NSW Water Quality and River Flow Objectives About the Objectives Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water   Select from the scrolling list, statewide map or catchment list Select a catchment Barwon-Darling and Far Western Bega River Bellinger River Border Rivers Brunswick River Camden Haven and Hastings River Castlereagh River Clarence River Clyde River and Jervis Bay Cooks River Georges River Gosford and Northern Beaches Lagoons Gwydir River Hacking River Hawkesbury-Nepean River Hunter River Karuah River and Great Lakes Lachlan River Illawarra Lake Macquarie and Tuggerah Lakes Macleay River Macquarie-Bogan River Manning River Moruya River Murray River Murrumbidgee River and Lake George Nambucca River Namoi River Richmond River Shoalhaven River Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River Towamba and Genoa River Tuross River Tweed River Williams River

Bega River
Community comment on the objectives

| Contents | Background | Consultation | Objectives | WQOs | RFOs | Glossary | Bibliography | Map | At a Glance |

• Overview
• Water quality and value of the resource
• River flows
• Major issues
• Existing programs

Overview

A general community discussion meeting attended by more than 50 people was held in Bega, a meeting for Aboriginal people was held at Narooma (attended by representatives of many of the south coast Aboriginal communities) and several written submissions were received.

Water quality and value of the resource

It was obvious from the meeting that people in Bega have long been aware of the importance of water to their local community. In particular, the needs of dairy farmers, oyster growers, tourism, people who drink water from local streams, as well as the aquatic environment's own needs, were canvassed. A broad range of environmental problems within the catchment were highlighted (see Major issues, below), and these are discussed in more detail later. The key issue repeatedly raised was the impact of erosion and sedimentation on local waterbodies. People recognised the need to improve water quality, but were uncertain about the overall costs of achieving these gains.

The catchment community supported all the proposed environmental values and the objectives needed to support these values. Of particular significance were a healthy aquatic ecology (protection of aquatic ecosystems), safe swimming (primary contact recreation), having the water look clean and pleasant (visual amenity), being able to drink the water after little treatment (drinking water supply) and being able to use the water for household purposes (homestead water supply). Most respondents wanted very good water quality.

River flows

The community considered the most important flow issues to be the effects of low or absent flows, and protecting the estuary. People who irrigate do not generally have a store of water, and restricting use at times of low flow would have a considerable impact on their business. There was also some concern at the increasing riparian use of water as a result of rural subdivision.

The impact of erosion and sedimentation on flows was considered very important. The infilling of local waterways with sediments was seen as a restriction on the amount of standing water available for human uses and aquatic needs. The colonising of sediments by willows was also considered to have an important impact on flows.

Major issues

The process of developing the objectives has highlighted several major issues that need progressive action to achieve a healthy and viable Bega River catchment. Comment on some of these is included in Section 3, as part of setting objectives.

The following issues have been identified as needing priority action:

• protection of drinking water, including:
• providing suitable ground and river water for drinking, needing only low-cost, minimal treatment by homesteads and small communities
• protecting subcatchment sources of drinking water and limited reaches upstream of licensed drinking water offtakes
• well-head protection of groundwater supply sources
• reducing, at source, the adverse pressures on water quality in the coastal lake systems-particularly where they involve entry of nutrients, suspended solids and bacteria. People wanted further development affecting the water quality of the coastal lakes to be avoided and current upstream water quality impacts identified and ameliorated
• improving effluent disposal in unsewered areas to minimise adverse impacts on water quality from poor maintenance and pump-out, leading to overflows
• reducing sedimentation of streams and wetlands throughout the catchment, particularly the lower Bemboka and Bega rivers and Wallaga Lake. Sediments that have built up in the rivers are being colonised by willows, which can divert higher flows and increase erosion. Sediments also smother aquatic habitats.
• minimising the risks to people eating raw shellfish, such as oysters, from waters in the catchment. These waters are becoming increasingly polluted.
• controlling stock access to streams. Uncontrolled access is causing increased erosion and elevated nutrient and bacteria levels in waters.
• conserving riparian vegetation. Remaining riparian vegetation is degraded and threatened with accelerated rates of river erosion.
• controlling exotic species of plants that are pests in rivers
• ensuring a degree of low-flow protection in unregulated sections of the rivers
• reducing the stress on systems that have been identified as being under stress
• protecting rivers with high conservation values in the catchment. As a guide, such rivers should not be allowed to further degrade in water quality or flow regime, and may require restoration where water quality is poor, the flow regime has changed, they have suffered habitat loss or degradation, or a combination of these problems.
• meeting community requirements for more information on managing aquatic environments and water resources. In particular, the community wants research done on the impacts of opening the coastal lakes more frequently than occurs naturally, and on the impacts of forestry and clearing on flow regimes and water quality. People want the information base on water quality and biological health to be further developed.
• reducing the impact of rapid rise and fall in river height when water is released from Cochrane Dam
• respecting Aboriginal spiritual and cultural values associated with rivers, creeks, wetlands and lakes; and traditional Aboriginal management roles in, and uses for, these areas-including as a source of traditional foods that are safe to eat
• enabling the local community to be actively involved in developing future strategies and actions associated with the interim environmental objectives.
• South Coast Water Management Committee has been established to develop a water management plan for the Clyde, Moruya, Tuross, Bega and Towamba catchments.

Existing programs

There has been much initiative and cooperation displayed in the local community to address water issues. The Bega Valley Water Management Committee (formed by the Far South Coast Catchment Management Committee) has implemented an interim flow management plan for the Bemboka River. There are many associated projects coordinated by this committee, including a wetland survey, a groundwater study of the Bega River sands aquifer system, an audit of water use, and an investigation of riparian water use. Reports from some of these projects and other local studies are listed in the Bibliography.

Communities, through Landcare, Rivercare and other programs, are already undertaking important on-the-ground projects. The NSW Government has established and funded programs such as Blue-Green Algae Management, Estuary Management Program, Floodplain Management Program, Wetlands Action, the Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Program and the NSW Shellfish Quality Assurance Program. At the Commonwealth level, related programs are being funded through Landcare and the Natural Heritage Trust.

Where programs such as these are already underway in the catchment, they should be acknowledged and, where possible, incorporated in water and estuary management plans.

This page was published 1 May 2006