Hastings and Camden Haven Catchments Ecohealth Project Assessment of River and Estuarine Condition 2015 Final Technical Report June 2017 Darren Ryder, Sarah Mika, Ben Vincent and John Schmidt UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 ii UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 Hastings and Camden Haven Catchments Ecohealth Project Assessment of River and Estuarine Condition 2015 Final Technical Report June 2017 A/Prof. Darren Ryder, Dr Sarah Mika, Mr Ben Vincent School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351 Mr John Schmidt NSW Department of Environment and Heritage, 41 Belgrave St, Kempsey, NSW, 2440 This report should be cited as: Ryder, D., Mika, S., Vincent, B. and Schmidt, J. (2017). Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Project 2015: Assessment of River and Estuarine Condition. Final Technical Report. University of New England, Armidale. Project contact: Associate Professor Darren Ryder School of Environmental and Rural Science University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351 Email: [email protected] Cover Photo: Waterfall Walk, Wilson River Picnic Area (S. Mika, 2015). iii UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 Acknowledgements This project was funded by Port Macquarie – Hastings Council. Special thanks to John Schmidt from OEH for generous in-kind support in estuarine sampling. The people below provided significant support for the project including field sampling, lab analyses, local knowledge, landowner contacts and project support. We thank them all. Thor Aaso: Port Macquarie – Hastings Council Dr Adrienne Burns, Ana Baker, Max Richardson: University of New England iv UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... v Glossary of General Terms ......................................................................................................... x Glossary of Soil Terms ................................................................................................................xi Classes of Noxious Weeds ........................................................................................................ xiii Summary ................................................................................................................................. xiv PART 1 .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Project objectives ............................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Report structure............................................................................................................... 2 PART 2 .............................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Study area ........................................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Study design................................................................................................................... 21 2.3 Study sites ...................................................................................................................... 22 2.4 Sampling methods and indicators ................................................................................... 24 2.5 Calculating scores for Ecohealth Indices ......................................................................... 37 2.6 Spatial Scales.................................................................................................................. 39 v UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 2.7 Calculating grades .......................................................................................................... 39 2.8 Ecohealth report cards ................................................................................................... 40 PART 3 ............................................................................................................................................ 41 3.1 Hastings – Camden Haven catchments ........................................................................... 42 3.2 Hastings River ................................................................................................................ 64 3.3 Forbes River ................................................................................................................... 98 3.4 Ellenborough River ....................................................................................................... 115 3.5 Thone River .................................................................................................................. 132 vi UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 3.6 Pappinbarra River ........................................................................................................ 147 3.7 Mortons Creek ............................................................................................................. 162 3.8 Wilson River ................................................................................................................. 172 3.9 Maria River .................................................................................................................. 186 3.10 Limeburners Creek ....................................................................................................... 195 vii UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 3.11 Lake Cathie and Lake Innes........................................................................................... 203 3.12 Camden Haven River .................................................................................................... 217 3.13 Upsalls Creek ............................................................................................................... 257 3.14 Black Creek .................................................................................................................. 272 3.15 Watson Taylors Lake, Queens Lake and Gogleys Lagoon ............................................... 280 viii UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 PART 4 .......................................................................................................................................... 298 4.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 298 4.2 Subcatchment summaries ............................................................................................ 300 ix UNE Hastings – Camden Haven Ecohealth Report 2017 Glossary of General Terms Algal biomass The mass of algae in a water body at a given time. Aquatic macroinvertebrates Larger aquatic invertebrates, functionally defined as those retained on a 500µm sieve. Their body length usually exceeds 1mm. Bank slumping The mass movement of bank material after failure. Chlorophyll a A green pigment found in plants that allows them to photosynthesize. Chlorophyll a measurements are an indicator of the amount of phytoplankton and algae in a water body. Dissolved oxygen (DO) The concentration of gaseous oxygen (O2) dissolved in an aqueous solution. Geomorphic condition An assessment of bank condition (e.g. slope, bank slumping, exposed tree roots and undercutting), bed condition (active erosion and smothering of the bed substrate by high loads of fine sediment) and trampling by stock. Ecohealth indicators A selection of measurements that indicate if there are stresses to the aquatic ecosystem as a whole. Indicators include water quality (dissolved oxygen, salinity, acidity, turbidity, nutrients), riparian condition (vegetation composition, occurrence of riparian weeds, riparian habitat), geomorphic condition and composition of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) Compounds of nitrogen and oxygen, primarily NO, NO2, N2O and N2O5. pH The dissolved hydrogen ion concentration. Acidic solutions have a pH < 7, basic solutions have a pH > 7. Riparian condition The health of a riparian zone, based on an assessment of the occurrence of weeds, structure of riparian vegetation, habitat (e.g. logs) and management regime. Riparian zone The area of land adjoining rivers and streams that has a direct influence on the water and aquatic ecosystems within those rivers and streams. It includes stream banks and a strip of land of variable width along the banks. SIGNAL2 SIGNAL stands for “Stream Invertebrate Grade Number – Average Level”. SIGNAL2 is a scoring system for Australian macroinvertebrates based on their sensitivity to pollution. Soluble reactive phosphorus The concentration of inorganic ions of phosphorus (predominately 2- 3- (SRP) HPO4 and PO4 ) in water. These ions are available to be used by aquatic biota. Total nitrogen (TN) The concentration of nitrogen in the water, both in organic and inorganic forms. Total phosphorus (TP) The concentration of phosphorus