Lake Macquarie adopt-a-SQID program
Grant number: 3123 |
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Most of the time Lake Macquarie is a closed system. Unless flushed out by major rainfall, pollutants in stormwater and industrial discharges accumulate in the lake waters and sediments. Water quality is therefore largely dependent on good planning and management of land use in the catchment and around the foreshore.
Lake Macquarie is surrounded by a rapidly expanding urban area and is heavily used for water-based recreation. It enjoys a tourist industry worth $200 million a year.
Residents and visitors to Lake Macquarie contribute to and are affected by changes in the health of the lake. Aspects of poor water quality include excessive algal growth and bacteria, poor clarity and accumulation of ooze. These aspects reduce the lake's suitability for recreational uses such as swimming, boating and fishing.
While the council has constructed works, such as wetlands, to control stormwater pollution, effective management entails an approach involving on-ground works, controls on the sources of stormwater pollution and community education.
The adopt-a-SQID program engaged the community in environmental monitoring and reporting and community education programs. SQID refers to a constructed stormwater treatment device such as a wetland, retention basin, sediment/silt trap or a gross pollutant trap.
Objectives
The program was designed to:
- engage Lake Macquarie residents in getting to know how their local Stormwater Quality Improvement Device (SQID) works by environmental monitoring and reporting
- educate the community about protecting stormwater and local waterways. Groups reported on monitoring results and implemented education programs tailored to water quality issues in their specific subcatchments
- identify how effectively SQIDs were working, so their environmental quality and the health of downstream waterways could be improved
Description
The adopt-a-SQID program encouraged community involvement in stormwater management and ownership of local SQIDs and catchments.
Adopt-a-SQID involved Lake Macquarie residents in:
- monitoring the health of their local SQID
- reporting on SQID performance to assist the council with stormwater management
- educating the wider community about protecting local waterways.
Methodology and tools
The main components of the program involved water quality monitoring and educational activities, supported by a media campaign. Local residents were recruited to the program initially through mailouts (not very successfully) and then through letterbox drops and door knocking. As a result, 11 adopt-a-SQID groups were formed with around 200 participants. Participants attended orientation sessions and Streamwatch training sessions.
Schools, community groups such as Landcare and catchment management groups were also targeted.
Volunteer residents attended training sessions on stormwater issues, occupational health and safety, water quality monitoring and community education.
Water quality monitoring
The monitoring program was designed to be manageable for volunteers and included water sampling and analysis. Volunteers monitored water quality on a monthly basis, and posted the results on the Streamwatch database via the website.
This monitoring provided an indication of water quality and catchment health and was used to establish trends in water quality. The community was involved from the outset, the selection of SQIDs being determined in part by the input of groups and residents.
Community education
Volunteers were trained in approaches to community education. They were supported by the council's Stormwater Education Officer and through funding for projects. These included drain stencilling and local events organised through the adopt-a-SQID groups, such as Envirofest.
To implement and maintain the project the following were developed or organised:
- the SQID Summit workshop to share information and ideas
- community events
- Streamwatch kits (purchased for use by SQID groups)
- posters
- a web page
- t-shirts
- a group manual, tailored to each SQID
- the development of Croudace Bay Wetlands with interpretive signage, a school education kit and brochures
- site signage
- catchment-specific pamphlets
- water bug survey flyers
- Pollution Prevent-a-thon.
Project outcomes
- Industry support – Delta Electricity sponsored one Streamwatch kit
- Results of a community survey indicated improved behaviour among catchment residents due to community education programs
- Recruitment and training of new groups (beyond the original 11) that then became educators themselves in their local community
- Adopt-a-SQID became the central focus of the council's Stormwater Education Program.
Ensure that occupational health and safety issues are thoroughly covered in water quality monitoring training, and that each group does individual site risk assessments for each monitoring and community event.
Water quality monitoring during storms should be avoided for safety reasons.
Project resources and further information