Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program Volume 1 Data Report 2018-19 Commercial-in-Confidence Sydney Water 1 Smith Street, Parramatta, NSW Australia 2150 PO Box 399 Parramatta NSW 2124 Report version: STSIMP Data Report 2018-19 Volume 1 Final Cover photo: Sydney Harbour, photographed by Joshua Plush © Sydney Water 2019 This work is copyright. It may be reproduced for study, research or training purposes subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and no commercial usage or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those listed requires permission from Sydney Water. Executive summary Background Sydney Water operates 23 wastewater treatment systems and each system has an Environment Protection Licence (EPL) regulated by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA). Each EPL specifies the minimum performance standards and monitoring that is required. The Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program (STSIMP) commenced in 2008 to satisfy condition M5.1a of our EPLs. The results are reported to the NSW EPA every year. The STSIMP aims to monitor the environment within Sydney Water’s area of operations to determine general trends in water quality over time, monitor Sydney Water’s performance and to determine where Sydney Water’s contribution to water quality may pose a risk to environmental ecosystems and human health. The format and content of 2018-19 Data Report predominantly follows the earlier three reports (2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18). Based on the recent feedback received from the EPA on earlier reports, the chapters and monitoring indicators have been re-arranged in this report to reflect a widely accepted Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework. The PSR model provides a link between human activities, the state of the environment and the social and economic responses to the environmental change (OECD, 1993). Sydney Water’s overall approach to monitoring (design and method) is consistent with the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC 2000 and ANZG 2018) guidelines. The STSIMP Data Report 2018-19 has been prepared to satisfy condition M5.1d of the EPLs and to provide a summary of monitoring data collected under the program. It consists of the following two volumes: Volume 1 STSIMP Data Report 2018-19: this is the main volume of the 2018-19 report that provides a summary of all monitoring programs, monitoring methods, data analysis techniques and significant trends and/or exceedances of guidelines or EPL licence limits. It also provides a summary of wastewater overflows. Volume 2 STSIMP Data Report 2018-19 (Appendices): includes all wastewater and environmental monitoring data, data summaries and ten yearly trend plots of all analytes measured under the EPLs. This volume is also supported by multiple electronic appendices of data summaries and raw data. Summary of indicator trends A summary of EPL limit exceedances together with statistically significant increasing and decreasing trends from across the coastal and inland discharging WWTPs is provided in Table ES-1. A similar summary across Hawkesbury-Nepean River sites is provided in Table ES-2 based upon ANZECC (2000), Healthy Rivers Commission (HRC, 1998) or National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC, 2008) guideline values. Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Data Report 2018-19 Volume 1 Page | i This page has been intentionally left blank The next two pages are designed for A3 printing Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Data Report 2018-19 Volume 1 Page | ii Table ES-1 Summary of EPL limit exceedances, together with statistically significant increasing and decreasing trends of coastal and inland discharging WWTPs Nutrients Conventional analytes Trace Metals Other chemicals/organics Analytes ===➔ phenol yl oxylate h Total Total nitrogen Total phosphorus Carbonaceous BOD Chlorine residual (total) coliformsFaecal and GreaseOil Suspended solids EC50 Toxicity Aluminium Arsenic Cadmium Chroomium Cobalt Copper Iron Lead Manganese Mercvury Molybdenum Nickel Selenium Zinc Chlorpyirfos Cyanide Diazinon Hydrogen sulphide Non et Pesticides and PCBs WWTPs Ammonia nitrogen Ocean plants Warriewood North Head C/L C Bondi C Malabar Cronulla Wollongong Shellharbour Bombo Storm plants (Malabar system) Fairfield Glenfield Liverpool Inland plants Picton L West Camden Wallacia Penrith Winmalee North Richmond Richmond St Marys Quakers Hill Riverstone Castle Hill Rouse Hill Hornsby Heights West Hornsby Brooklyn Legend No statistically significant trend in 2018-19 Analytes not required in the EPL for that particular WWTP Statistically significant decreasing trend in 2018-19 Only monitored for load estimation. No trend analysis was carried out and WWTP load was within the EPL limit Statistically significant increasing trend in 2018-19 C Discharge concentration outside the EPL limit No trend analysis conducted, most of results (≥90%) were below the method detection limit L Discharge load outside the EPL limit Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Data Report 2018-19 Volume 1 Page | iii This page has been intentionally left blank Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Data Report 2018-19 Volume 1 Page | iv Table ES-2 Summary of Hawkesbury-Nepean River water quality trends and comparison with guidelines (HRC 1998, ANZECC 2000, or NHMRC 2008) Nutrients Chlorophyll-a and algae Physico-chemical analytes a a b c b b a a - green green green c * Analytes ➔ - - c a a green algal green algal - a Site code Description Ammonia nitrogen Ammonia nitrogen Oxidised nitrogen Total total Filterable phosphrus phosphorus Total Chlorophyll algal Total biovolume* Blue biovolume blue Toxic biobolume algal blue Toxic count algal Conductivity oxygen* Dissolved oxygen Dissolved saturation pH Temperature* Turbidity N92 Nepean River at Maldon Weir H L N75 Nepean River at Sharpes Weir H H H L N67 Nepean River at Wallacia Bridge H H H N57 Nepean River at Penrith Weir H H L N51 Nepean River opposite Fitzgeralds Creek H L N48A Nepean River at Smith Road H L N44 Nepean River at Yarramundi Bridge H H L N42 Hawkesbury River at North Richmond H H L N39 Hawkesbury River at Freemans Reach H L NS04A Lower South Creek at Fitzroy Bridge H H H H L H N35 Hawkesbury River at Wilberforce H H H H H NC11A Lower Cattai Creek at Cattai Road H H H L N3001 Hawkesbury River at Cattai SRA H H H H N26 Hawkesbury River at Sackville Ferry H H H H N2202 Lower Colo River at Putty Road L L N18 Hawkesbury River at Leets Vale H H H NB13 Berowra Creek at Calabash Bay H H L NB11 Berowra Creek Off Square Bay Legend No significant trend * No guideline applicable to these analytes Statistically significant improving trend in 2018-19 a ANZECC (2000) guideline applied Statistically significant deteriorating trend in 2018-19 b HRC (1998) guideline applied H 2018-19 median value higher than the guideline limit c NHMRC (2008) amber alert guideline applied L 2018-19 median value lower than the lower guideline limit Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Data Report 2018-19 Volume 1 Page | v This page has been intentionally left blank Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program | Data Report 2018-19 Volume 1 Page | vi Contents Executive summary ...................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Sewage Treatment System Impact Monitoring Program ............................................................. 1 1.3 Report structure and objectives .................................................................................................... 6 2 Monitoring programs and methods ........................................................................................ 8 2.1 Wastewater discharge volume and characteristics ..................................................................... 8 2.2 Wastewater overflows and leakage ............................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Dry weather overflows ................................................................................................................... 9 2.2.2 Wet weather overflows .................................................................................................................. 9 2.2.3 Dry weather leakage detection monitoring program .................................................................... 10 2.3 State of ocean environment.......................................................................................................... 26 2.3.1 Ocean receiving water ................................................................................................................. 26 2.3.2 Ocean sediment program ............................................................................................................ 27 2.4 State of coastal environment........................................................................................................ 32 2.4.1 Beachwatch ................................................................................................................................. 32 2.4.2 Chlorophyll-a at estuarine sites ..................................................................................................