m the Hunter RIver per year (The Ecology Lab 2001) These events may range from short baIt collectIng tnps to a whole day of fishmg There are some closures m place for recreatIOnal I fishers In partIcular, oysters and mussels cannot be collected from the south arm and hoop nets and crab traps are not permItted In Throsby Creek

I 245 Land Use As becomes clear from the IntroductIOn, the landscape has drastIcally changed SInce European settlement FIgures 2 16 and 2 17 show current land uses around Newcastle and MaItland I respectIvely The natural envIronment has been transformed from forest and wetland areas Into land for reSIdentIal, agncultural and mdustnal purposes AgrIculture IS the largest sector In the Hunter regIOn In terms of the area of land occupIed for agncultural purposes The I approxImate agncultural area In 1981 was 17,000 km2 (SInclaIr Kmght 1981) At the end of the 1980s agncultural actIVItIes covered 20,000 km2 whIch accounts for 55% of the total I catchment area (Dept of Plannmg 1989a)

DRAFT MHLI095 - 16 I 1 March, 2002 I I I WIllIams et al (2000) provide a comprehensive overview of changes to the natural habitat In the lower part of the Hunter estuary around Kooragang Island Changes In flow patterns, I morphology and land reclamatIOn have led to an Increase In land area of approximately 20% Since 1801 A vegetatIOn map from 1850 shows that the low-lYing coastal areas of the Hunter estuary were mainly saltmarsh with tidal ponds (MacDonald 2001) SInce 1850 there has been I a progressive loss of habitat In the study area Saltmarsh has been replaced by pasture, dry grassland or cleared land (Fullerton Cove and deltaiC Islands) or by freshlbracIash wetlands (Hexham Swamp) Phragmlfes austrahs has become dominant In the Hexham Swamp area I and well established In the former saltmarshes of TomagolFullerton Cove Mangroves have Increased where the tidal hydrology has not been changed (e g Fullerton Cove coastline) and reduced where tidal restnctlOn has been enforced (e g Hexham Swamp and Ironbark Creek) I QuantificatIOn of the losses IS difficult because the vanous studies cover different study areas (MacDonald 2001) I The loss of natural areas IS lInked to the Increase of human activity In the Hunter Estuary From the first settlers, people have modified the natural environment to SUIt their needs In the Hunter estuary a comprehensive scheme of flood mitigatIOn works has been Implemented I over the years (see SectIOn 24 7) Concerning future changes, the Settlement Strategy for the Lower Hunter that IS proposed In I the Hunter RegIOnal Envlfonmental Plan 1989 (Dept of Planning 1989a) IS one of growth based on eXisting urban settlements The aim IS to Improve the overall accessibility to employment, shopping, health and educatIOnal faCilIties Growth IS directed to those areas that I have the capacity to expand economIcally and can accommodate an increaSing range of facIlIties and services for the populatIOn I 2 4 6 RegIOnal Economy The economic base of the Hunter regIOn IS provided by coal minIng, transport, power generation and manufacturing (Dept of Planning 1989a) The output of coal IS still increasing .~ 0" I every year In 1997 the coal production per capIta was 184 tonnes In the Hunter as compared--' _,' { to 147 tonnes per capita In the whole of Australia The narrow employment base of the Hunter economy Implies that structural changes, such as the decline of particular Industnes, I has led to a nse In unemployment figures Over the years there have been slgmflcant employment losses In manufactunng, speCIfIcally In the metal manufactunng and fabncatlOn Industnes r, ,; io'''', ~ ..... f'LQ." ,~J"J~neJ I - _, c.." J 247 Flood MitigatIOn Works As becomes clear from the introductIOn, the landscape has drastically changed Since European I settlement Many of the changes to the natural environment occurred as a result of flood mitigatIOn structures that were developed to safeguard human activIties

I The Lower Hunter Flood MItigatIOn Scheme under the Public Works Department has completed 160 km of levees, 140 km of drainS, 200 floodgates, III km of flood canals, 30 km of bank protectIOn works and 40km of control and dIVerSIOn banks Figure 2 18 shows the I development of Infrastructure In the lower estuary area Between the 1950s and 1990s a large amount of natural area was lost, including 13% of the open waters and 67% of the saltmarsh (WIllIams et al 2000) While there was also loss of mangroves In particular areas, the net area I of mangroves In the Hunter estuary has Increased In thiS penod I

DRAFT MHLI095 • 17 I 1 March, 2002 l1li I I The direct loss of estuanne wetlands has been halted by the mtroductlOn of a number of environmental protection policies, such as the State Envlfonmental Plannmg Policy 14 (SEPP I 14) m 1985 (DLWC 2000) Estuanne wetlands also receive protectIOn by council local environmental plans I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 18 I 1 March, 2002 I I I Iz I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

MHl I _mWD&~ Re art 1095 OF PUBLIC WORKS HUNTER RIVER CATCHMENT Figure AND SERVICES 21 I MANLY HYDRAULICS LABORATORY DRAWING IOQ~2-01 CDR I I A I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I NEWCASTLE I Pacific Ocean I

NSW DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS HUNTER RIVER ESTUARY I AND SERVICES I I I I I I I

PHYSICAL SYSTEM I • climate • geology and soils • hydrology I • hydraulics • geomorphology ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM • water quahty • aquatlc flora and fauna I • sediment quality • terrestnal flora and fauna I \ I HUMAN SYSTEML • hentage • recreatlOn I • land use • flood mltlgatlOn works I I I I I I MHL NSW DEPARTMENT Report 1095 _ OF PUBLIC WORKS COMPONENTS IN THE HUNTER ESTUARY SYSTEM Figure I AND SERVICES 23 MANLY HYDRAULICS LABORATORY DRAWING 1~2..()3COR I , -. I '..... -. I I I I I I I

I ~. I I I I I I I I

....,o I - , MHL NSW DEPARTMENT Re rt 1095 _ OF PUBLIC WORKS GEOLOGY OF THE HUNTER CATCHMENT Figure I " AND SERVICES 2.4 MANLY HYDRAULICS LABORATORY ~ ------

ASSOCIATIONS OF MOSTLV LEACHED SOILS Po(ilohc lind skllelal IOill, ,espectiyel, on lower gentle O ,101M' and 011 ""per tlope.,. $orne earth. (kentonJl' Pille"", 01 crllc"'n" ct.,. ,nd .olon.I~1C loil, SOtt, >oz liMP ~ z.,,'" ,Mito_ .n paris 1r--O.,,~ l..ched, .od lua,no,.m, on tull lops end slopel below "'~O b... I! caps , somet.",,, IIO"y ReO.net brow" podzoftc Ei soill and lome brown •• rth. on 10 ••' slopel Some "'r'" ...... eU1 50tls ~ ~n~ i'3 St,onlJly I.ached, 8C.d k,a,flo,.m, and "'''Ilhonal alPIne ()~~ • humus 10011. KrJl,nozem,.n 10 ••' Pitt" If,nlll.ona' rn~~ a'Plne humu. '001, In l'I'g"a" 1M"', blIuU no.I .... often ~ pr... nl II' hIgh .Uilud•• . Some fin,-'aJ.luftd 101'1 [;1~ ~ Humus-rron POdloi. and ..nd, a.oli'n ,.golols. Humus, • 'ron podloll In ,n'end d.,II'., wU" some m.Ho .... and ac,d , ..amp ,,0,1, ,n d'P"lIlon" end y.llowllh .. hi:" .. ,ngl,. gr.lned, undy ••ohan r~o.oI .. along Iht COo'5I on ..ndy depo.,t. Pod,ol,c .oil, on Permian .hala, and ,and· ItO"" Deep, perme.ble, ,IIOhtly acid klunOlem • . • oma wllh D 'Kondary Um ••t cMplh. IIJ'Id .,.... Wl(1'I .MUOw Iton, (f) Malnola"'l ASSOCIATIONS 0,. SOILS O"IN WITH SOMa LIM. o IN TNl P"OflLE r $oIOttet1K 10111. Ilroeletal ,Otll, .nd urth, $oIOnflllC • .0.1, and pate"'l 01 cracking da, ••nd OeoradM blad urtl'll, wilh ...... of ..rth. on tentla .. ~ • . Shallow or ~ 1 .....1-' '0011 on ,I.. p llopel OcCII"O~ podlohc ~'I "'0 Crack'''' cia" lormi"t _ flNrty uniform 'ofl eo .... r Sotl, m OHp, dart or blaet. finN' gifoaJ common. 5o"'f .Ion, (f) palc"" Nalrow ..Iu_.a' atrip., with "mil" c'ac"l~ clap. .. ometlmal 1'I11V'"9 Il'Iln it4u¥ ..' A horbon, o C'ack,ng cI.yl. deglad*Ci black .,tthl, and ,oIontuic loll • . -n O Compl•• ".neln clOrrMMttd by el.cllng d.,•• nd with -l d.g'ad~ Wack tarthl and lofonmk 10111 co-dominant I ""-:r) ASSOCIATIONS OF MOSTLV SKELETAL AND SHAL· \.. m LOW SOILS . "' ..... Coal,t·lellured 1.114,1,1 .Oil .. , wilh .011'11 I'ina'''l'Iured "'"~ '-'\ I D Shallow " ....cell.ntOu. loil. In more .Iabl. parh O_p c .artha on 10m. plat.. u. Z -l Ea,thl and I.fittll 10111, mOltly undy Inti .hlilow. I.Upl on colh.. ¥,um SoIon.t.uc '0111. HptC.all, on 1o .., .IOJW' m ot coflu ~ ..1 spr.adl ;;0 A 1...... ""\\, ~ () Sil.it4fttlso,l. ,n "...,.r partl end guny, ahln ..nd, .arth. ~ O on genU. Ilopel Solonell'c lOll, .n .alMy bonom, ~ \'""" () SMllo ... _nd Immalu" c,ac •• ng cllY' ..'h fine-II.lurld .... - ....etal .011., the lItter on the .'"IM' "OIM. S .... NJ I lodl oUen hum.c I' high .hlud.. Somt d ...,.. eracklng s:: cla,1 11'1 Ie.. Slr~ .re.. m ASSOCIATIONS ON ALLUVIUM OR RIV£RtNE DUNES z Vaflou" 10,1. df'pe"dmg on age 01 If'''ace. compo.,I,o" 01 -l • part'" matonal. and ( llmalf! CtletnOI.m •.• oloneillc 1001a. cr.telung d.~. 1' .IH1t1s .•nd allunol r.go.ols

a adl) drllol".tS su", A (,d Iwamo so.ls end m~.dO"" .011 • O • 11" all\,l •. /l.1 ,eoosols .... h.ch .'f' mo,t1~ fi"IIi· le.luled Ind ,al.nl'

5/1110, o,-,o'.a" 'C1IOSOIS us .... Jly d.f'~p 0' •• ry de!!", "1(1 • ""0Ie'9',)'I'<"(I :!! ~ I- Nco s: Ii· c: :I: l3 CJ1 CD ~r 8 §. ~ Source: van de Graaff (1963), McManus at aI., (2000) I I A I I I I I I I I I

3 I x 10 tla bedload

Typical suspended I sediment influx past Hexham 1 x 10· tla I I I I NEWCASTLE ...... Maintenance dredging from harbour to dump site 0.4 x 10· tla or 92 x 103 tla (197~3) I Pacific I Ocean 095 SUMMARY OF SEDIMENT BUDGET Figure I 2.6 I I I I I A I • I I Zone E I I I I • Zone A - Downstream from Walsh Point Pacific I • Zone B - South Arm of the Hunter River Estuary • Zone C - North Arm of the Hunter River Estuary Ocean I • Zone D - Creeks on Kooragang Island (now ponds) • Zone E - Junction of Arms to Williams-Hunter Junction I • Zone F - Williams River • Zone G - Williams-Hunter Junction to Hunter-Paterson Junction I • Zone H - Paterson River • Zone I - Hunter River. upstream from the Hunter-Paterson Junction I I I

WATER QUALITY MONITORING SITES Figure I 2.7 I

TYPical conditions In low flow I 350 I Salinity I

I 21 Of &17 5

I 14t I 105r ,or I 35 I o~o 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 I Distance up the estuary (km) I

TYPical conditions In high flow I 350 , I 31 5 r- 2801-

I 2451- 0

21 0 I- 0 I- 0.. I 0 0.. 1751- I 140 t- . 105

I 70 0 I 35 :~ . 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 I Distance up the estuary (km) I MHL Report 1095 SALINITY STRUCTURE OF THE " "'WOF PUBLIC "'AA~" WORKS Figure I AND SERVICES HUNTER RIVER ESTUARY 28 MANLY HYDRAULICS LABORATORY DRAWING 109f;-02-08COR I

I Typical conditions In low flow

Salinity (ppt + 35) I Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ().lglL + 1000) ChlorophyU-a (~g / L + 20 Total Phosphorus (J.1g/L + 300) Turbidity (ntu + 15) I Dissolved Oxygen (mglL+l0) I I I I

O~ ____~ ______-L ______~ ______L- ____~~~ __-L __ __~ I o 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Distance up the estuary (km) I

Typical conditions in high flow I 1...-----,..- ---,-----,,------r------,------',----, I Salinity (ppt + 35) Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ().lg/L+ 1000) I ChlorophyU-a {).lglL + 20 Total Phosphorus (~g/L + 300) ---- Dissolved Oxygen (mgIL+10) I ~--'6r------______I o

I 0 0 0 I 0.1 0 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 I Distance up the estuary (km) I MHL NSW DEPARTMENT Report 1095 OF PUBLIC WORKS NORMALISED VALUES DURING Figure I AND SERVTCES HIGH AND LOW FLOW CONDITIONS 2.9 I I I I I A I I I I I I I I Pacific Ocean I Urban I Fresh water wetland Open water I Salt marsh Bare earth I Mangrove .. Pasture I CJ Forest I

NSW DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS LAND COVER - LOWER HUNTER ESTUARY Figure I AND SERVICES 2.10 I I I I I I I - ... I I I I

I Unchanged Area gained

I Area lost Subregion boundaries I Subcatchmenl - boundaries I .- Source: Williams et ai , 2000 I I I I MHl NSW DEPARTMENT Report 1095 OF PUBLIC WORKS CHANGE IN DISTRIBUTION OF SALTMARSH WITHIN Figure I AND SERVICES THE HUNTER RIVER ESTUARY 1954-1994 2.11

OA./IWINO 101&(12·11 COR I I I I I I I I I I I I

I Unchanged AR:agained

I Amalost Subregion boundaries I Subcatcbmenl - boundaries I Source: Williams et ai, 2000 I I I I MHL NSW DEPARTMENT Re rt 1095 OF PUBLIC WORKS CHANGE IN DISTRIBUTION OF OPEN WATER WITHIN Figure I AND SERVICES THE HUNTER RIVER ESTUARY 1954-1994 2.12 I I I I I I I I I I I I

I Unchanged Area gained I II Area lost Subregion boundaries I Subcatchmen - boundaries I Source: Williams et al. 2000 I I I I MHL NSW DEPARTMENT Report 1095 OF PUBLIC WORKS CHANGE IN MANGROVE DISTRIBUTION WITHIN Figure I AND SERVICES THE HUNTER RIVER ESTUARY 1954-1994 2.13 MANLY HYDRAULICS LABORATORY Kll§..m-ISCOII: I " I I I I I A I I I I I

r--'" I -I I I Pacific Ocean I I I I I I MHL NSW DEPARTMENT Report 1095 OF PUBLIC WORKS CADASTRE - NEWCASTLE CITY Figure I AND SERVICES 2.14 I I I I I A I I I I I I I I I I I I I I MHL NSW DEPARTMENT Re rt 1095 _ OF PUBLIC WORKS CADASTRE - MAITLAND AREA Figure I AND SERVlCES 2.15 MANLY HYDRAULICS LABORATORY I I I I I A I I I I I Pacific

I Ocean I I I Residential I Business Rural I Industrial Special uses I Environmental protection Open space and recreation I I

NEWCASTLE LAND USE Figure I 2.16 I I I I I A I I I I I I I I Residential

Business

I CJ Rural

.. Industrial

I CJ Special uses

Environmental protection

I .. Open space and recreation I I I

NSW DEPARTMENT 095 OF PUBLIC WORKS MAITLAND LAND USE Figure I AND SERVICES 2.17 I I I I 1844 I I I I I I I I I I

~~ --, I • __ t.. ,...... ,

• 1"- I ~~_i.. __ _ · C-k/_ MMo_, .... _ .. ~ .. I

I Source: Williams et ai, 2000 I MHL NSW DEPARTMENT THE EVOLUTION OF STRUCTURES RESTRICTING TIDAL Re rt 1095 OF PUBLIC WORKS FLOW WITHIN THE HUNTER RIVER DELTAIC ISLANDS Figure I AND SERVICES AND SUBSEQUENTLY, KOORAGANG ISLAND 2.18 ~NG l(1815..02-111.COR I I I I 3. Data Gaps and Recommendations

I 3.1 Introduction In the prevIOus sectIOn a summary revIew of eXlstmg data for the Hunter Estuary Processes I Study was presented The next step IS to decIde upon what data IS mlssmg and consequently develop a strategy to collect thIs data A crucIal step m thIs phase IS to detenmne the purpose of the data and mformatlOn collectIon Rather than collectmg 'InformatIon for mformatlOn's I sake' the aIm IS to assess what data and mformatlOn are reqUIred to successfully tackle the management Issues m the Hunter estuary Estuary management should be Issue-led, not data­ I led The mam management Issues that were IdentIfied m the Hunter estuary by the Hunter Estuary I Management CommIttee m close consultatIOn WIth the communIty were • loss of habItat • envIronment I • erosIon • floodmg I • pollutIOn • water qualIty • sand and gravel extractIOn I • recreatIOn • hentage I • fIshmg Some of these Issues are of concern m the whole of the estuary whIle other are only local Issues An overvIew of the locatIOn Issues m the Hunter RIver estuary IS gIven m FIgure 3 1 I These Issues wIll form the startmg pomt for IdentIfIcatIOn of data gaps and formulatIOn of I future data collectIOn programs 3.2 Data, Information and Understanding I 3 2 1 DefimtlOns To aVOId confUSIOn about the Issues that are presented, the followmg definItIons wIll be used I to gUIde the dISCUSSIOn • Data IS the raw matenal from whIch mformatlOn IS produced I • Information IS a collectIOn of data that has meanmg, relevance and purpose to the recIpIent BasIcally, mformatlOn IS data WIth a context • After bemg analysed, mformatlon can be transformed mto an understanding of the Issues I that are bemg studIed

DRAFT MHLI095 - 19 I 1 March, 2002 I I I • ThIs understandmg can subsequently be used to gUIde management actions I In a management process, decIsIOn makers and the general publIc are not so much mterested m data as m mformatlOn The transformatIOn of data mto useful mformatlOn, however, IS hardly ever straIghtforward It IS a complex task whIch naturally requues expertIse m the field I that IS studIed, but also m data processmg There IS a need for 'metadata', whIch IS mformatlOn about what data are avaIlable, where they are kept and who keeps them In I general data should be • aVaIlable knowledge IS reqUIred about what data eXIst • accessIble when relevant data are avaIlable It IS essentIal to know how to gam access to I them • appropnate when data are aVaIlable and accessIble, the recIpIent must have a good understandmg of the nature, qualIty and currency of the data, so that data can be used I approprIately

A broad category of tools to collect raw data and transform them mto useful mformatlOn are I 'assessments' and models Assessments can mclude envIronmental Impact assessments, rIsk assessments and cost-benefIt exercIses Models can take a large varIety of forms and shapes, I e g stochastIc or detenrunIstlc, descrIptIve or forecastmg, etc 322 Scale I The Issue of 'scale' IS an Important one m thIS dISCUSSIOn Estuary processes, whether human or natural processes, take place at a vanety of temporal and spatIal scales An Important Issue IS the chOIce for the scale or aggregatIOn level at whIch the processes are observed and the I effect of thIS chOIce on modellmg If a certam system IS studIed at an mapproprIate scale level, thIS may lead to madequate understandmg of the processes mvolved Many of the management Issues m envIronmental systems are multI scaled m nature Therefore, m order to I understand the Hunter estuary system m all ItS complexIty, It IS necessary to IdentIfy the scales at whIch relevant processes work

Choosmg a scale level at whIch to deSCrIbe the processes mvolves the chOIce of resolutIOn and I extent ResolutIOn IS a measure for the amount of detaIl used m an analYSIS It mcludes temporal and spatIal steps, but can also mclude the degree of complIcatIon Extent represents I the domam and mcludes temporal extent, spatIal extent and the number of components An example of temporal and spatIal scales m an ecologIcal process (carbon fIxatIOn through photosynthesIs) IS presented m FIgure 32 The ecologIcal processes bemg mOnItored and the I varIatIOn observed wlthm them depend on the scale over whIch they are measured, both m tIme and m space A focus on small scale Issues mvolves dIfferent processes and rates than a I large scale focus DIffIcultIes may occur If data, mformatlOn and process knowledge are avaIlable at scales dIfferent from the ones reqUIred (e g for analYSIS or model development) In that case the I problem of 'scalIng' (upscalmg or downscalIng) arIses, whIch ImplIes that one needs to I aggregate (or dlsaggregate) avaIlable data to SUIt the needs I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 20 I 1 March, 2002 I I 3.3 Monitoring I 3 3 1 IntroductIOn Successful estuary management reqUires the development of effective momtonng tools A momtonng strategy should be developed for the detectIOn of trends m the condItIon of the I Hunter estuary system Such a strategy can provIde the SCIentifIc and technologIcal basIs for decIsIOn-makmg and sImultaneously help to gam knowledge of the complex envIronmental I system, mcludmg natural and human processes Pnor to Implementmg any momtonng It IS Important that clear objectIves for the momtorIng be establIshed and agreed to by the vanous stakeholders Broad objectives for momtonng I mclude • to obtam mformatIOn to satisfy publIc health reqUirements I • to ensure there IS proper mamtenance of assets and that these are not havmg deletenous effects on the estuary, and • to understand varIOUS phySIcal, chemIcal and bIOlogIcal processes mcludmg obtammg I mformatIOn for calIbratIOn and venfIcatlOn of models of processes

To satIsfy these dIfferent objectives, dIfferent samplIng strategIes are reqUired and the I dIfferent forms of momtorIng can be undertaken by dIfferent groups Momtonng to assess complIance wIth publIc health regulatIOns IS best undertaken by CouncIl Momtonng to assess the performance and condItIOn of assets could be done by a combmatlOn of Hunter I Water, CounCIl and local groups In order to obtam Improved understanding through SCIentIfic research, process-on en ted momtonng could be undertaken by local educatIOnal I mstItutlOns or consultants wIth the aSsIstance of CouncIl DetaIled recommendatIOns for complIance, mamtenance and process momtonng m the Hunter I estuary wIll be dIscussed m SectIOn 3 5 3 3 2 ConsIderatIOns for Momtonng In the Hunter Estuary I It was proposed (MHL 2000) that the results of the water and sedIment qualIty data reVIew that has now been undertaken, WIll be used to desIgn targeted water and sedIment qualIty samplmg programs that address the key Issues as IdentIfIed through the reVIew and dISCUSSIOn wIth the commIttee From the water qualIty perspectIve the analYSIS of the ACCESS water I qualIty database (establIshed for the Hunter Estuary Processes Study) m many regards proVIdes suggestIve rather than conclUSIve mformatlOn about processes Unfortunately, many of the addItIOnal measurements reqUired to fill m holes cannot be made m retrospect For I example, to determme the extent to whIch changmg fluxes from the rIvers are responsIble for the observed change m the nutrIent status of the estuary wIthm the last 25 years, It would have I been essential to have more nutnent measurements m the fIvers before 1985 The present water qualIty database has a sparse coverage over a broad spatlO-temporal domam I and hIghlIghts the scale Issue In general, the knowledge obtamed from thIS database cannot be sIgmfIcantly augmented by a short duratIOn (sIx-month) low cost ($40,000) water qualIty momtofIng program that was proposed SImIlar consIderatIOns are made for the proposed I sedIment samplIng program I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 21 I 1 March, 2002 I I I The eXistIng data gives measures of 'what IS' or 'what was' There seems to be little data to quantify mechanIsms Water quality (even accordIng to the limitatIOns of ANZECC 1992) IS I most properly defIned In terms of how the aquatic envIronmental system functIOns There IS a need to obtam more measurements that are targeted to quantify key environmental processes Examples would Include measunng the growth rate response of key pnmary producers to I turbidity (light), measunng grazIng rates, measunng nutnent cyclIng rates m the water column, wetlands, mangrove forests, and benthos Unfortunately, most of these measurements seem to be Impossible to make given the constramts placed on fundIng aVailable for the I measurement program

Given the finIte resources aVailable to the study It IS not possible to develop a sCientifically I ngorous understandIng of all the processes affectmg the Issues m the Hunter estuary MHL IS aware of these limitatIOns and has proposed a study that optimises the outcomes to an appropnate level of process understandIng commensurate with the needs of the management I plannmg program To achieve this MHL has retamed a degree of flexibility In Its approach so that the study pnontles could be redirected dunng the course of the mvestIgatlOns as new InformatIOn comes to light and In diSCUSSIOn with the commIttee This adaptive approach IS I particularly relevant to the Hunter system where a large body of mformatlon eXists but has yet to be fully Integrated Into an holistic review of processes and theIr InteractIOns

I 333 Complexity of the Hunter Estuary QuantificatIOn of key estuary processes IS Indispensable, but will reqUIre a huge SCientifiC effort Due to the complexity of the Hunter estuary system, It IS difficult to qUIckly obtam an Integrated understandIng of the underlYIng processes The processes affectIng the vanous Issues Identified by the estuary management committee and outlined In the study bnef need to be documented to a degree that supports effective management deCISIOn-makIng MHL has undertaken a prehmmary assessment of the Identified Issues and the processes most likely to affect (or to be affected by) each Issue (MHL 2000) The management Issues that were Identified In the Hunter estuary cover a large part of the estuary system After revlewmg and I analysmg avaIlable data and mformatlOn for the Hunter estuary, It IS now pOSSible to more accurately link speCifiC processes to the Issues that were Identified by the communIty, Industry and government In the Hunter estuary Yet, the lmkages and pOSSible feedback I mechanIsms between the processes stili make It difficult to obtam a comprehensive overview Furthermore, Issues raised by the commumty are seldom 'Independent' and more often Imked to each other To Illustrate the compleXity of the system a conceptual representatIOn of the I InteractIOns mvolved for the management Issue 'loss of habitat' IS presented In Figure 3 3

Figure 3 3 does not claim to proVide a comprehensive overview of all the processes Involved I In the Issue 'loss of habitat' It maInly Introduces the mteractlOn of human, phYSical and ecological processes (as Introduced In SectIOn 1) leadIng up to a loss of habitat The conceptual diagram could be extended by IncludIng feedbacks In the system I e the effects of I habitat loss on bIOdiverSity, recreatIOnal actiVIties etc The aim of Figure 3 3 IS to prOVide an Idea of the compleXity Involved In studYIng the processes that Influence Just one aspect of the I Hunter estuary system Although data may be aVailable, If the processes are poorly understood thiS data may not lead to a better understandIng of the overall system that we are studYIng Once we start to I understand the processes, data can be used to Increase our knowledge of the system (e g through modellIng) I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 22 I 1 March, 2002 I I I In Table 3 1 we mtroduce ISSUES, MAIN PROCESS, HUMAN SYSTEM, NATURAL SYSTEM, DATA GAPS and SOLUTIONS for the Hunter estuary The ISSUES are those that have been Identified by I the committee and the commumty as major management Issues The MAIN PROCESSES are directly lmked to the ISSUES and can affect or be affected by the Issues mvolved The HUMAN AND NATURAL SYSTEMS present the mvolvement of human and natural processes III the MAIN I PROCESS These related human and natural processes are linked to the mam process either as causes or effects The DATA GAPS column lists the possible lack of data or understandlllg that IS Illvolved With the particular process In the SOLUTIONS column a short descnptlOn IS given I of the possible strategy to overcome the lack of data or mformatlOn

Based on Table 3 1 we will provide a detailed set of recommendatIOns for the next phase of I the Hunter Estuary Processes Study I I I I I I I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 23 I 1 March, 2002 I ------

Table 3.1 Understanding Issues and Processes in the Hunter Estuary

ISSUE MAIN PROCESS HUMAN SYSTEM NATURAL SYSTEM DATA GAPS SOLUTIONS Loss of HabItat • restnctlOn of tIdal • land reclamatIOn and flood • change In hydrology and • lack of data about effects of • Identify effects of structures inundatIOn to estuanne mItigatIOn works (including hydrodynamICs habItat loss on aquatIc and • IdentIfy key ecologIcal wetlands levees, drainS, culverts, • change In tidal regIme terrestnal flora and fauna relatIOnshIps between habItats floodgates etc) specIes • converSIOn of salIne and the specIes they support (e g vegetatIve systems to fresh! food, breeding grounds, shelter brackIsh systems etc) • changes In fish/Invertebrate assemblages • Increased spatIal extent of • land use (e g agncultural • Increased sedImentatIOn • lack of understanding of • IdentIfy key ecologIcal processes mangrove commUnitIes at development and • change In tIdal reglme processes leading to loss of that alter the co-exIstence balance the expense of saltmarsh urbanisatIOn) saltmarsh between saltmarsh and • sea level nse mangroves • introductIOn of non- • land use • change In dlstnbutlOn of • lack of data relating to the • collect data about natl ve and non- indIgenous vegetatIOn and natl ve vegetatIOn presence and abundance of natIve speCIes, although lack of faunal specIes to the estuary • competItIOn for habItat and native mammalian, reptIlian 'base' data makes It dIfficult to food and plant specIes In Hunter assess changes In composItIOn RIver estuary and dIverSIty • change In blOdl verslty EnVIronmental • introductIOn of exotIc • regIOnal economy (e g port • competitIOn for habitat and • there IS little data about the • the few studIes that have been manne organisms Into the Industry and shIpping) food effects of non-natIve specIes undertaken In the Hunter estuary manne envIronment through • change In bIOdIverSIty on native manne specIes In are unable to show SIgnificant ballast water the Hunter estuary, but effect of ballast water on natIve SIgnificant effects have been manne specIes recorded elsewhere • dredging of the harbour for • regIOnal economy (e g port • mobIlIsatIOn of metals • lack of data about effects of • whIle the studIes carned out so maintenance of waterways Industry and shIpping) • change m hydrology and dredging on manne bIOta far do not mdlcate that metals are and port-related hydrodynamICs also In relatIOn to eaSIly mobIlised by dredging, the development commercIal fishmg contammatIOn In certam 'hot- spots' IS so hIgh that the process of mobIlIsatIOn of contammants through dredging (and ItS effects on bIOta) should be further studIed ------

ISSUE MAIN PROCESS HUMAN SYSTEM NATURAL SYSTEM DATA GAPS SOLUTIONS ErosIOn • bank erosIOn due to floods • change m land use patterns • geomorphology • lack of data to compose an • momtonng program to measure along the nver and ItS • cattle grazIng • hydrology and accurate sediment budget suspended sediment tnbutanes hydrodynamiCs • compose short-term and long- • chmate/ramfall term sediment budgets (mcludIng contnbutlOns of tnbutanes and losses to Hexham Swamo) • long-term sedimentatIOn and • change m land use patterns • geomorphology • lack of understandmg about • mom tor changes m depth of the erosIOn processes and • hydrology and contnbutlOn of tidal rIver mfilhng of the estuary hydrodynamiCs sedimentatIOn • as tIdal discharge IS usually larger • tidal regime than n ver discharge the magmtude of upstream sediment transport, and the effects on mfilhng, should be assessed Floodmg • mundatlOn of urban, • change In land use patterns • geomorphology • effects of flood-Induced • study changes m vegetatIOn mdustnal and natural areas • land reclamatIOn and flood • chmate/ramfall sediment transport (and compositIOn and dlstnbutlOn over dehvery to floodplams) on rrutIgatlOn works • hydrology and time and hnk these changes to hydrodynamics terrestnal and aquatic flora flood events and fauna • erosJOn and sedimentatIOn

PollutIOn • bUild up of contammated • mdustnal actIvity (e g port • hydrology and • lack of data about the • study chemical processes sediments along the south mdustry) hydrodynamiCs effects of contammants on concerned With pollutIOn m arm of the Hunter River • disperSIOn aquatic and terrestnal flora sediments and effects on hvmg • sediment contammatlOn and fauna orgamsms mechamsms • effects on flora/fauna Water QualIty • mdustnal, agncultural and • regIOnal economy • hydrology and • data has sparse coverage • aim to define water qualIty m urban runoff mto the nver • sewage hydrodynamiCs over broad spatlo-temporal terms of quantificatIOn of key • publIc awareness of • disperSIOn domam environmental processes environmental problems • leachate from garbage dump • regIOnal economy • hydrology and • data has sparse coverage • aim to define water quality m fi II Sl tes and sewerage • zomng hydrodynamics over broad spatlO-temporal terms of quantificatIOn of key overflow • disperSIOn domaIn environmental processes • sedimentatIOn at storm water • commercial acllvlty (e g • geomorphology • lack of data about the • momtonng at stormwater outlets outlets due to non- bUIldIng mdustry) • hydrology and effects of sediment flows complIance With sediment hydrodynamiCs from bUlldmg sites mto the and water quahty controls m estuary system • disperSIOn eXlstmg and new develooments --- - L ------

ISSUE MAIN PROCESS HUMAN SYSTEM NATURAL SYSTEM DATA GAPS SOLUTIONS Sand and Gravel • balance between resource • regIonal economIcs • geomorphology • lack of data about quanlIlIes • mom tor quantItIes of sand and ExtractIOn utIlIsatIOn and effects on • ecosystem resilience that are beIng extracted gravel extractIOn natural envIronment • lack of understandIng about • study the changes to the natural the effects of sand and envIronment (e g habItats, gravel extractIOn on the dIversIty) In the VICInIty to natural envIronment extractIon actlvllIes • effects on rIver stabIlIty • land use • geomorphology • lack of understandIng about • study the changes to the natural • hydrology and the effects of sand and enVlfonment (e g habItats, I gravel extractIon on the dIverSIty) In the vlclmty to I hydrodynamICs I natural environment extractIon actIvItIes Recreational • conflIcts between • publIc partICIpatIOn • hydrology and • no data about the types of • mOnitor recreattonal actIVIties and recreatIOnal boatIng and • conflIct resolutIOn hydrodynamICs recreatIonal actIvItIes and changes to natural envIronment commerCIal actIvItIes • pollutIOn when and where they take _place • effects on natural • recreatIOn • geomorphology • there IS a lack of data about • a recreatIOnal fishIng survey IS envIronment of recreatIonal • publIc awareness • hydrology and the effects of recreatIOnal currently beIng undertaken and actlvllIes, IncludIng fishmg hydrodynamICs aclIvltles on the natural there seems no need for further envIronment Yet, fishmg mvestlgatlOns at thIs stage • pollutIOn actlVltles are strongly • ecosystem reSIlIence regulated and there are no

sIgnals of major I dIsturbances • Improvement of publIc • recreatIOn • hydrology and • no data about the types of • establIsh facllIlIes m publIc reserves around the rIver • publIc partICIpatIOn hydrodynamICs recreatIOnal actIvItIes and reserves (tOIlets, plcmc tables) when and where they take foreshore • publIc awareness • pollutIon • educate the publIc by placmg place mformatlve sIgns about the natural envIronment and how to

preserve It I • safety of publIc usmg the • cultural • hydrology and • no data about the types of • educate the publIc by placmg fiver hydrodynamICs recreatIOnal actlvllIes and mformatl ve sIgns about the the pOSSIble rIsks mvolved potentIal dangers of recreatIng m for the publIc a natural envIronment Hentage • herItage structures and other • cultural • geomorphOlogy • AborIgInal and European • no need for further data collectIOn VIsually slgmficant features • publIc partIcIpatIon • hydrology and herItage sItes have been studIes • land use hydrodynamICs IdenlIfied and theIr conservatIOn IS a baSIC consIderatIOn m , --- development plans I ------

ISSUE MAIN PROCESS HUMAN SYSTEM NATURAL SYSTEM DATA GAPS SOLUTIONS Flshmg • conflIcts between use of the • regIOnal economy • geomorphology • catches have been consistent • the current situation does not estuary for commercial • publIc partiCipatIOn • hydrology and over the years possibly indicate a need for major fishing and the natural • conflict resolutIOn hydrodynamics indicating that there are no investigations, If catches drop environment major negative effects on drastically the sustaInabllIty of • pollutIOn the natural environment (?) flshenes should be investigated • ecosystem resIlIence • introductIOn of obstacles to • flood mitigatIOn works • hydrology and • no data about effects on fish • investigate effects of fish fish passage (including eland use hydrodynamics and prawn production passages on fish and prawn floodgates, low level road • pollutIOn productIOn If catches drop croSSings and culverts) drastIcally I I 3.4 Considerations for Recommendations From Table 3 1, a general overvIew concernIng data gaps In the Hunter Estuary Processes I Study can be derIved The prevIOus dIscussIOns make clear that data collectIOn and the development of models should Involve more than Just provIdIng InformatIOn on the state of the estuary enVlfonment InformatIOn should help to IdentIfy trends, help the deCISIOn-maker I to ask the rIght questIOns and gUIde the chOIce for management tools

The general recommendatIOn for the next phase of the Hunter Estuary Processes Study IS to I gaIn further knowledge about the effects of human activity on the natural functioning of the Hunter estuary ThIS necessItates a large scale vIew As was undertaken In Table 3 1, It IS necessary to first IdentIfy the key processes Involved and theIr role In management Issues An I example study could focus on the poorly understood chaIn of reactIOns that leads to loss of habItat and blOdlvefSlty In the Hunter estuary AVaIlable InformatIOn tells us that the InstallatIOn of flood mItIgatIOn works has Jed to changes In hydrology and sedIment fluxes I ThIS has led to loss of habItat and consequently loss of bIOdIverSIty WhIle the general mechanism IS known, there IS no solid understandIng of the rates of change, thelf temporal I and spatial variability etc In order to develop more detaIled recommendatIOns for mOnitorIng In the Hunter estuary, It IS necessary to link them to the avaIlable management tools In the estuary management I framework on a local level I 34 1 Estuary Management Framework In general, the key to successful envlfonmental management IS to adopt a mIX of Instruments to achIeve the objectIves that have been set A WIde varIety of coastal zone management I Instruments IS avaIlable, such as (adapted from OECD 1997) • collectIOn and updatIng of relevant InfOrmatIOn and development of coastal enVIronment I IndIcators to gUIde planning and mOnitorIng of actIVItIes and processes • establishment of envIronmental objectIves for land use plannIng and zonIng, conservatIOn reqUIrements, ecosystem protectIOn and restoratIOn, water qualIty for receIVIng waters and I waters flOWIng Into the coastal zone, and control and reductIon of Inputs from pollutIng and hazardous substances • establIshment and mamtenance of mOnitorIng and enforcement procedures for I envIronmental objectIves and targets • envIronmental assessment mcorporatmg economIC and SOCIal CrIterIa • publIc educatIOn and partICIpatIOn In declslon-makmg at an early stage of polIcy I formulatIOn and project assessment, and adoptIOn of WIder public partICIpatIOn procedures • applIcatIOn of regulatIOns and economIc mstruments WIthIn the framework of the 'Polluter I Pays PrIncIple', and prIcmg coastal zone resources to reflect SOCIal costs of use and depletIOn • where appropnate, enactment of natIOnal legIslatIOn to enforce coastal zone management I objectIves I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 28 I 1 March, 2002 I I I CouncIl IS responsible for estuary and catchment management and planmng Major legislative acts that are associated with Council's responsibIlity are the EnvIronmental Plannmg and I Assessment Act 1979 and the Local Government Act 1919 The functIOns and control that flow out of these acts are shown m Table 3 2

I Table 3.2 Legislation Associated with Council Estuarine Management

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act Local Government Act I 1979 1919 • environmental protectIOn and tree preservatIOn • bUlldmg controls • zonmg of land use • management of public reserves, public I • protectIOn of hentage Items wharves and bathmg areas • development standards • dredgmg • conditIOns of development consent I • environmental Impact assessment

Accordmg to the Estuary Management Manual (1992) CouncIl should Implement Estuary I Management Plans through local environmental plans (LEPs), development control plans (DCPs), bUlldmg policies and public works

I LEPs are the basiS for most land use control and establish zonmgs With permissible land uses, prohibited uses and development controls for each zone (Estuary Management Manual 1992) I DCPs rum to provide more detailed gUidelmes for applymg controls con tamed m an LEP I 3.5 Recommendations for Monitoring in the Hunter Estuary The rum of a momtonng strategy (see SectIOn 3 3) IS the detectIOn of trends m the conditIOn of the Hunter estuary system Followmg the diSCUSSIOn m the prevIOus sectIOns the mrun data I collectIOn needs to be focused on gammg process understandmg Therefore MHL recommends to undertake a process monitoring program I Process momtonng for trends necessitates adoptmg a long-term view and the development of long-mnmng programs WIthm these programs both high frequency and lower frequency measurements should be undertaken Most of the data that IS currently available for the I Hunter estuary IS of a short-term, small scale nature (e g seasonal variability IS well understood) The major gaps that were encountered m the data mvolves processes takmg place on longer time scales and (mostly) larger spatial scales ThiS IS clearly a SituatIOn m I which data, mformatlOn and process knowledge are avaIlable at scales different from those relevant from a management perspective (see SectIOn 2 2) If Issues are studied at a small scale level, thiS mvolves different processes and rates than a large scale focus Naturally thiS I leads to an mcomplete or madequate understandmg of the processes mvolved To overcome the current 'data gaps' for understandmg changes m the estuary, momtonng programs need to I be deSigned With a focus on long-term process understandmg One-off momtonng exercises can be undertaken to gam speCific process understandmg at the I local scale Ongomg momtonng programs to detect trends may encompass • IdentificatIOn of effects of mstallatlOn of flood mitigatIOn works on hydrology and I sediment fluxes

DRAFT MHLI095 - 29 I 1 March, 2002 I I I • IdentIfIcatIOn of key envIronmental processes leadlllg to loss of habItat and the specIes they support I • measurement of suspended sedIment III an effort to compose short-term and long-term sedIment budgets • IdentificatIOn of the effects of flood events III terms of changes III vegetatIOn compositIOn I and dlstnbutIOn • IdentifIcatIOn and quantIficatIOn of pollutIOn sources and theIr zone of Impact I • targeted chemIcal and ecologIcal processes studIes aImed at testlllg hypotheses concerned wIth water and sedIment qualIty effects on natural envIronment

I A more detaIled momtonng program can be establIshed III close consultatIOn wIth CouncIl An Iterative pnontlsatlOn IS reqUIred III whIch the opportumtles that CouncIl has III managlllg a complex estuary system are taken Illto account Furthermore, the spatIal and temporal scales I of momtonng programs as well as avaIlable fundlllg are Important consIderatIOns I I I I I I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 30 I 1 March, 2002 I Land Use Change with development of urban areas such as I Newcasije. Maiijand. Raymond Terrace. Morpeth. Seaham. Paterson Water Quality issues such as algal blooms in upper estuary in A response to nutrient inputs. General increase in turbidity due to I catchment practices flooding In lower estuary in extreme events

I PATERSON I SEAHAM I I I

Bank erosion from Oakhampton I to Morpeth due to callie grazing and land use changes I

pePOsltlon between Loss of habitat such as saltmarsh Morpeth and Hexham and open water bodies. expansion I of mangroves due to construction levees and drains to restrict tidal I Change of habitat due to construction of floodgates and flood mitigation work. Changes to hydrology and tidal regime has led to I saltmarsh and mangroves being replaced by fresh! brackish weijand --. Hexhem I Loss of blodlyerslty s-.

Oyster and prawn industries I affected by Industrial pollutants Sediment in south arm contaminated...... with metals and PAHs from Industry. Contamination levels suggest adverse I biological impacts Aboriginal and European heritage considered in development plans. Newcasije adopted NEWCASTlE City Wide Heritage Policy in 1998 to acknowledge I heritage places THROSBY CREEK Pollution of Throsby Creek with high levels of organochlorine pesticides Ocean I and heavy metals. Inputs from urban predglng for maintenance of waterways. and industrial land uses Changed hydrology and hydrodynamics. possibly mobilisation of contaminants in sediment. Consequential effects on I biota

NSW DEPARTMENT 095 OF PUBLIC WORKS LOCATION OF ISSUES Figure I AND SERVICES 3.1 I I I I I I I I I FluctuatIOns m CO 2 Vanauons In Vanatlons In Long tenn sugar level productiVIty ecological change

Process Process Process Process 1 I iii

PhotosyntheSIs Growth and Changes In Global ~ reproduction species (\-J ecologIcal I wr rv composItIon change? SpatIal scale Leaf Plant Community BlOme/Plant I TIme scale Seconds Mmutes Months Decades I I I I I I I Source Beeby and Brennan, 1997 MHL Report 1095 NSW DEPARTMENT TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES IN AN _ OF PUBLIC WORKS Figure I AND SERVICES ECOLOGICAL PROCESS 32 MANLY HYDRAULICS LABORATORY DRAWING 1095-03-()2 COR ------!8 <;' pO Z "c: Z"Tltn co'" ::E Q g; g 0 (3m ~ ~ t: ~ LOSS OF HABITAT 'Ill ...... () :> o Q::E::j ~ on 0:;:: r1 o~ '"?<:: Z ~ on .... ~~~~;t;~*~l~~_ _ ,,_ <:It)structm" mdund~tm~:~e:;~~dS t d ~ ~ mtTIm+m4r~w.A~~t~ij~i~~l111" " " " III 'I'I' " I' () .. "w-_n 10 II fIIIIIITfllllIl~¥H~i o dmH~~flOOdPlamS ~, ~1\~HIJf~UJ!~~L;~~;,;~;l z () m wer water table - subsIdence ""0 --I C .... '>"""""',, '\., \...... "''\...... '\ "'-:'\..••.• '\.->.,,~ '>-''' '\..., ">,.:' ••:' •• :' ... ">.,.""..,,, "',,"' ... '\.,. .., ...... '''1''- ,'\. ~., .. -;::, ...... c.· ...... ·">~t·'>"' .. " ...... 't"t\" "> ...... » 'c eannQ~O t-'na weNege a 'lon' >: ", ____ . r ',:x: """""",,---::.::... "0 -... C/) ~\,,"""""~"'" '0-.\"",:,,:, mcrease ddtse lmen a t Ion ~ m nvers o ---... z greater (fresh water) - mcreased mangrove o "'Tl mdundatlOn of wetlands dlstnbutlOn r o ~l~i?~ilfr~ifdi1~'8f,il&rl~il~ii~~'~s' '~~'1~~':~:~::: \ C/) ~"'..::...... '-"' ...... "',"\...~.:: ...... " ...... _.....:: .. "'> ...... '> ...... : ...... P...... '>...... \.... Impact on C/) o natIve vegetatIon ------' "'Tl I» climatrc -change OJ );! external mfluence '-:! ~;;;;;;;_~~t§: human mfluence

effects on habItats IIIIII11111111111111 I I I I 4. References I AustralIan Bureau of StatIstics (ABS) Census, 1996 AustralIa New Zealand EnvIronment ConservatIOn CouncIl (ANZECC) 1999, Australian and New Zealand GUldelmes for Fresh and Manne Water Quality, draft I BIrch G, Ingleton T and Taylor S 1997, 'Envlfonmental ImplIcatIOns of dredgmg m the world's second largest coal exportmg harbour, Port Hunter, AustralIa' J Manne Env I Engg , 4 (133 145) Boyd, R 2001, Geology and SOlis of the Hunter Catchment, and EvolutIOn and SedimentatIOn of the Hunter Estuary, a report prepared for Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory as part of the I Hunter Estuary Process Study Department of Land and Water Conservation (DLWC) 2000, Hunter, Karuah and Mannmg I Catchments, State of the Rivers and Estuaries Report Department of Land and Water ConservatIOn (DLWC) 1999, Hunter Estuary Data CompilatIOn Report I Department of Plannmg, Sydney 1989a, Hunter RegIOnal EnVironmental Plan 1989, Background Report I Hydrotechnology, 1995, SyntheSIS of DaIly Flow Sequences, Hunter RIver System Ingleton T C and BIrch G F 1995, 'The Impact of urban and mdustnal development on the I Hunter RIver', Dept Geology and GeophYSICS, Sydney Umverslty, NSW MacDonald, T 2001, The Terrestrzal Ecology of the Hunter River Estuary, a report prepared for Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory as part of the Hunter Estuary Process Study I Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory 2002, CharacterisUcs of the Hunter Estuary and Catchment, Report for the Hunter Estuary Processes Study, Report No MHL1118 I Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory 2000, Proposal for Hunter Estuary Processes Study, prepared for Newcastle CIty CouncIl I NSW Government 1992, Estuary Management Manual OrgamsatlOn for EconomIc Co-operatIon And Development (OECD) 1997, Integrated Coastal Zone Management ReView of Progress m Selected DECD Countries, I OCDE/Gd (97) 83, Pans Patterson Bntton and Partners Pty Ltd 1989, Mobllzty Study, Dredged Dump SpOil, Port of I Newcastle (Stage 1) MSB Hunter Ports Authonty Patterson Bntton and Partners 1995, Lower Hunter Geomorphological Study, Draft Fmal Report to Department of PublIc Works and Hunter Catchment Management Trust I Patterson Bntton and Partners 2001, Hunter River Sediment Data Summary Report, prepared for BHP, Newcastle I

DRAFT MHLI095 - 31 I 1 March, 2002 I I I Sanderson and Redden 2001, Sallmty Structure of the Hunter River Estuary, a report prepared for Newcastle Council I Smc1au Kmght and Partners 1981, Hunter Valley, New South Wales Coastal Rivers, Floodplain Management Studies I Smc1au Kmght and Partners 1990, LHVFMS Momtorlng & Assessment of Bank ErosIOn In the Hunter, Paterson and Williams River I The Ecology Lab 2001, Hunter Estuary Process Study, Aquatic Ecology WIlliams, R J , F A Watford and V Balashov 2000, Kooragang Wetland RehabllltatlOn Project History of Changes to Estuarine Wetlands of the Lower Hunter River, NSW I Flshenes Office of ConservatIOn, NSW Fmal Report Senes No 22 I I I I I I I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - 32 I 1 March, 2002 I I I I I I I I I

I Appendix A I References from Technical Report I Charactenstics of the Hunter Estuary and Catchment Manly Hydraulics Laboratory I Report No. MHL1118 I I I I I I I I I Albrecht, G 2000, Rediscovering the Coquun, Towards and Environmental History of the Hunter River, Address given at the River Forum 2000 I Albntton, D L et aI 2001, A Report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Cllmate Change, Summary for Pollcymakers, IPCC I AustralIan Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census 1996 AustralIan Nature ConservatIOn Agency 1996, A Directory of Important Wetlands of I AustralIa Boyd, R 2001, Geology and SOils of the Hunter Catchment, and EvolutIOn and SedimentatIOn of the Hunter Estuary, a report prepared for Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory as part of the I Hunter Estuary Process Study Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Monthly Averages Data, http //www born gov au I Department of Land and Water ConservatIOn (DLWC) 2000, Hunter, Karuah and Manning Catchments, State of the Rivers and Estuaries Report Department of Planmng, Sydney 1989a, Hunter RegIOnal Environmental Plan 1989, I Background Report Department of Planmng, Sydney 1989b, Hunter RegIOnal Environmental Plan 1989, I Hentage Donng, C and M J 1999, Coal, Railways and the Hentage of Newcastle etc, TransactIOns of Multi-diSCiplinary Engineering Australia, Vol GE23 I ERM 1995, EIS Proposed ExtenSIOn of Sand & Gravel Quarrying Hunter River at Oakhampton Maztland I Houghton, J T , L G Melra Fllho, B A Callander, N HarriS, A Kattenburg and K Maskell (eds) 1996, Cllmate Change 1995, The SCience of Cllmate Change, Cambndge I Hunter Valley Research FoundatIOn (HVRF), Newcastle and the Hunter RegIOn 1998-1999 MacDonald 2001 Manly Hydrauhcs Laboratory 1995, Hunter River Data CollectIOn 9 October 1995, MHL I Report 750 Manly HydraulIcs Laboratory 1995-2000, Rainfall Annual Summaries, Contact MHL I PublIcatIOns OffIcer for more IllformatlOn Mounser, G 1997, ReView of the Hunter Valley Flood MItigatIOn Scheme Volume 1 Report I and Executive Summary, Hunter Catchment Management Trust MSB Hunter Ports Authonty, year of publIcatIOn unknown, Dredging - The Ongoing Task' I NSW Government 1992, Estuary Management Manual NSW PublIc Works 1994, Lower Hunter Flood Study (Green Rocks to Newcastle), Newcastle City Councll, Port Stephens City CounCil, Report No PWD 91077 I Patterson Bntton and Partners 1995, Lower Hunter Geomorphological Study, Draft Flllal Report to Department of PublIc Works and Hunter Catchment Management Trust I Patterson Bntton and Partners 1996a, Lower Hunter River Floodplain Management Study Volume A, Assessment of Strategic OptIOns for Newcastle CIty CounCil and Port I Stephens Council

DRAFT MHLI095 - Al I I March, 2002 I I Patterson BrItton and Partners 1996b, A study to assist m preparatwn of a long term sea dumpmg strategy Port of Newcastle, Prepared for Newcastle Port CorporatIOn I Ruello, N V 1976, Environmental and Biological Studies of the Hunter River, Operculum, pp 76-84 I Sanderson and Redden (2001), Saltmty Structure of the Hunter River Estuary, a report prepared for Newcastle Council Smclrur Kmght and Partners 1981, Hunter Valley, New South Wales Coastal Rivers, I Floodplam Management Studies Smclau Kmght and Partners 1990, LHVFMS Momtormg & Assessment of Bank ErosIOn m I the Hunter, Paterson and WIllwms River Williams, R J , F A Watford and V Balashov 2000, Kooragang Wetland RehabllttatlOn Project History of Changes to Estuarme Wetlands of the Lower Hunter River, NSW I FisherIes Office of ConservatIOn, NSW Fmal Report SerIes No 22 Water ConservatIOn and IrngatlOn CommissIOn 1966, Water Resources of the Lower Hunter I Valley Includmg the Karuah Valley Woolley, D, T Mount and J Gill 1995, Tomago, Tomaree, Stockton Groundwater-Techmcal I ReView, Department of Water Resources Parramatta I I I I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - A2 I 1 March, 2002 I I I I I I I I I I I Appendix B

I References from Technical Report Geology and Soils of the Hunter Catchment, I and Evolutwn and Sedimentation of the Hunter Estuary I Dr Ron Boyd, University of Newcastle I I I I I I I I I References I Hodgms, B , 1995 CamozOlc seIsmIc stratIgraphy of the contmental shelf off Newcastle BSc honours thesIs, Department of Geology, Umverslty of Newcastle, (unpublIshed) Kovac, M, and Lawne, J W, 1991 SoIl Landscapes of the Smgleton 1 250,000 Sheet I Report, SoIl ConservatIOn ServIce of NSW, Sydney McManus, P , O'NeIll, P , Loughran, Rand Lescure, 0 R ,2000 Journeys The makmg of I the Hunter RegIOn Allen and Unwm, Sydney, 276p Manley, F S , 1963 Newcastle Harbour - HydrographIc HIstory NSW Department of PublIc Works, Harbours and RIvers Branch, HydraulIc and SoIls Laboratory, Manly, Report I 102, 35 P plus appendIces Matthel, L E, 1995 SoIl Landscapes of the Newcastle 1 100, 000 Sheet, Report, DLWC, I Sydney Patterson, Bntton and Partners, 1989 MobIlIty Study, Dumped Dredge SpoIl, Port of Newcastle Prepared for MSB Hunter Ports Authonty I Patterson, Bntton and Partners, 1995 Lower Hunter GeomorphologIcal Study, Draft Fmal Report to Department of PublIc Works and Hunter Catchment Management Trust I PublIc Works, 1993 Lower Hunter Flood MItIgatIOn Scheme levee bank restoratIOn project - Geotechmcal InvestIgatIOn, Report No 93-HK26, Vol 1-4, July, State Projects, DIVISIOn of NSW PublIc Works I Ramage, R , 1994 Bedrock topography of the Lower Hunter Valley and the mternal structure of the mner bamer BSc Honours theSIS, Geology Department, Umverslty of I Newcastle (unpublIshed) Roy, P S , 1977 Does the Hunter RIver supply sand to the New South Wales coast today? Royal SocIety of NSW , Journal and Proceedmgs, 110, 117-124 I Roy, P S , 1980 Quaternary depOSItIon enVIronments and stratIgraphy of the Fullerton Cove regIOn, central NSW Department of Mmeral Resources and Development Records of the GeologIcal Survey of NSW, 19 (2),189-219 I Roy, P S , and B G Thorn, 1991 CamozOlc shelf model for the Tasman Sea margm of southeastern AustralIa GeologIcal SOCIety of AustralIa, SpecIal PublIcatIon 18, 119- I 136 Roy, P S , and R Boyd, 1996 Quaternary Geology of Southeast AustralIa A Tectomcally stable, wave-dommated, sedIment defiCIent rnargm NSW Department of Mmeral I Resources, 174p Roy, P S, Hudson, J P and R Boyd, 1995 Quaternary geology of the Hunter delta - an estuarme valley fIll case study In Sloan, S, ed Engmeenng Geology of the I Newcastle-Gosford RegIOn, Conference Proceedmgs, AustralIan Geomechamcs SOCIety, Newcastle, 64-84 I ScheIbner, E, and Basden, H, 1998 Geology of NSW, - SynthesIs, Vol 2, GeologIcal EvolutIOn GeologIcal Survey of NSW, MemOIr Geology, 13,2 SmclaH, KnIght and Partners, 1990 Lower Hunter Valley Flood MItIgatIon Scheme I Momtonng and Assessment of Bank EroSIOn m the Hunter, Paterson and WIllIams RIvers PublIc Works Department Report No 0730559599 I Thorn, B G, Shepherd, M, Ly, C S , Roy, P S , Bowman, G M, and P A Hesp, 1992

DRAFT MHLl095 - 81 I 1 March, 2002 I I I Coastal Geomorphology and Quaternary Geology of the Port Stephens - Myall Lakes Area Australian NatIOnal UmvefSIty, Department of BIOgeography and I Geomorphology, Monograph 6, 407 p Van de Graaff, R H M , 1963 SoIls of the Hunter Valley General Report on the Lands of the I Hunter Valley, Land Research SerIes 8, CSIRO, Melbourne, 465-514 Walker, A, 1999 Quaternary sequence stratIgraphy of the lower Hunter RIver valley Department of Geology, UmversIty of Newcastle, MSc thesIs, unpublished, 213 p I WIlhams, R J , Watford, FA, and V Balashov, 2000 Kooragang Wetland RehabIlitatIOn Project HIstory of Changes to the EstuarIne Wetlands of the Lower Hunter RIver I NSW FIsherIes Flllal Report SerIes No 22, 82 p I I I I I I I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - B2 I 1 March, 2002 I I I I I I I I I I I Appendix C

I References from Technical Report I The Terrestrial Ecology a/the Hunter River Estuary Dr Tracey MacDonald, The Wetlands Centre I I I I I I I I I I References

I AnIsfeld, S C and G Benoit 1997 Impacts of flow restrIctIOns on saltmarshes an Instance of aCidificatIOn Envlfonmental SCience and Technology 31(6) 1650-1657 AnIsfeld, S C , M J TobIn, and G BenOit 1999 SedimentatIOn rates In flow-restrIcted and I restored saltmarshes In Long Island Sound Estuaries 22(2A) 231-244 Barden, W. 1976 Report on publIc meetIng held by Newcastle Flora and Fauna ProtectIOn I Society In conjunctIOn With the NatIOnal Trust to discuss actIOn reqUired on Kooragang Island, Fullerton Cove and Hexham Swamp, held at CounCil chambers, City Hall, on Fnday, 28th May,1976 Hunter Natural History 8(2) 117-120 I Bnggs, S 1977 Flood mitigation The NatIOnal Parks JoumaI21(2) 5-8 BrIggs, S V 1978 Hexham Swamp - vegetatIOn and waterbird habitats 1-7 I Buckney, R T 1987 Three decades of habitat change. Kooragang Island, New South Wales Nature Conservation The role ofremnants of native vegetatIOn 1(19) 227-232 I Browne, R 2001 School of BIOlogical and Chermcal SCiences, The UnIversity of Newcastle, NSW, Australia CD Field and Associates 1983 An InvestigatIOn of natural areas Kooragang Island, Hunter I River Coleman, P S J 1998 Changes In a mangrove/samphlre communIty, North Arm Creek, South I Australia Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 122(4) 173-178 Committee of adVice of flood control and rmtlgatlOn 1957 Committee of AdVice on Flood Control and MitigatIOn - Intenm report number 5 5 1-36 I Conroy, B A and P M Lake 1992 A vegetatIOn analYSIS of Hexham Swamp 1-7 Dale, PER, K Burmeister, and G Mulder 1998 Impacts of habitat modificatIOn on I saltmarshes In southeast Queensland 1O( 1) 174-186 Dames and Moore 1978 An assessmenmt of the effect on the environment of the proposed Stage IT landfill scheme at Kooragang Island, Newcastle, New South Wales I Douglass, P, J Johnston, D LewIs, I Munro, and T Yates 1989 lronbark Creek An holistic management approach for a sustaInable ecosystem Volume One The Report I 1-51 Dunstan, D J 1968 FisherIes destroyed by unchecked estuarIne development The Fisherman 2(12) 1-8 I Dunstan, D J 1990 Some early environmental problems and gUidelInes In New South Wales estuanes Wetlands (Australia) 9(1) 1-6 I ErIcsson, L J 1990 Dleback In the Grey Mangrove a case study In Ironbark Creek, Hunter Estuary 1-102 Hamer, A 2001 School of BIOlogical and Chemical SCiences, The UnIversity of Newcastle, I NSW, Australia Hunter Bird Observers Club, Monthly Wader Count, Hunter River Estuary, September - I October, 2000 Hunter Valley ConservatIOn Trust 1958 Hunter Valley ConservatIOn Trust Annual Report, I 1958 - 1969

DRAFT MHLI095 - C1 I 1 March, 2002 I I Hutchmgs, P 1983 The wetlands of Fullerton Cove, Hunter River, New South Wales Wetlands (Australia) 3(1) 12-19 I http Ilwww environment gov au/water/wetlandslramsarlslte/slte24 htm 1701 2001 Ironbark Creek TCM Commlttee 1995 Ironbark Creek Draft TCM Strategy 1-54 I James B Croft and Associates 1980 Envlronmental Impact statement for an alummlUm smelter at Tomago, NSW I Landsystems EBC Pty Ltd 1994 Kooragang Wetland RehablllatlOn Project Strategic Landscape Plan 1-50 Loneragan, N Rand S E Bunn 1999 Rlver flows and estuanne ecosystems ImpllcatlOns for I coastal fishenes from a review and a case study of the Logan River, southeast Queensland Australian Journal of Ecology 24 431-440 MacDonald, T A 2001 Investlgatmg the estuanne wetlands of the lower Hunter River I rehabllltatlOn potential of tidal remstatement followmg degradatIOn caused by tldal restnctlOn The Umverslty of Newcastle, NSW, Australia Unpublished PhD thesIs I MacDonald Wagner Engmeers Managers 1984 Ecologlcal study of State Highway No 23 (Shortland to Paclf1c Highway Corndor) 1-118 Maddock, M 1983 Hunter Valley wetlands buds raise conservatIOn Issues Wetlands I (Australia) 3(2) 71-80 Mahony, M 2001 School of BlOloglcal and Chemical SCiences, The Umverslty of I Newcastle, NSW, Australia McDonald, K 1972 Notes on the vegetatIOn of Kooragang Island Hunter Natural History 4(3) 216-219 I McGregor, W N 1980 The environmental effects of flood mltlgatlOn With particular reference to floodgate structures on estuarme tidal creeks 1-130 I McLoughlm, L 1987 Mangroves and grass swamps changes m the shorelme vegetatIOn of the mlddle Lane Cove RlVer, Sydney, 1780's - 1880's Wetlands (Australia) 7(1) 13-24 Mlddleton, M J , M A Rimmer, and R J Wllllams 1985 Structural flood mitigatIOn works I and estuarme management m New South Wales - case study of the MacIeay River Coastal Zone Management Journal 13 1-23 I Moss, J 1977 Hunter RegIOnal Plan - workmg paper No 18 - Wetlands 10-18 New South Wales Department of ConservatIOn 1948 Report of Hunter Rlver Flood I MitigatIOn Comrnlttee New South Wales Department of Public Works 1965 Lower Hunter Valley Flood MltlgatlOn Scheme 1 I New South Wales Department of Public Works 1972 Hunter Valley Flood MItigatIOn Hexharn Swamp EnVironmental Impact Report 1-30 New South Wales Department of Public Works 1980 The Lower Hunter Valley Flood I MItigatIOn Scheme New South Wales NatIOnal Parks and Wildlife Service 1996 Kooragang Nature Reserve and I Hexham Swamp Nature Reserve Draft Plan of Management 1-47 New South Wales NatIOnal Parks and Wildlife Service 2001 Atlas of New South Wales I Wildlife Data

DRAFT MHLI095 - C2 I 1 March, 2002 I I I New South Wales State PollutIOn Control CommiSSIOn 1972 InqUiry Into pollutIOn from Kooragang Island, reports and fmdmgs of the commiSSIOner I Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens City Council 1994 Lower Hunter River Flood Study (Green Rocks to Newcastle) PWD91077 1-48 I Outhred, R K and R T Buckney 1983 The vegetatIOn of Kooragang Island, New South Wales Wetlands 3(2) 58-70 I Pressey, R L 1981 A survey of the lower Hunter floodplam, New South Wales 1-92 Pressey, R Land M J Middleton 1982 Impacts of flood mitigatIOn works on coastal wetlands m New South Wales Wetlands (Australia) 2 27-44 I Ruello, N V 1976 EnvJ[onmental and bIOlogical studies of the Hunter River Operculum 76- 84 Samtilan, N and T R Hashimoto 1999 Mangrove-saltmarsh dynamiCs on a bay-head delta I m the Hawkesbury River estuary, New South Wales, Australia HydroblOlogIa 41395- 102 I Samtilan, Nand R J Williams 1999 Mangrove trangresslOn mto saltmarsh environments m south-east Australia Global Ecology and BIOgeography Letters 8(2) 117-124 Shortland Wetlands Centre and TUNRA 1992 Kooragang Island Wetland CompensatIOn I ProJeect FeaSibility Study 1-52 SmclaIr and KnIght, C E 1971 Tomago-Wilhamtown-Longbight Flood MitigatIOn 1-28 I SmclaIr Knight and Partners Pty Ltd 1981 New South Wales Coastal Rivers Floodplam Managment Studies Summary Report - Hunter Valley 1-29 Streever, W.J , L Wiseman, P Turner, and P Nelson 1996 Short term changes m flushmg of I tidal creeks followmg culvert removal Wetlands (Australia) 15(1) 21-29 Svoboda, P Land C Copeland 1998 Kooragang wetland rehabilitatIOn project evolutIOn of I an Australian rehabilitatIOn project In an urban settmg 1(l) 749-759 van Gessel, F and T Kendall 1974 Report on the proposed "natural area" on Kooragang I Island Hunter Natural History 6(2) 81-86 West, R J , C A Thorogood, T R Walford, and R J Williams 1985. An estuarme mventory for New South Wales 2 I Wilhams, R J , J Hannan, and V Balashov 1995 Kooragang Wetland RehabilitatIOn Project FiSh, decapod crustaceans and then habitats 1-106 I Williams, R J and F A Watford 1997 Change m the dlstnbutlOn of mangrove and saltmarsh m Berowra and Marramarra Creeks, 1941 - 1992 1-21 Williams, R J and F A Watford 1999 DlstnbutlOn of seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh m I the Cowan Creek catchment manangment area - a report to the SHURE and the Cowan Creek Catchment Management Comlllttee 1-27 Williams, R J , F.A Watford, and V Balashov 2000 Kooragang Wetland RehabilitatIOn I Project History of changes to estuarIne wetlands of the Lower Hunter River 22 1-82 Wmnmg, G 1992 Western Kooragang Island VegetatIOn Study 1-17 I Wmnmg, G 1996 VegetatIOn of Kooragang Nature Reserve and Hexham Swamp Nature I Reserve and adJommg land 1-15

DRAFT MHLl095 - C3 I 1 March, 2002 I I I I I I I I I I I AppenrlixD

I References from Technical Report I Hunter Estuary Process Study: Aquanc Ecology The Ecology Lab I I I I I I I I I I References

I Batley, G E and Brockbank, C I (1994) InvestigatIOn Report CETIIR263B - Momtonng Studies of Sediments from the Port of Newcastle, InvestigatIOn Report - MOnItorIng StudIes of SedIments from the Port of Newcastle, CETIIR263B Prepared for MSB I Hunter Ports Authonty CSIRO, Battaglene, S C (1985) Preliminary Study of the Fish Resources of the Hunter Valley, Prepared for Water Resources CommIssIOn of NSW. NSW FIshenes, Cronulla, I NSW BIrch, G , Ing1eton, T , and Taylor, S (1997) EnvIronmental ImplIcatIOns of DredgIng In the I World's Second Largest Coal ExportIng Harbour, Port Hunter, AustralIa J Mar Env Eng 4, pp 133-145 I Bray, G (1994) RegIOnal Statistics New South Wales, Catalogue No 13041 AustralIan Bureau of StatIstIcs, Canberra, ACT Broadhurst, M K, Kennelly, S J , Watson, J W , and Workman, I K (1997) EvaluatIOns of I the Nordmore Gnd and Secondary Bycatch-ReducIng DevIces (BRD's) In the Hunter RIver Prawn-Trawl FIshery, AustralIa Fishery Bulletin 95, pp 209-218 I Centre for Research on Introduced Manne Pests (1999) Introduced Species Survey, Newcastle, New South Wales, CSIRO Manne Research, Hobart, Tasmama Chapman, M G and Underwood, A J (1995) Mangrove Forests In Coastal Manne I Ecology of Temperate Australza, Underwood, A J and Chapman, M G, (eds) UnIVersIty of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney pp 187-204 I CommISSIOn of InqUIry EnVIronment and Planmng (1991) Aluminium Fluonde Plant Chemplex Austrlaza Limited Kooragang Island, Newcastle, Prepared for MImster for Planmng and MInIster for Energy CommISSIOners of InqUIry EnVIronment and I PlannIng, NSW Copeland, C A (1993) The Ironbark Creek Ecosystem - SectIOn 2 Ecosystems Task Group Report, Prepared for Hunter Catchment Mangement Trust, MaItland, NSW I DeGrave, S and WhItaker, A (1999) BenthIC Commumty Re-adJustment FollOWIng DredgIng of a Muddy-Maerl Matnx Manne PollutIOn Bulletin 38, pp 102-108 I EPA (1995) Hunter EnVironmental Momtorlng Program 1992-1994 EnVIronment ProtectIOn Authonty, Sydney, NSW I EPA (1996) Hunter EnVironment Momtonng Program 1992-1996, EnVIronment ProtectIOn Authonty, Sydney, NSW EPA, Department of Land & Water ConservatIOn (DLWC), NSW Agnculture, NSW I FIshenes, and NSW NatIOnal Parks & WIldlIfe ServIce (NPWS) (1997) Proposed Intenm EnVironmental Objectives for NSW Waters Hunter Catchment, Prepared for I NSW Government EnVIronment ProtectIOn Authonty of NSW (EPA), Sydney, NSW ErskIne, W D (1985) Downstream geomorphIC Impacts of large dams the case of Glenbawn Dam, NSW Applzed Geography 5, pp 195-210 I FIeld and ASSOCIates (1983) An InvestigatIOn of Natural Areas, Kooragang Island, Hunter River, Prepared for Insearch Ltd (commIssIoned by the Dept of Env & PIng) C D. I FIeld and ASSOCIates, Sydney

DRAFT MHLI095 - Dl I 1 March, 2002 I I Gibbs, P , McVea, T, and Louden, B (1999) UflllsatlOn of Restored Wetlands by Fish and Invertebrates, NSW FInal Report Senes No 16, FRDC Project No 95/150 NSW I Flshenes, Pyrrnont Glasby, T M and Connell, S D (1999) Urban structures as manne habitats AmblO 28, pp I 595-598 Godnck, G. N (1973) A survey of wetlands of coastal N S W Techlllcal memorandum No 5 CSIRO WildlIfe Research, 36 pp I Hodda, M and Nicholas, W L (1985) MelOfauna Associated with Mangroves In the Hunter River Estuary and Fullerton Cove, South-eastern AustralIa Australian Journal of I Manne and Freshwater Research 9, pp 41-48 Hodda, M and Nicholas, W K (1986) Nematode Diversity and Industnal PollutIOn III the I Hunter River Estuary, NSW, AustralIa Manne PollutIOn Bulletm 17, pp 251-255 Hodda, M and Nicholas, W L (1990) ProductIOn of MelOfauna III an AustralIan Estuary Wetlands 9, pp 41-48 I HutchIngs, P (1983) The Wetlands of Fullerton Cove, Hunter River, New South Wales Wetlands 3, pp 12-21 Ingleton, T.C and Birch, G F (1995) The Impact of Urban and Industnal Development on I the Hunter River In ProceedIngs of the Twenty NInth Newcastle SymposIUm on "Advances III the Sydney BaSIn", Ulllversity of Newcastle, 6-9, 1995, Boyd, R Land I MacKenzie, G A (eds) Department of Geology, Ulllversity of Newcastle, Newcastle InglIs, G (1995) Intertidal Muddy Shores In Coastal Manne Ecology of Temperate I Australia, Underwood, A J and Chapman, M G, (eds) Ulllversity of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney pp 171-186 Johnston, S A (1981) Estuanne dredge and fIll actlVltles a review of Impacts I EnVironmental Management pp 427-440 Jones, A R (1986) The effects of dredgmg and spOIl disposal on macrobenthos, I Hawkesbury Estuary, N S W Manne PollutIOn Bulletm 17 No.1, pp. 17-20 Kaplan, E.H , Welker, J R, Kraus, M G , and McCourt, S (1975) Some Factors AffectIng I the ColOnIzatIOn of a Dredged Channel Manne BIOlogy 32, pp 193-204 Maddock, M (1983) Hunter Valley Wetland Birds Raise ConservatIOn Issues Wetlands 3, pp 71-80 I McGregor, W N (1980) The EnVironmental Effects of Flood MmgatlOn With Parflcular Reference to Floodgate Structures on Estuarme Tidal Creeks, Prepared for State I PollutIOn Control Commission of New South Wales State PollutIOn Control CommissIOn of New South Wales, AustralIa McGUInness, K A (1988) The Ecology of Botany Bay and the Effects of Man s Actlvmes a I Crltlcal SyntheSIS, The Institute of Manne Ecology, UnIversity of Sydney, Sydney, NSW I Mornsey, D (1995) Saltmarshes In Coastal Manne Ecology of Temperate Australia, Underwood, A. J and Chapman, M G, (eds) UnIversity of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney pp 152-170 I New South Wales Government (1992) Estuary Management Manual, NSW Government

DRAFT MHLI095 - D2 I 1 March, 2002 I I PnntIng OffIce, NSW NSW FIshenes (1999) Status of Flshenes Resources 1998/99, Prepared for NSW FISherIes I Research InstItute NSW FISherIes Research InstItute, Cronulla, NSW Outhred, R K and Buckney, R T (1983) The VegetatIOn of Kooragang Island, NSW I Wetlands 3, pp 58-70 Patterson BrItton & Partners Pty Ltd (1996) A Study to Assist In PreparatIOn of a Long Term Sea Dumping Strategy Port of Newcastle, Prepared for Newcastle Port CorporatIon I Patterson & BrItton & Partners Pty Ltd, North Sydney NSW Ruello, N.V (1973a) BurrowIng, FeedIng, and SpatIal DIstrIbutIon of the School Prawn I Metapenaeus MacleaYI (Haswell) In the Hunter RIver RegIOn (AustralIa) Journal of Expenmental Manne BIOlogy and Ecology 13, pp 189-206 Ruello, N V (1973b) The Influence of RaInfall on the DIstnbutIOn and Abundance of the I School Prawn Metapenaeus MacleaYI In the Hunter RIver RegIOn (AustralIa) Manne BIOlogy 23, pp 221-228 I Ruello, N V (1976) EnvIronmental and BIOlogICal StudIes of the Hunter RIver Operculum pp 76-83 Shepherd, M (1994) A Report to the Ecosystem Group of Ironbark Creek Catchment I Management Committee on the Effects of Flood MitigatIOn Structures of Ironbark Creek on the Fish and Prawn PopulatIOns of the Mangrove Swamp Commumty, Prepared for Ironbark Creek Catchment Management CommIttee Macquarle I UnIVersIty, Macquane UnIVersIty, NSW SInclaIr KnIght Merz (1994). Proposed AugmentatIOn of Shortland WWTW - Environmental I Impact Statement Final Draft No 2, Prepared for Hunter Water CorporatIOn SInclaIr KnIght Merz, Sydney, NSW

SPCC (1989) Coastal Resource Atlas for 011 Spills In and Around the Port of Newcastle, I State PollutIOn Control CommIsSIOn (now NSW EPA), Sydney NSW Streever, W J and Genders, A J (1997) Effect of Improved TIdal FlushIng and CompetItIve I InteractIOns at the Boundary Between Salt Marsh and Pasture Estuanes 20, pp 807- 818 Streever, W J , WIseman, L, Turner, P, and Nelson, P (1996) Short Term Changes In I FlushIng of TIdal Creeks FollOWIng Cluvert Removal Wetlands 15, pp 22-30 TaIll, N F Y and Wong, Y. S (1995) Mangrove soIls as SInks for wastewater-borne I pollutants HydroblOlogza 295, pp 231-241 The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd (1993) Kooragang Island Saltmarshes and Mangroves - a Site I InspectIOn Prepared for GHD Pty Ltd The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd (1997) Investigation of BlOaccumulatlOn In Estuarine Fauna, South Arm of the Hunter River, Prepared for CMPS & F The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd, I Sydney, NSW

The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd (1998) BlOaccumulatlOn In Aquatic Fauna From the Hunter River I - Final Report, Prepared for. CMPS & F The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW I

DRAFT MHLI095 - D3 I 1 March, 2002 I I I The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd (1999) BlOaccumulatlOn of Heavy Metals m Oysters Deployed Near a Dredgmg OperatIOn, Newcastle Harbour, Prepared for Patterson BrItton & I Partners The Ecology Lab Pty Ltd, Balgowlah, NSW Tlmperley, M and Kuschel, G (1999) Swat's Up, Doc? - The Effects of Stormwater and I Transport on Urban Streams and EstuarIes Water & Atmosphere 7, pp 22-25 Walsh, C J (2000) Urban Impacts on the Ecology of ReceIVIng Waters a Framework for Assessment, ConservatIOn and RestoratIOn HydroblOlogw 431, pp lO7-114 I West, R J , Thorogood, C A, Walford, T R, and WIllIams, R J (1985) An Estuarme Inventory for New South Wales, Australw, DIvIsIOn of FIsherIes, NSW Department of I AgrIculture, Sydney, AustralIa WIllIams, R J and Watford, FA (1996) An Inventory of ImpedIments to TIdal Flow m I NSW Estuarme FIsherIes HabItat Wetlands 15, pp 44-54 WIllIams, R J , Hannan, J, and Balashov, V (1995) Kooragang Wetland RehabilitatIOn Project Fish, Decapod Crustaceans and Their Habitats, Prepared for Kooragang I Wetland RehabIlItatIon Project NSW FIsherIes, Cronulla, NSW WIllIams, R J , Watford, FA, and Balashov, V (2000) Kooragang Wetland RehabilitatIOn Project History of Changes to Estuanne Wetlands of the Lower Hunter River, NSW I FIsherIes Fmal Report Senes, 22 NSW FIsherIes, Cronulla, NSW WIllIamson, R Band Mornsey, D J (2000) Stormwater ContammatlOn of Urban EstuarIes I 1 Predlctmg the BUIld-Up of Heavy Metals m SedIments Estuanes 23, pp 56-66 I I I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLl095 - D4 I 1 March, 2002 I I I I I I I I I I Appendix E

I References from Technical Report I Hunter Estuary Water Quality; Data Review and Analysis Dr Brian G. Sanderson and Dr Anna M. Redden, University of Newcastle I I I I I I I I I I References

I AEC 1987 Nutrlents m Australian Waters Report #19, AGPS, Canberra ANZECC 1992 Australian Water Qualzty GUidelmes for Fresh and Manne Waters, I AustralIan and New Zealand Envlfonment and ConservatIOn CouncIl Avery E and R Mam 1999 Hunter Estuary Data CompilatIOn Report NSW Department of Land and Water ConservatIOn, Hunter RegIon I Bartram, J and R Ballance 1996 Water QualIty Momtonng, E & FN Spon, London, 383 pp Center for Coastal Management 2000 Brunswick River Estuary Study, Water Qualzty I Assessment Report, Southern Cross Umverslty Laxton, J H 1997 Water Qualzty of Gosford Lagoons and Bnsbane Water (1996), Gosford I CIty CouncIl Neumann G and W J PIerson 1966 Pnnclples of Physical Oceanography, PrentIce-Hall Inc, Englewood ClIffs, NJ I Parsons T R, M TakahashI and B Hargrave 1977 BIOlogical Oceanographic Processes, second edItIOn, Pergamon Press Ltd, 332 pp I Sanderson B G and B K Pal 1990 Patch dzifuslOn computed from Lagrangian data, wzth applzcatlOn to the AtlantiC Equatonal Under Current Atmosphere Ocean 28(4),444-465 Sanderson B G, I T Webster, S Kwroglou, A Okubo and R Appeldoorn 1995 ChaotiC I drifter traJectones on the southwestern Puerto Rican Insular shelf Mathematical and Computer ModellIng, 21(6), 39-63 I Sanderson B G and A M Redden (m prep) Salznzty Structure of the Hunter River Estuary Walker J W, J Lawler and R Kadluczka 1999 Shortland Wastewater Treatment Works I Dzifuser Performance Study, Hunter Water CorporatIOn I I I I I I I

DRAFT MHLI095 - El I 1 March, 2002 I