Coastal Management Program for the Tweed River Estuary Community Values January 2017 TWEED RIVER ESTUARY CMP – COMMUNITY VALUES Prepared on behalf of Tweed Shire Council by Hydrosphere Consulting. Suite 6, 26-54 River Street PO Box 7059, BALLINA NSW 2478 Telephone: 02 6686 0006 Project Director: Mick Howland Project Manager: Katie Pratt Project Team: Robyn Campbell, Uriah Makings © Copyright 2017 Hydrosphere Consulting Cover photo: Sunset over the Tweed River Estuary (Source: TSC, 2004) REV DESCRIPTION DATE 0 Draft for client review 21/12/2016 1 2nd Draft 17/01/2017 2 Final Report 31/01/2017 TWEED RIVER ESTUARY CMP - COMMUNITY VALUES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document provides details of all activities undertaken from August to December 2016 as part of the initial community consultation phase of the Tweed River Estuary Coastal Management Program (CMP). It documents the key findings of consultation including community values of the estuary, the current concerns and issues and the community’s relative priorities for river management. Consultation activities included the Tweed River Survey - a community phone survey and parallel ‘opt-in’ online/paper-based survey as well as targeted stakeholder consultation with key stakeholder groups and government agencies. A project webpage was used to provide information, link to the on-line survey, and allow community to provide feedback and information to the project team. Follow-up discussions with the relevant stakeholders were undertaken as necessary and are ongoing. The project is also being overseen by Council’s Tweed Coast and Waterways Committee, an established advisory body comprised of community stakeholder groups and State Government Agency representatives. The Tweed River Estuary and the development of the CMP has generated a significant amount of community interest to date, with a high number of webpage visits as well as direct correspondence to TSC staff and the project team and articles appearing in the local newspapers. The Tweed River Survey received a huge response with 814 respondents completing the online version, and 44 more completing printed copies. This is in addition to 405 people who provided their input through a telephone survey of randomly selected residents. Key messages from the Community Survey Values • The river is valued for its natural and scenic values and is generally considered to be healthy. • This natural setting provides an important recreational opportunity and there is general support for a wide range of passive and active, water and shore-based pursuits. • There is a perception that conflict between river users is occurring and that this risk is increasing. • Some activities are identified as less acceptable uses than others. For example, commercial fishing is ranked as having low acceptability and this is likely due to perceived conflict with highly popular recreational fishing and widely held concern about declining fish stocks due to overfishing. Similarly jet ski use was also considered less acceptable due to potential for conflicts with other users and the amenity of the waterway. Generally there is high acceptance for passive water-based recreation, river tours and motorised boating. Water skiing and wakeboarding were also considered acceptable uses by the majority of the community, although at lesser rates. • Both motorised boating and passive recreational uses such as canoeing and kayaking are popular pursuits on the river, and they are not always compatible (e.g. motorised boating with or without towing can generate noise and wake and passive craft users generally desire calm quiet conditions to enjoy natural surroundings). A key management challenge will be to equitably provide for competing uses. • Despite the majority of people believing the river is healthy, there are concerns about a number of issues that need to be managed to ensure the health and amenity of the river into the future. These include reduced fish stocks, bank erosion, siltation, poor water quality, usage conflicts, lack of bank vegetation, the need for improved access and facilities, enforcement of existing boating rules and litter. Management Priorities Management priorities matched the main issues perceived by the community and included: • Protection of the natural features of the waterway, addressing bank erosion and ensuring good water quality. Page iii TWEED RIVER ESTUARY CMP - COMMUNITY VALUES • Ensuring that usage of the waterway is able to be enjoyed without conflict by ensuring better policing of boating rules (e.g. speed limits and restricted areas), reducing anti-social behaviour (e.g. disregard for other river users, verbal abuse and excessive alcohol consumption), and exploring options to better manage competing uses. • The community was not overly concerned about the continued use of rock walls for erosion protection where necessary. However, wherever more eco-friendly and aesthetically pleasing options are viable, the community generally favours these options to rock walls. • Improving public accessibility to the waterway (including disabled access), improving facilities, planning for sea level rise and undertaking dredging for navigational safety and water exchange. Direct community feedback Direct feedback from key stakeholder groups and the broader community via the project webpage, email, letters, phone calls or discussions is summarised as follows: • The Tweed River Estuary is valued for its scenic beauty, biodiversity and ecological attributes, fisheries resources, recreational and sporting opportunities, conveyance of flood waters, drainage of the floodplain, agricultural uses and past and present Aboriginal cultural heritage values and traditional practices including cultural fishing. • The ecological health of the river underpins everything else and supports the various uses and values enjoyed by the community. • A number of issues were raised including: the need for good water quality; concern about wastewater discharges; pollution from construction phase of development, stormwater and Gold Coast Airport contamination; acid sulfate soils; the increasing risk of flooding and sea level rise; sedimentation affecting drainage of the floodplain and boat passage; bank erosion; bank erosion and controls impacting Aboriginal sites (e.g. middens); specific types of boat wake-generating activities contributing to bank erosion; litter and flood debris; on-river refuelling; reduced fish stocks; threats to shorebirds; environmental impacts of commercial yabbie pumping tours; the need for assessment of the impacts of dredging; dangers posed by speeding boats; houseboats staying for extended periods; illegal boat mooring and recreational use conflicts. • In terms of future management there were a range of ideas and considerations put forward including: annual reporting of water quality to the community; removing wastewater discharge from the river; improved boating access and recreational fishing; creation of more estuary beaches for boating and swimming access; dredging to improve drainage of the floodplain, boating passage and flushing/water quality; investigate and use alternative options to rock walls for erosion control; support for the oyster growing industry; habitat improvements; riparian restoration; involvement of Aboriginal community in implementation of on-ground actions; raising the profile of Aboriginal history, values and cultural practices associated with the river; education programs including school-based education; shorebird management actions; improved conditions for passive recreational uses; investigate zoning for different recreational uses; more education and better enforcement of boating rules; and a proposal for an off-river water sports complex for power-boating activities (tow sports). Government Agency Feedback Feedback from key government agencies involved in the CMP development included: • The Department of Primary Industries – Fisheries (DPI Fisheries) provided guidance on fishery and habitat management. The CMP will need to detail any potential impacts on marine vegetation resulting from proposed management measures and approvals under the Fisheries Management Act are likely to be required; • The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) provided guidance on the NSW coastal management reforms and in particular the new Coastal Management SEPP and associated mapping and requirements of the CMP under current state government requirements; and Page iv TWEED RIVER ESTUARY CMP - COMMUNITY VALUES • Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) provided information regarding boating regulation and enforcement and the status of boating management planning in the Tweed. • The NSW Department of Industry - Lands (DI Lands). The project team will need to liaise with DI Lands regarding any proposed CMP management measures on Crown Land and determine any approvals likely to be required. Page v TWEED RIVER ESTUARY CMP - COMMUNITY VALUES CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... III 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 9 2. COMMUNITY CONSULTATION ACTIVITIES .................................................................................... 9 3. RESULTS OF COMMUNITY CONSULTATION ...............................................................................11 3.1 Tweed River Community Survey ....................................................................................................