BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 1 Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 the city within a World Heritage National Park Full report in support of the 2017 Health Snapshot BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 2 Publication information and acknowledgements: The City of the Blue Mountains is located within the Country of the Darug and Gundungurra peoples. The Blue Mountains City Council recognises that Darug and Gundungurra Traditional Owners have a continuous and deep connection to their Country and that this is of great cultural significance to Aboriginal people, both locally and in the region. For Darug and Gundungurra People, Ngurra (Country) takes in everything within the physical, cultural and spiritual landscape—landforms, waters, air, trees, rocks, plants, animals, foods, medicines, minerals, stories and special places. It includes cultural practice, kinship, knowledge, songs, stories and art, as well as spiritual beings, and people: past, present and future. Blue Mountains City Council pays respect to Elders past and present, while recognising the strength, capacity and resilience of past and present Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Blue Mountains region. Report: Prepared by Blue Mountains City Council’s Healthy Waterways team (Environment and Culture Branch) – Amy St Lawrence, Alice Blackwood, Emma Kennedy, Jenny Hill and Geoffrey Smith. Date: 2017 Fieldwork (2016): Christina Day, Amy St Lawrence, Cecil Ellis. Identification of macroinvertebrate samples (2016 samples): Amy St Lawrence, Christina Day, Cecil Ellis, Chris Madden (Freshwater Macroinvertebrates) Scientific Licences: Office of Environment & Heritage (NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service) Scientific Licence number SL101530. Acknowledgements: For their generous contributions to council’s aquatic monitoring programs over the years, the Healthy Waterways team thanks Ian Wright, John Gooderham, Bruce Chessman, Rob McCormack and Chris Walsh. Many of council’s waterway, swamp and catchment restoration programs have been delivered through the combined efforts of the Environment and Culture Branch (Natural Areas Management Team – particularly Eric Mahony; Healthy Waterways team), a range of local contractors and Bushcare volunteers. Thank you to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and WaterNSW for granting access to sample within their protected areas. Cover photo: Bridal Veil Falls, Blackheath. Photo: Ian Brown Other photos by John Gooderham, Ona Janzen, Ian Brown, Amy St Lawrence, Christina Day, Murray Fredericks and Christopher Walsh. Report design and figure 21 graphics by Michael Bull. 2 Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 3 Grand Canyon Walking Track. Photo: Olga Kashubin Photo: Track. Walking Grand Canyon Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 3 BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 4 Summary Blue Mountains waterways sustain an enormous diversity of life, provide opportunities for recreation and contribute to local and regional drinking water supplies. Yet many are at risk of degradation, especially due to stormwater runoff from urban areas. The general pattern of development in the Blue Mountains makes stormwater a significant issue here. Ridgetop urban settlements drain to sensitive downstream environments: streams, rivers, lakes, swamps and bushland within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and drinking water storages. Problems associated with stormwater include creek-line erosion, sedimentation and pollution of water by contaminants such as pesticides, fertilisers, nutrients, rubbish, sewage, hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Of the 46 ‘urban’ waterway Blue Mountains City Council works to protect and sites sampled in 2016*, 52% improve the health of waterways within our Local were rated as being in good Government Area (LGA), and aquatic monitoring or excellent health. programs are fundamental to council’s ability to Waterway health was rated prioritise waterways and catchments and to track ‘fair’ for 39% of sites, and progress over time. Each year council monitors ‘poor’ for the remaining 9%. more than 40 sites from Lapstone to Mount Wilson, to assess the health of local waterways. Council rates waterway health by scoring each site’s aquatic macroinvertebrate community, based on the average sensitivity of macroinvertebrates, the diversity of macroinvertebrate families, the number of mayfly, stonefly and caddisfly families and the proportion of all macroinvertebrates that were mayflies, stoneflies or caddisflies. This report presents the 2017 Waterway Health Ratings and water quality data for sites tested within council’s aquatic monitoring program during autumn 2016. Of the sites monitored in both 2016 & 2017 monitoring programs, 69% have stable or improved condition. 31% deteriorated in condition. Council continues to deliver a range of programs to protect and enhance the health of local waterways and catchments, including constructing stormwater treatment systems, rehabilitating creeklines, delivering grant-funded subcatchment restoration programs and running engagement and education programs that build community water literacy. The Blue Mountains Water Sensitive City Strategy (in development) will help the city manage its water resources more holistically. Blue Mountains residents and businesses can help protect our waterways, by making their properties more water sensitive (for example by installing rainwater tanks to capture and reuse stormwater at its source). Council’s aquatic monitoring programs will continue to assess the condition of local waterways over time, guiding catchment and waterway management and keeping our community up- to-date with reliable, science-based information. *This excludes extra project monitoring sites. 4 Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 5 Federal Falls Cataract Creek Waterfall Loop Walk South Lawson. Photo: David W Noble David Photo: South Lawson. Walk Loop Waterfall Cataract Creek Falls Federal Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 5 BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 6 Contents Summary . 4 1 Introduction & Methods . 7 Introduction . 8 Objectives: why does council monitor waterway health? . 10 Methods: how does council measure waterway health? . 11 – Aquatic macroinvertebrates (water bugs) – Water quality – Waterway health rating system 2 Results . 17 Macroinvertebrates . 18 Waterway health ratings . 19 Water quality . 30 Recreational Water Quality – enjoying our waterways safely . 45 3 Protecting Our Waterways . 47 Connecting Kids, Creeks and Catchments . 49 Water Sensitive Homes . 51 4 Conclusion . 55 References and recommended reading . 57 6 Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 7 1 Introduction & Methods Wilsons Glen, Woodford Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 7 BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout 1 21/8/18 4:06 pm Page 8 Introduction Beautiful creeks and waterholes are great features of the Blue Mountains. These waterways sustain an enormous diversity of life, provide opportunities for recreation and contribute to local and regional drinking water supplies. Yet our waterways are at risk of degradation, especially due to stormwater runoff from urban areas. The geography of the Blue Mountains makes urban runoff Our waterways are at risk a particular focus here: stormwater management in this of degradation, especially environment is challenging, but vitally important. Our city due to stormwater runoff is characterised by a string of 27 ridgetop towns and villages. These urban areas drain to sensitive downstream from urban areas. environments: streams, rivers, lakes, swamps and bushland within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and drinking water storages. More than 78% of the 135,000 hectare Blue Mountains Local Government Area (LGA) is protected within National Parks (Figure 1) however the impacts from urban settlements extend beyond the boundaries of land tenure, particularly in regards to waterways. 6,031 ha Protected lands (National 22,607ha Parks and WaterNSW) Private land Council owned/managed 106,394ha Figure 1. Land tenure in the Blue Mountains Local Government Area (LGA) While many of our waterways are in excellent condition, some streams, particularly those with highly urbanised catchments, are in comparatively poor health (Wright, 2012). A ‘healthy waterway’ is characterised by high levels of aquatic biodiversity, including the presence of different types of sensitive macroinvertebrates such as mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies; and good water quality, with high dissolved oxygen levels, clear water, appropriate pH and low levels of salt, nutrients and bacteria. Urbanised catchments feature impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs and concreted areas, which can generate large amounts of runoff during rain. Unless managed using ‘water sensitive’ approaches, runoff from these catchments enters waterways at unnaturally large volumes and velocities. Conventional stormwater systems lead to problems such as creek-line erosion, sedimentation and pollution by contaminants: pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, oil, petrol, sediment, sewage, animal faeces, garden waste, heavy metals, litter and others (Walsh et al 2004; Tippler et al 2012; Davies et al 2012; St Lawrence et al 2014). 8 Blue Mountains Waterways Health Report 2017 BMCC-WaterwaysReport-0818.qxp_Layout