Towamba and Genoa River
Water Quality and River Flow Objectives
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At a Glance |
This section gives the Water Quality Objectives (WQOs) and the River Flow Objectives (RFOs) for the Towamba and Genoa river catchments, 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.
Town water supply subcatchments
The streams in town water supply subcatchments typically feed into a town's water supply storage. In many cases the subcatchment may be declared as specially protected to minimise the land-use impacts on water quality.
Map: These subcatchments are coloured light blue on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting information
- This category includes Yellow Pinch Dam.
- Yellow Pinch Dam subcatchment provides town water supplies for Merimbula, Tura Beach, Pambula and Pambula Beach.
- To ensure long-term achievement of these WQOs, existing land-management programs aimed at maintaining or improving drinking-water quality should continue and be reviewed.
- Augmentation of town water supplies to meet these objectives will not be required. However, if augmentation for other reasons is proposed, 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; reliability of town water supplies; flow needs of ecosystems and of people within the area; and needs of ecosystems and people downstream.
Mainly forested areas
Streams in mainly forested areas are often valued for their conservation or recreational values. They often have relatively natural flows and water quality. Many are in national parks or state forests.
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:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting information
- This category includes the bulk of the Genoa River catchment, which is extensively forested.
- This category also includes Nullica, Yambulla, Coolangubra and Yurammi state forests, and Ben Boyd, Mount Imlay and Nalbaugh national parks. Where these streams have areas of rural land-use upstream, the objectives listed above will need to be protected.
- RFO Manage groundwater for ecosystems applies in areas of groundwater use.
- While there are few barriers instream in waterways in this category, RFO Minimise effects of weirs and other structures is included in case instream structures are proposed in the future.
- There may be locations where Aboriginal communities collect freshwater aquatic foods for eating raw. NSW Health recommends against the consumption of raw shellfish harvested on a non-commercial basis and local communities need to be made aware of the risks involved.
Waterways affected by urban development
Streams within urban areas are often substantially modified and carry poor quality stormwater. Local communities are often keen to see such streams returned to more natural conditions.
Map: Urban development areas are shown as orange dots on the map.
Water Quality Objectives
Protection of:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting information
- This category includes Eden and the Merimbula-Pambula 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.
- Existing programs include the Urban Stormwater Management Program, which covers both structures and education and development of stormwater plans and, where needed, stormwater treatment.
Uncontrolled streams
Uncontrolled streams and waterbodies are those that are not in estuaries or in 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:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting information
- Particular attention should be paid to maintaining suitable groundwater quality in the Kiah bore-field so that town water supplies can continue to be drawn from this source and affordable treatment remains effective.
- Many rural dwellers traditionally take drinking water untreated from local streams. There is a widespread community expectation that streams should provide drinking water that does not require disinfection. The NSW Department of Health recommends that, at a minimum, all drinking water should be disinfected before consumption. Rural homesteads require good quality water for non-drinking water uses and for drinking with minimal treatment.
- Aboriginal communities indicated their desire to be able to maintain traditional patterns of food gathering, including the collection of freshwater shellfish. The aquatic foods (cooked) objective has therefore been included for these waters. Apparently-healthy aquatic foods might inhabit these freshwater streams, but the presence of diffuse sources of pollution (especially faecal bacteria), means they might not be suitable for human consumption if eaten uncooked. NSW Health recommends against the consumption of raw shellfish harvested on a non-commercial basis and local communities need to be made aware of the risks involved.
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:
River Flow Objectives
Supporting Information
- This category includes the Towamba Estuary and adjacent coastal lake areas, including Merimbula, Back, Curalo, Wonboyn, Nadgee and Pambula lakes.
- The Pambula Lake, Merimbula Lake and Wonboyn Lake shellfish quality assurance programs conduct regular monitoring of estuarine water quality as part of action to support commercial shellfish production.
- Parts of the lower estuarine reaches are underlain by potential acid sulfate soils, which should not be disturbed. Dredging and disturbance of bottom sediments (below water level) can also have major impacts in these areas.
This page was published 1 May 2006