Coastal Eutrophication Risk Assessment Tool
CERAT is used to better understand and predict the relationship between land use in catchments and its impact on estuaries and coastal lakes, such as Lake Illawarra.
Photo by OEH.
OEH scientists, Dr Jocelyn Dela-Cruz and Dr Peter Scanes, have developed a risk assessment tool to help identify and prioritise land use planning decisions to protect and preserve the health of estuaries in NSW. The tool is called Coastal Eutrophication Risk Assessment Tool or CERAT.
CERAT consists of:
The models can be used by non-technical users. They are built from readily available and/or routinely collected monitoring data and information.
The catchment models provide estimates of the amounts of nutrients and sediments exported from land-based activities, such as urban development, deforestation and agriculture. The estuary models assess the potential impact of these exports on the water quality, micro-algal biomass and seagrass abundance in the estuary.
The models are best used at a regional scale, such as a Catchment Management Authority (CMA) or natural resource management region. CERAT was used effectively for an assessment of the Southern Rivers natural resource management region, which makes up about half the NSW coast and comprises 113 coastal ecosystems including some of the most productive and diverse estuaries in the State.
The outputs from the models can be used to identify estuaries which are most vulnerable to impacts from land use change in catchments and, therefore, at most risk to eutrophication.
The regional assessment provides a systematic and scientific basis for prioritising allocation of resources for monitoring estuaries and mitigation of pollutant exports at smaller operational scales, such as farms or residential lots. Managers may also use the models to estimate a sustainable nutrient load for an estuary and determine the extent of remediation required.
CERAT will be provided free to councils and CMAs who will be able to use it to review interactions between land use planning and the health of the estuary before investment decisions are made.
CERAT will also be used by OEH staff working on the Estuary Management Program to support councils and CMAs to prioritise projects for funding and to gather critical information to inform state-wide databases on the health of estuaries.
CERAT will be available on the OzCoasts website.
The work was funded by the Natural Heritage Trust, the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, and OEH.
More information
Page last updated: 28 July 2011
