Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands and Geographe Bay Water Quality Improvement Plan
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Government of Western Australia Department of Water VasseVasse WonnerupWonnerup WetlandsWetlands andand GeographeGeographe BayBay waterwater qualityquality improvementimprovement planplan Looking after all our water needs March 2010 Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands and Geographe Bay water quality improvement plan Looking after all our water needs Department of Water March 2010 Department of Water 168 St Georges Terrace Perth Western Australia 6000 Telephone +61 8 6364 7600 Facsimile +61 8 6364 7601 www.water.wa.gov.au © Government of Western Australia 2010 March 2010 This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non- commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Department of Water. ISBN 978-1-921675-94-2 (print) ISBN 978-1-921675-95-9 (online) This document has been published by the Department of Water. Any representation, statement, opinion or advice expressed or implied in this publication is made in good faith and on the basis that the Department of Water and its employees are not liable for any damage or loss whatsoever which may occur as a result of action taken or not taken, as the case may be in respect of any representation, statement, opinion or advice referred to herein. Professional advice should be obtained before applying the information contained in this document to particular circumstances. For more information about this report, contact: The District Manager Department of Water Geo-Capes District Office Busselton WA Front cover photo Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands courtesy Bernie Masters ii A water quality improvement plan for the Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands and Geographe Bay Acknowledgements The Department of Water would like to thank the following people and organisations for contributing to this plan: the Australian Government’s Coastal Catchments Initiative for co-funding the plan’s development (with the Department of Water) the Geographe Catchment Council and the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts for their partnership role in the plan’s preparation Kirrily White and Iliya Hastings trading as Naturaliste Environmental Services for writing the plan (with project management support from the Department of Water) Joel Hall from the Department of Water for preparing all maps and selected figures in the plan the technical project management team who supported the plan’s development, including the following individuals: Bev Thurlow Department of Water Kath Lynch Department of Water Joel Hall Department of Water Barry Oates Geographe Catchment Council Joanna Hughes-Dit-Ciles South West Catchments Council Rob Summers Department of Agriculture and Food Nardia Keipert Department of Agriculture and Food Don Bennett Department of Agriculture and Food Shelley Shepherd Essential Environmental Services the steering committee of government and community organisations who guided the plan throughout its development including: Department of Water Department of Agriculture and Food Department for Planning and Infrastructure Department of Environment and Conservation Water Corporation Geographe Catchment Council South West Catchments Council Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts . Department of Water iii A water quality improvement plan for the Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands and Geographe Bay Foreword The Water quality improvement plan for the Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands and Geographe Bay is the culmination of four years of data collection, modelling and collation of best available science. The plan has been developed around the many factors affecting water quality in the Vasse Wonnerup and Geographe Bay, including urban, agricultural and horticultural land uses, with decision support systems and predictive modelling forming the basis of the plans targets and recommendations. The main purpose of this plan is to protect the internationally recognised Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands and Geographe Bay from nutrient pollution both now and into the future. The recommended management measures have been developed to alleviate and prevent symptoms of nutrient pollution such as sudden mass fish deaths, blooms of toxic algae and macroalgae, nuisance odours and mosquitoes, and loss of biodiversity. We face many challenges in addressing these issues, given that Geographe Bay and the Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands sit within a catchment experiencing one of the highest rates of population growth in Australia. Computer models underpinned by sound science forecast the potential impact of climate and land-use change in the catchment over a 20-year period. These sophisticated models have also enabled the prioritising and selecting of management measures on the basis of their expected nutrient-reduction performance, value for money and suitability for specific geographic areas. We have endeavoured to find the right balance between land use activities in the catchment and protection of the environmental systems. Improving how we manage water will be needed across all sectors – from urbanisation through to broad acre dairying and beef farming. The plan builds on the work of the local community over the past two decades to manage its natural resources and this work underpins the implementation strategy. Kim Taylor, Director General iv Department of Water A water quality improvement plan for the Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands and Geographe Bay Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii Foreword .................................................................................................................... iv Executive summary .................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The need for a water quality improvement plan ............................................................... 1 1.2 Overview and aims ........................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Approach and supporting projects ................................................................................... 2 1.4 The framework for marine and estuarine water quality protection .................................... 4 1.5 Reporting catchments ...................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Stakeholder engagement process ................................................................................... 7 2 Catchment characteristics ....................................................................................... 8 2.1 Location and landscape ................................................................................................... 8 2.2 Historical and current land use and demography ............................................................. 8 2.3 Hydrology ....................................................................................................................... 12 3 Ecological values .................................................................................................. 15 3.1 Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands ............................................................................................ 15 3.2 Geographe Bay .............................................................................................................. 17 3.3 The waterways ............................................................................................................... 20 4 Water quality ......................................................................................................... 22 4.1 Water quality issues ....................................................................................................... 22 4.2 Current water quality status ........................................................................................... 28 4.3 Water quality objectives ................................................................................................. 31 4.4 Integrating values, issues and objectives ....................................................................... 36 4.5 Water quality modelling .................................................................................................. 39 4.6 Nutrient loads and targets .............................................................................................. 40 4.7 Load allocations to sources of nitrogen and phosphorus ............................................... 56 4.8 Margin of safety ............................................................................................................. 59 5 Environmental flows .............................................................................................. 61 5.1 Flow management in the Geographe catchment ........................................................... 61 5.2 Monitoring and modelling of river flows .......................................................................... 62 5.3 Proclamation of surface-water resources in the catchment ............................................ 67 5.4 Allocation of surface-water resources ............................................................................ 69 5.5