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

Macleay River
Water Quality and River Flow Objectives

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• Town water supply subcatchments
• Water Quality Objectives
• River Flow Objectives
• Mainly forested areas
• Water Quality Objectives
• River Flow Objectives
• Waterways affected by urban development
• Water Quality Objectives
• River Flow Objectives
• Uncontrolled streams
• Water Quality Objectives
• River Flow Objectives
• Controlled rivers with altered flow patterns
• Water Quality Objectives
• River Flow Objectives
• Estuaries
• Water Quality Objectives
• River Flow Objectives

This section gives the Water Quality Objectives (WQOs) and the River Flow Objectives (RFOs) for the Macleay River catchment, which should be used to develop plans and actions affecting water quality and river health. Only the priority RFOs are listed in this section, but the remaining objectives still need to be considered when developing flow management plans or dealing with particular local river conditions.

Map: The objectives apply to streams running through areas coloured light blue on the map.

Water Quality Objectives

Protection of:

	Aquatic ecosystems
	Visual amenity
	Drinking water-Disinfection only
	Drinking water-Clarification and disinfection
	Drinking water-Groundwater

River Flow Objectives

	Protect pools in dry times
	Protect natural low flows
	Protect important rises in water levels
	Mimic natural drying in temporary waterways
	Maintain natural flow variability
	Maintain natural rates of change in water levels
	Manage groundwater for ecosystems
	Minimise effects of weirs and other structures
	Minimise effects of dams on water quality
	Make water available for unforeseen events

Supporting Information

• This category includes Gara River catchment above Malpas and Gara dams, and Puddledock Creek catchment above Puddledock Dam.
• This category does not include Dumaresq Dam, which was previously a town water supply but is now primarily used for recreational purposes.
• To ensure achievement of these WQOs, existing land management programs aimed at maintaining or improving water quality should continue and be reviewed.
• Augmentation of town water supplies to meet the RFOs will not be required. However, if augmentation is proposed for other reasons, appropriate levels of protection of low flows should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
• Local factors include maintaining natural flows from springs (groundwater); the effects of land management on volumes and times of runoff, particularly in droughts; the flow needs of ecosystems and people within the area; the reliability of town water supplies; and the needs of ecosystems and people downstream.

Map: The objectives apply to streams running through areas coloured green on the map (state forests, national parks and nature reserves); and through other forested areas, if any are defined locally.

Water Quality Objectives

Protection of:

	Aquatic ecosystems
	Visual amenity
	Secondary contact recreation
	Primary contact recreation
	Drinking water at point of supply-Disinfection only
	Drinking water at point of supply-Clarification and disinfection
	Drinking water at point of supply-Groundwater
	Aquatic foods (cooked)

River Flow Objectives

	Protect pools in dry times
	Protect natural low flows
	Maintain wetland and floodplain inundation
	Maintain natural flow variability
	Manage groundwater for ecosystems
	Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

Supporting Information

• This category includes Nulla Five Day, Carrai and Yessabah state forests and Werrikimbe and parts of New England national parks. In many places, this category will have agricultural land uses along the upstream section of the river. In these cases, management will be needed to protect these WQOs and RFOs, particularly for drinking water and natural variability in flows.
• There may be locations where Aboriginal communities collect raw freshwater aquatic foods. NSW Health recommends against the consumption of raw shellfish harvested on a non-commercial basis and local communities should be made aware of the risks involved.
• RFO Manage groundwater for ecosystems applies in areas of groundwater use.
• There are few barriers instream in waterways in this category, but RFO Minimise effects of weirs and other structures is included in case instream structures are proposed in the future.

Waterways affected by urban development

Streams within urban areas are often substantially modified and carry poor quality stormwater. Many local communities are keen to see such streams returned to more natural conditions.

Map: These areas are shown in orange or in orange dots on the map.

Water Quality Objectives

Protection of:

	Aquatic ecosystems
	Visual amenity
	Secondary contact recreation, as a short-term objective, within 5 years
	Primary contact recreation: assess opportunities to achieve as a longer term objective 10 years or more

River Flow Objectives

	Mimic natural drying in temporary waterways
	Maintain natural flow variability
	Maintain natural rates of change in water levels
	Manage groundwater for ecosystems
	Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

Supporting Information

• This category applies especially to creeks within Armidale and Kempsey. It also includes Walcha, South West Rocks, Crescent Head, Hat Head, Stuarts Point and parts of Uralla and Guyra, as well as other small watercourses in the vicinity of the orange-shaded areas on the map. Flows have been modified by increased runoff due to hard-surfacing of urban areas.
• In some urban waterways aquatic ecosystems are considerably modified. A return to pristine aquatic ecosystems in these areas is unlikely and impractical, however, water quality conditions for existing ecosystems can be improved greatly for the benefit of local species and broader catchment health. Data from other local aquatic ecosystems of similar type, in areas that are not urbanised, may provide achievable criteria for these modified aquatic ecosystems.

Uncontrolled streams

Uncontrolled streams and waterbodies are not in estuaries or the other categories. Their flow patterns are largely natural but may have been altered to a limited degree.

Map: Uncontrolled streams are shown as blue lines on the map.

Water Quality Objectives

Protection of:

	Aquatic ecosystems
	Visual amenity
	Secondary contact recreation
	Primary contact recreation
	Livestock water supply
	Irrigation water supply
	Homestead water supply
	Drinking water at point of supply-Disinfection only
	Drinking water at point of supply-Clarification and disinfection
	Drinking water at point of supply-Groundwater
	Aquatic foods (cooked)

River Flow Objectives

	Protect pools in dry times
	Protect natural low flows
	Protect important rises in water levels
	Maintain wetland and floodplain inundation
	Mimic natural drying in temporary waterways
	Maintain natural flow variability
	Manage groundwater for ecosystems
	Minimise effects of weirs and other structures

Supporting Information

• This category includes a significant town water supply, with the current lower Macleay town water supply being taken from two groundwater recharge systems in alluvial gravels upstream of Kempsey, and management of this area needs to take this use into account.
• Current irrigation uses from tidal but non-saline zones in these streams need to be recognised in management decisions.
• There may be locations where Aboriginal communities collect raw freshwater aquatic foods. NSW Health recommends against the consumption of raw shellfish harvested on a non-commercial basis and local communities should be made aware of the risks involved.
• There is a major water supply offtake point planned for the Macleay River just upstream of Belgrave Falls from where water is to be pumped to an off-river storage dam on Fattorini Creek. Issues associated with protecting the raw source of drinking water need to be considered for areas upstream of the offtake.

Controlled rivers with altered flow patterns

In these rivers, the average volume of flow is close to natural but patterns of flow are altered by a moderately large dam. Water trapped by the dam is released in a pattern to suit either hydro-electric or downstream demands for town water.

Map: This category applies to the Oaky River, shown as a pink line on the map.

Water Quality Objectives

Protection of:

	Aquatic ecosystems
	Visual amenity
	Secondary contact recreation
	Primary contact recreation
	Aquatic foods (cooked)

River Flow Objectives

	Protect natural low flows
	Protect important rises in water levels
	Maintain natural flow variability
	Maintain natural rates of change in water levels
	Manage groundwater for ecosystems
	Minimise effects of weirs and other structures
	Minimise effects of dams on water quality

Supporting information

• These objectives apply to the section of the Oaky River from the Oaky Dam to the confluence with the Chandler River.
• Releases from Oaky Dam through the hydro-electric power station can alter natural flow regimes.
• In assessing whether action is needed to address RFOs, environmental, social and economic factors, including the views of the power-station owner and local people should be considered.

Estuaries

Being dominated by saline conditions, estuaries have hydraulic and water quality characteristics, and potential problems, that are often very different from those of freshwater systems.

Map: Estuaries are coloured purple on the map.

Water Quality Objectives

Protection of:

	Aquatic ecosystems
	Visual amenity
	Secondary contact recreation
	Primary contact recreation
	Aquatic foods (cooked) and commercial shellfish production

River Flow Objectives

	Maintain wetland and floodplain inundation
	Manage groundwater for ecosystems
	Minimise effects of weirs and other structures
	Maintain or rehabilitate estuarine processes and habitats

Supporting Information

• All commercially harvested shellfish and mussels in NSW are harvested in accordance with the NSW Shellfish Program.
• There are ongoing problems in the estuary due to the release of highly acidic waters from acid sulfate soil areas. The management plan will need to give careful consideration to how to deal with this issue. Dredging and disturbance of bottom sediments (i.e. those below water level) can also have major impacts in these areas for the same reason.

This page was published 1 May 2006