DOCSLIB.ORG

Healthy Catchments Quality Water Always

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Healthy Catchments Quality Water Always Sydney Catchment Authority | Annual Report 0607 I Healthy catchments Quality water Always Sydney Catchment Authority | Annual Report 2006–07 Figure 1: SCA drinking water catchments Sydney Catchment Authority | Annual Report 2006–07 Sydney Catchment Authority 1 Annual Report 2006–07 Contents Letter to the Minister 2 About the SCA 4 Our key areas of performance 7 Report from the Chairman 8 Report from the Chief Executive 10 Corporate governance 14 Our organisation 16 KRA 01 Threats to water quality minimised 19 KRA 02 Sustainable and reliable water supply 29 KRA 03 Commercial success 41 KRA 04 Building and sharing knowledge 49 KRA 05 Results through relationships 59 KRA 06 Dynamic, supportive workplace 67 KRA 07 Quality systems and processes 69 Financial reporting 76 Appendices 135 SCA Division Report 157 Glossary 200 Acronyms 201 Annual Report 2006–07 compliance checklist 202 Sydney SydneyCatchment Catchment Authority Authority | Annual | ReportAnnual 2006Report–07 2006–07 2 Sydney Catchment Authority | Annual Report 2006–07 Healthy catchments, quality water – always 3 Above: The Nepean/Avon deep water access project involved constructing a new pumping station at the base of Nepean Dam and a two kilometre pipeline to deliver water to Avon Dam, which supplies the Illawarra. Sydney Catchment Authority | Annual Report 2006–07 About the SCA The Sydney Catchment Authority SCA business plan principles 4 Annual Report 2006–07 Our vision The 2006–07 annual reports for the Sydney Catchment Healthy catchments, quality water – always Authority (SCA) and Sydney Catchment Authority Division of the Government Service (SCA Division) Our key values provide details of organisational performance over the past year. Changes to the NSW Government’s • Being accountable employment legislation in early 2006 resulted in the • Caring for the environment SCA being provided with personnel services pursuant • Behaving ethically to a contract with the SCA Division of the Government • Working together Service. As a consequence of the Pubic Sector • Acting professionally Employment Legislation Amendment Act 2006, which amended the Public Sector Employment Management • Being respectful Act 2000, the SCA has additional reporting • Ensuring safety requirements. The SCA Division’s annual report for 2006–07 begins on page 157. Our key result areas The SCA and the SCA Division reports are organised Threats to water quality minimised against the key result areas of the SCA Business Plan • Sustainable and reliable water supply 2002–2007 (as outlined on page 11). From 30 June • Commercial success 2007, the business plan will be replaced by the SCA • Building and sharing knowledge Corporate Plan 2007–2012. • Results through relationships Each year, the SCA also produces reports on water quality monitoring, and catchment management • Quality systems and processes and protection activities that cover these aspects of • A dynamic and supportive workplace the SCA’s operations in detail. The SCA’s annual report, along with these other reports, is available The SCA at a glance on our website – www.sca.nsw.gov.au. Who we are The Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) is a statutory corporation established in 1999, pursuant to the Sydney Water Catchment Management Act 1998 (the SWCM Act), by the New South Wales Government. The SCA Division currently employs about 300 staff. The SWCM Act is the legislation that defines the roles, functions and objectives of the SCA. Sydney Catchment Authority | Annual Report 2006–07 What we do The SCA’s performance against the terms of its operating licence is subject to annual audit by The role of the SCA is to: 5 IPART. • manage and protect the catchment areas and catchment infrastructure works The operating licence may be reviewed mid-term and is required to be reviewed at the end of the • be a supplier of bulk water term. • regulate certain activities within or affecting catchment areas. How we are funded Our objectives and functions SCA activities are funded by the sale of bulk raw water to customers at prices determined by IPART. The SWCM Act sets out the principal objectives of the SCA as being to: • ensure that the catchment areas and catchment Principal legislation infrastructure works are managed and protected The Sydney Catchment Authority is constituted so as to promote water quality, the protection under the SWCM Act. The Act sets out the SCA’s of public health and safety and the protection of functions and the role of the SCA Board. It provides the environment for financial accountability by the SCA Board to the Minister and the Treasurer through the Statement of • ensure that water supplied by the SCA complies Financial Framework. The statement includes the with appropriate standards of quality SCA’s financial purposes, payment of dividends, tax • conduct its activities in compliance with the equivalents and guarantee fees. principles of ecologically sustainable development where the SCA’s activities affect We are also required to comply with a water the environment management licence administered by the Department of Water and Energy (DWE). The licence • manage the SCA’s catchment infrastructure places conditions on the SCA’s management of works efficiently and economically and in water, including access to water resources within accordance with sound commercial principles. our area of operations, extraction, and the release The role, objectives and functions of the SCA are of water to rivers. performed subject to an operating licence which is The SCA is required to enter into arrangements with granted by the Governor under section 25 of the Sydney Water Corporation (Sydney Water) regarding SWCM Act. The purpose of the licence is to set out our supply of water to Sydney Water, and to enter the terms and conditions under which the SCA into memoranda of understanding with certain undertakes its statutory functions. The licence regulatory agencies. expires on 30 June 2010. The licence also requires us to comply with quality and performance The lands adjacent to Sydney’s water storages are standards in the licence or to be developed through defined as ‘Special Areas’. The SWCM Act provides the licence. Compliance under the terms and for the SCA’s joint management of the Special Area conditions of the licence is regulated by the lands with the Department of Environment and Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Climate Change (DECC). This involves preparing (IPART). The Governor is able to renew the licence plans of management for all Special Areas to for a maximum of five years at a time. maintain ecological integrity and protect water quality. The plans guide the SCA’s programs of works in the Special Areas. Sydney Catchment Authority | Annual Report 2006–07 Principal regulations Consultation during development of the plan highlighted community expectation that the 6 The SCA regulates activities that impact on catchment government act to provide a secure supply of water. lands and water quality. It uses regulations made The NSW Government’s aim is to ensure that reliable under the SWCM Act and planning instruments made supplies remain available and affordable while under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act populations grow and conditions change. In 1979 (EPA Act). addition, the government aims for this supply to be The Sydney Water Catchment Management delivered in the most cost efficient and sustainable (General) Regulation 2000 allows the SCA to way. Secure supplies of quality water are needed for regulate access and activities in its controlled and drinking, farming, industry and residential use, and Special Areas. The Sydney Water Catchment for sustaining the health of our rivers and wetlands. Management (Environment Protection) Regulation The 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan, already in place, 2001 allows us to protect water quality and manage identifies actions to secure water for Sydney’s the catchments by exercising certain regulatory future, by increasing recycling, reducing demand, functions under the Protection of the Environment and increasing supply. For the SCA, this involves: Operations Act 1997 with regard to non-scheduled premises and activities. • accessing deep water in our dams Under Section 117 of the EPA Act, the SCA is able to • developing options for increasing water influence development in the catchments and transfers from the Shoalhaven council amendments to local environmental plans • preparing to tap into groundwater reserves if (LEPs). The purpose is to ensure the plans contain needed to respond to worsening drought adequate measures to protect the catchments and conditions water quality. • researching the impact of climate change on The SCA is managed by the Chief Executive in water supplies accordance with policies and directions as • implementing new environmental water releases determined by the Board who is also subject to any from dams to improve river health which require direction of the Minister for Climate Change, building new outlet works at several dams and Environment and Water given in accordance with identifying works that may be required to weirs the SWCM Act. downstream of these water supply dams to allow the passage of the flows and fish past Our responsibilities under these barriers. the State Plan The State Plan, A New Direction for NSW, was launched by the Premier, the Hon Morris Iemma, on 14 November 2006. The State Plan sets out five areas of activity, including ‘Environment for living’ in which the government commits to protect the environment while delivering practical
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Professionals Australia's Response on Behalf of Members in Relation to The
    Professionals Australia’s response on behalf of members in relation to the proposed restructure PA met with engineers who work in the Engineering Division on two occasions at WNSW Parramatta offices with members dialling-in from regional NSW. PA encouraged members to put forward their professional views on the proposed restructure on whether it addressed existing problems. PA has received some very detailed responses from our members. It is clear there is a high level of concern that the restructure will have undesired impacts on both employees and the functions of Engineering. Many members have taken the opportunity to respond directly to the WNSW email address set up for feedback. This submission does not repeat those comments. This submission is concerned with the first order issue – Does the restructure enhance the undertaking of engineering functions by WaterNSW or not? The next level of concerns which appear to be the main focus of the input provided via the WNSW email are the detail of position descriptions and the arrangements for filling the structure. We understand such matters have also attracted a large number of comments and concerns from members. However, those issues arise only when the first order issue is satisfied. The focus of this submission is whether the restructure has accurately identified the deficiencies and whether the proposal will address those deficiencies. What can a restructure address? A restructure can address issues such as resourcing levels, specific function focus and functional alignment. It cannot address issues caused by dysfunctional organisational behaviour, lack of effective processes, etc. Does the restructure enhance engineering functions at WNSW? The view of WNSW engineers is that overall the restructure will not result in the enhanced performance of the engineering functions required by WNSW.
    [Show full text]
  • October 2010
    1 ASHET News October 2010 Volume 3, number 4 ASHET News October 2010 Newsletter of the Australian Society for History of Engineering and Technology th Reservoir, was approved in 1938 and completed in 1940. Preliminary University of Queensland’s 100 geological work for a dam on the Warragamba finally commenced in Anniversary 1942. A dam site was selected in 1946. The University of Queensland and its engineering school are celebrating Building the dam their 100th anniversary this year. Naming the members of the first Senate Excavation work on the Warragamba Dam started in 1948 and actual in the Government Gazette of 16 April 1910 marked the foundation of the construction of the dam began in 1950. It was completed in 1960. It was University. It was Australia’s fifth university. built as a conventional mass concrete dam, 142 metres high and 104 The University’s foundation professor of engineering was Alexander metres thick at the base. For the first time in Australia, special measures James Gibson, Born in London in 1876, he was educated at Dulwich were taken to reduce the effects of heat generated during setting of the College and served an apprenticeship with the Thames Ironworks, concrete; special low-heat cement was used, ice was added to the concrete Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. He became an Assocaite during mixing, and chilled water was circulated through embedded pipes Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1899. He migrated to during setting of the concrete. Shanghai in that year, and came to Sydney in 1900, where he became a The dam was designed to pass a maximum flow of 10,000 cubic fitter at Mort’s Dock.
    [Show full text]
  • Sydney Water in 1788 Was the Little Stream That Wound Its Way from Near a Day Tour of the Water Supply Hyde Park Through the Centre of the Town Into Sydney Cove
    In the beginning Sydney’s first water supply from the time of its settlement Sydney Water in 1788 was the little stream that wound its way from near A day tour of the water supply Hyde Park through the centre of the town into Sydney Cove. It became known as the Tank Stream. By 1811 it dams south of Sydney was hardly fit for drinking. Water was then drawn from wells or carted from a creek running into Rushcutter’s Bay. The Tank Stream was still the main water supply until 1826. In this whole-day tour by car you will see the major dams, canals and pipelines that provide water to Sydney. Some of these works still in use were built around 1880. The round trip tour from Sydney is around 350 km., all on good roads and motorway. The tour is through attractive countryside south Engines at Botany Pumping Station (demolished) of Sydney, and there are good picnic areas and playgrounds at the dam sites. source of supply. In 1854 work started on the Botany Swamps Scheme, which began to deliver water in 1858. The Scheme included a series of dams feeding a pumping station near the present Sydney Airport. A few fragments of the pumping station building remain and can be seen Tank stream in 1840, from a water-colour by beside General Holmes Drive. Water was pumped to two J. Skinner Prout reservoirs, at Crown Street (still in use) and Paddington (not in use though its remains still exist). The ponds known as Lachlan Swamp (now Centennial Park) only 3 km.
    [Show full text]
  • Reducing the Impact of Weirs on Aquatic Habitat
    REDUCING THE IMPACT OF WEIRS ON AQUATIC HABITAT NSW DETAILED WEIR REVIEW REPORT TO THE NEW SOUTH WALES ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST SYDNEY METROPOLITAN CMA REGION Published by NSW Department of Primary Industries. © State of New South Wales 2006. This publication is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in an unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal use or for non-commercial use within your organisation provided due credit is given to the author and publisher. To copy, adapt, publish, distribute or commercialise any of this publication you will need to seek permission from the Manager Publishing, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Orange, NSW. DISCLAIMER The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (July 2006). However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the appropriate officer of NSW Department of Primary Industries or the user‘s independent adviser. This report should be cited as: NSW Department of Primary Industries (2006). Reducing the Impact of Weirs on Aquatic Habitat - New South Wales Detailed Weir Review. Sydney Metropolitan CMA region. Report to the New South Wales Environmental Trust. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Flemington, NSW. ISBN: 0 7347 1753 9 (New South Wales Detailed Weir Review) ISBN: 978 0 7347 1833 4 (Sydney Metropolitan CMA region) Cover photos: Cob-o-corn Weir, Cob-o-corn Creek, Northern Rivers CMA (upper left); Stroud Weir, Karuah River, Hunter/Central Rivers CMA (upper right); Mollee Weir, Namoi River, Namoi CMA (lower left); and Hartwood Weir, Billabong Creek, Murray CMA (lower right).
    [Show full text]
  • Dam Failure Warning and Evacuation Planning in New South Wales
    DAM FAILURE WARNING AND EVACUATION PLANNING IN NEW SOUTH WALES: RECENT PROGRESS AND THE FORWARD PROGRAM Chas Keys State Planning Co-ordinator NSW State Emergency Service Planning for the kinds of floods which would follow the failure of large water storage dams is relatively new in Australia. In New South Wales it began in the late 1980s following the realisation, based on improved scientific comprehension of severe weather and flood events, that some dams had spillways which were incapable of safely passing very severe floods. For a time progress was slow as far as plan development was concerned but over the past year or two it has picked up significantly. Several plans, under preparation for a considerable length of time, have been completed to final draft stage and a number of new ones have been started. At the same time the ‘rules’ by which the planning is being done and on which responses to dam-failure would be based have been fine-tuned. Moreover, the shape of the future planning program and associated activities can be seen with increasing clarity. Until quite recently the State Emergency Service was, like most emergency management organisations in this country, much more oriented towards responding to emergencies than in preparing to respond to them. Planning, as a consequence, was not given a high priority and there were few trained planners appointed to the organisation and few resources allocated to them. Activities involving planning for floods were in their infancy and planning expertise was lacking. Accordingly, the organisation was not well placed to react quickly when, in the mid-1980s, the PMP/PMF revisions made it clear that several of the state’s major water storage dams had inadequate spillway capacities and were in a few cases quite dangerously underdesigned in terms of their security during significant flood events.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Sydney Water
    The history of Sydney Water Since the earliest days of European settlement, providing adequate water and sewerage services for Sydney’s population has been a constant challenge. Sydney Water and its predecessor, the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board, has had a rich and colourful history. This history reflects the development and growth of Sydney itself. Over the past 200 years, Sydney’s unreliable rainfall has led to the development of one of the largest per capita water supplies in the world. A truly reliable water supply was not achieved until the early 1960s after constructing Warragamba Dam. By the end of the 20th Century, despite more efficient water use, Sydney once again faced the prospect of a water shortage due to population growth and unreliable rainfall patterns. In response to this, the NSW Government, including Sydney Water, started an ambitious program to secure Sydney’s water supplies. A mix of options has been being used including water from our dams, desalination, wastewater recycling and water efficiency. Timeline 1700s 1788 – 1826 Sydney was chosen as the location for the first European settlement in Australia, in part due to its outstanding harbour and the availability of fresh water from the Tank Stream. The Tank Stream remained Sydney’s main water source for 40 years. However, pollution rapidly became a problem. A painting by J. Skinner Prout of the Tank Stream in the 1840s 1800s 1880 Legislation was passed under Sir Henry Parkes, as Premier, which constitutes the Board of Water Supply and Sewerage. 1826 The Tank Stream was abandoned as a water supply because of pollution from rubbish, sewage and runoff from local businesses like piggeries.
    [Show full text]
  • Heritage Inventory Sheet
    Heritage Inventory Sheet Item Name Parramatta Road Milestone Recommended Name Parramatta Road Milestones Group Site Image Address Parramatta Road, between Dartbrook Road and Station Street, Auburn NSW 2144; and Parramatta Road, between Platform Street and Delhi Street, Lidcombe NSW 2144. Lot/Section/DP - - - Draft Cumberland LEP ID I295 Former LEP ID A51 (Auburn LEP) Parramatta Road Milestone; and A52 (Auburn LEP) Parramatta Road Milestone. Heritage Conservation Not included Area Date Updated March 2020 Significance Level LOCAL Site Type Level 1 Built Level 2 Exploration, Survey and Events Heritage Study 2019 – Extent Heritage Pty Ltd Curtilage Map Note: Former item number used to identify individual milestones. Revised curtilage recommended – refer below Heritage Study 2019 – Extent Heritage Pty Ltd Statement of Significance The Parramatta Road Milestones Group are of local significance for their historic, associative, aesthetic and representative heritage values. The milestones are historically significant in their role of marking the distance of the journey along Parramatta Road from Parramatta to Sydney. They are a tangible reminder of the continuing importance of Parramatta Road as a main highway between Sydney, Parramatta and the West. While some milestones are no longer located in their exact original location, they relate to their original location and mark the significance of Parramatta Road and the construction of roads by the Department of Main Roads. The milestones are associated with the Department of Main Roads in 1934 and their implementation of the "Type D" milestones for use in urban situations. The milestones have aesthetic significance through their notable lettering and form, and their role as a landscape element.
    [Show full text]
  • Impacts of Longwall Coal Mining on the Environment in New South Wales
    IMPACTS OF LONGWALL COAL MINING ON THE ENVIRONMENT IN NEW SOUTH WALES Total Environment Centre PO Box A176 www.tec.org.au Sydney South 1235 Ph: 02 9261 3437 January 2007 Fax: 02 9261 3990 Email: [email protected] CONTENTS 01 OVERVIEW 3 02 BACKGROUND 5 2.1 Definition 5 2.2 The Longwall Mining Industry in New South Wales 6 2.3 Longwall Mines & Production in New South Wales 2.4 Policy Framework for Longwall Mining 6 2.5 Longwall Mining as a Key Threatening Process 7 03 DAMAGE OCCURRING AS A RESULT OF LONGWALL MINING 9 3.1 Damage to the Environment 9 3.2 Southern Coalfield Impacts 11 3.3 Western Coalfield Impacts 13 3.4 Hunter Coalfield Impacts 15 3.5 Newcastle Coalfield Impacts 15 04 LONGWALL MINING IN WATER CATCHMENTS 17 05 OTHER EMERGING THREATS 19 5.1 Longwall Mining near National Parks 19 5.2 Longwall Mining under the Liverpool Plains 19 5.3 Longwall Top Coal Caving 20 06 REMEDIATION & MONITORING 21 6.1 Avoidance 21 6.2 Amelioration 22 6.3 Rehabilitation 22 6.4 Monitoring 23 07 KEY ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 24 7.1 The Approvals Process 24 7.2 Buffer Zones 26 7.3 Southern Coalfields Inquiry 27 08 APPENDIX – EDO ADVICE 27 EDO Drafting Instructions for Legislation on Longwall Mining 09 REFERENCES 35 We are grateful for the support of John Holt in the production of this report and for the graphic design by Steven Granger. Cover Image: The now dry riverbed of Waratah Rivulet, cracked, uplifted and drained by longwall mining in 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • Dam Safety Committee H Middleton, Mining Regulation Officer, NSW Dam Safety Committee
    NSW Dams Safety Committee (DSC) Submission to the Independent Expert Panel for Mining in the Catchment – Task 2 The Committee understands Task #2 to be: Undertake a review of current coal mining in the Greater Sydney Water Catchment Special Areas with a particular focus on risks to the quantity of water available, the environmental consequences for swamps and the issue of cumulative impacts. 1. BACKGROUND The Dams Safety Committee (DSC) is a NSW government body that was created under the Dams Safety Act 1978. The DSC’s current role under the existing 1978 Act in regards to mining is to ensure the safety of any prescribed dam and to ensure there is no significant loss of stored waters which would threaten lives (other than underground miners) or whereby the risks to the community from uncontrolled loss of storage are tolerably low. In regards to the matter of what is deemed a significant loss of water that could threaten the health of the population. The DSC in 2008/09 in consultation with the SCA (now WaterNSW) developed a Tolerable Storage Loss criterion (see more on this later) in relation to mining at Dendrobium near Cordeaux Reservoir. The DSC has subsequently, due to lack of other advice adopted the same criteria for other mines in the Catchment. DSC delineates Notification Areas around certain prescribed dams and their storages under Section 369 of the Mining Act. These Notification Areas are small areas designed for administrative purposes and within which it is considered possible that the effects of mining may potentially directly impact either dams and/or their water storages.
    [Show full text]
  • Australian Institute of Urban Studies Sydney's Water Supply – a Reality
    Australian Institute Of Urban Studies Page 1 of 5 Print Page Close Window Australian Institute Of Urban Studies Sydney’s Water Supply – A Reality Check: Is There A Need For A Public Inquiry? AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF URBAN STUDIES SYDNEY’S WATER SUPPLY – A REALITY CHECK IS THERE A NEED FOR A PUBLIC INQUIRY? Thursday, 17 August 2006 The Hon Justice Peter McClellan Chief Judge at Common Law Supreme Court of New South Wales When in 1788 Governor Phillip decided to establish the new colony at Port Jackson rather than Botany Bay a significant reason was the availability of fresh clean water from the Tank Stream. The constant flow from the stream was sufficient for the small settlement’s immediate needs. It is no surprise that thought was not given to how those needs could be met when the settlement expanded. The Tank Stream soon ran into problems leading to a proclamation of the first environmental law in Australia. Governor King’s General Order of 14 October 1802 provided “If any person whatever is detected in throwing any filth into the stream of fresh water, cleaning fish, washing, erecting pig styes near it, or taking water but at the tanks, on conviction before a magistrate, their houses will be taken down and forfeit £5 for each offence to the Orphan fund.” The penalty makes some of today’s fines for environmental offences appear modest. Furthermore, the sentence would appear to have been mandatory. By 1826 the Stream had been abandoned in favour of water supplied by a newly built tunnel from the Lachlan Swamps (Centennial Park) known as Busby’s Bore.
    [Show full text]
  • AGL Leafs Gully Power Project Environmental Assessment MP 08 0077
    VOLUME 3 APPENDICES FEBRUARY 2009 AGL Leafs Gully Power Project Environmental Assessment MP 08_0077 Appendix N Historic Heritage Assessment Gas Turbine Power Station Leafs Gully, NSW Historical Heritage Assessment: Desktop Review May 2007 Navin Officer heritage consultants Pty Ltd acn: 092 901 605 Number 4 Kingston Warehouse 71 Leichhardt St. Kingston ACT 2604 ph 02 6282 9415 A Report to URS Australia Pty Ltd fx 02 6282 9416 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AGL is currently developing a gas turbine peaking project in Leafs Gully, southwest Sydney, NSW. The location of the development is approximately five kilometres from the southern urban fringe of the Campbelltown local government area, six kilometres northwest of Appin village, between about two and three kilometres west of Appin Road, and between 600 m and two kilometres east of the Nepean River. This report provides a desktop review of historical heritage places in the vicinity of the proposed gas turbine power station, and the station’s impact on the heritage significance of those places. Those places include, ‘Meadowvale’ and ‘Mount Gilead’ homesteads, and the Sydney Water Supply Upper Canal system. Findings The study found that: ‘Meadow Vale’: Is classified as an historic site by the National Trust of Australia (NSW); Fulfils NSW Heritage Office significance criteria a (historical), b (personal association), e (research) and g (characteristics) and has moderate heritage significance for heritage listing at a local level; The distant landscape context of Meadow Vale and has little heritage
    [Show full text]
  • 2. Land and Water Management Issues in the Lower Shoalhaven River Catchment
    Case Study: 2. Land and Water Management Issues in the Lower Shoalhaven River Catchment What are Some of the Land and Water Management Issues in the Shoalhaven River Catchment? Land and water within a catchment is often managed for multiple benefits that might include such things as agricultural production, biodiversity conservation, good water quality, soil health, flood mitigation and for supporting human lifestyles and living places. Quite often there are competing interests in land use and water management outcomes. For example, an irrigator may wish to extract more water from the river in times of drought, whereas a fisher would want this water to remain in the river for wetland health and fish survival. Thus there needs to be cooperation between individuals, groups and governments to balance often opposing social, economic and environmental needs. Sometimes people get things wrong and past practices and approaches need to be stopped, refined or modified. The Shoalhaven River Catchment has many land and water management issues that are typical of other catchments and estuaries along the NSW coast. However, these issues have specific details and management options that are unique to the Shoalhaven River. According to plans such as the Shoalhaven River Estuary Management Plan, the main land and water management issues in the Lower Shoalhaven Catchment are: . increased urban and industrial development; . flood mitigation works; . acid sulfate soils; . streambank erosion; . specific pollution sources; Industry alongside the Shoalhaven River (starch plant), source: OceanWatch Australia . catchment flows; . barriers to fish passage; and . the possible impacts of climate change. How are the Land and Water Issues in the Catchment Managed? 1.
    [Show full text]