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Gosford and Northern Beaches Lagoon
Community comment on the objectives

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

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

Overview

Because of uncertainty at the time about the area of the Hawkesbury-Nepean being considered by the Healthy Rivers Commission inquiry, no specific meeting was arranged for the Gosford Lagoons catchments. However, some community members from the Gosford catchments attended a community discussion meeting at Toukley on 26 February 1998, when more than 80 people were present. A meeting for the Northern Beaches Lagoons was held at North Narrabeen on 26 March 1998, attended by more than 20 people. Several written submissions were also received. In general, people would have liked the meetings to have been promoted more strongly, as some attendees said they had received little notice.

Value of the resource

For all lagoons, the community wanted the aquatic ecosystems to be healthy, although this was recognised to be a longer-term goal for Curl Curl and the Manly lagoons. People wanted all lagoons to look clean and pleasant in the shorter term. They saw Manly Dam as being the only area of fresh water in northern Sydney that was fit for swimming, and wanted this value protected. Curl Curl and Manly lagoons were seen to be ultimately suitable for boating, but people wanted all other lagoons eventually to be suitable for swimming as well-with this value to apply to Narrabeen Lagoon, Manly Dam and the Gosford Lagoons in the short term.

Water quality

Management of stormwater from existing urbanised areas, and protection of undeveloped and relatively undisturbed areas and streams of the catchments (both bush and rural), were identified as the highest priorities by the community. (In relation to these issues, people felt that the discussion papers could have given more consideration to urban streams.)

There were calls for strict controls to be applied to further development in the catchments of the lagoons, with protection of riparian bush and wetlands considered particularly important. The community felt that some areas should be zoned for limited human use (e.g. the Dee Why Wildlife Refuge and Wamberal Lagoon Nature Reserve).

Stormwater from urban and industrial areas, leachate from landfills, fertiliser use on golf courses, and sewage overflows and leaks were identified by the community as sources of pollutants.

River flows

Flows were regarded as a matter of less concern, but issues were raised about restoring or mimicking the natural variability of flows. The community recognised that the flow regime in the creeks feeding the lagoons, and circulation within the lagoons, had been modified, and a more 'natural' flow regime was seen as desirable by some people, including the opening of lagoon mouths to the sea.

Major issues

The process of developing the objectives has identified several major issues that need progressive action to achieve healthy and viable Gosford and Northern Beaches Lagoons. Comments on some of these are included in Section 3 as part of recommending objectives.

The major recommendations for action are to:

• protect relatively undisturbed creeks, waterside vegetation, wetlands and bushland areas, with these areas then acting as a reference for rehabilitation efforts elsewhere
• control stormwater pollution (especially from sediment, weeds, clearing of bush, use of fertilisers, and gross litter) from new and existing developments
• improve stormwater management by introducing plans to reduce sewage leaks and overflows, and to stop the entry of leachate from landfills, fertiliser use, and industrial runoff in developed areas
• minimise the impact on Water quality

  that surrounding development is having on the lagoons in terms of nutrient enrichment and an increase in disease-causing organisms

• avoid excessive dredging to remove nutrient-rich sediments. Acid sulfate soils lie close beneath the lagoon beds and surrounding shores, and disturbance of the sediments will release acids and toxic metals.
• minimise the times that lagoon mouths are opened artificially. A balance between meeting human desires and the impact on the ecology needs to be sought.

Existing programs

Some of these priority issues already receive considerable attention and resources. The Gosford Lagoons are part of the area of responsibility of the Brisbane Waters and Gosford Lagoons Catchment Management Committee, while the Northern Beaches Lagoons and Pittwater are covered by the Sydney Northern Beaches Catchment Management Committee. Both these catchment areas currently have active rehabilitation programs. The $60 million Urban Stormwater Management Program is providing funds for stormwater planning and improving stormwater management. The Northern Beaches catchments have been granted over $500,000 to improve stormwater management in these catchments.

Where programs such as these are already under way, this needs to be acknowledged and, where possible, incorporated in the water management plans.

This page was published 1 May 2006