The tools, resources and information we provide for water quality managers include water quality and river flow objectives, monitoring programs and support for local councils and decision-makers to manage water quality.
NSW Water Quality and River Flow Objectives
The NSW Water Quality and River Flow Objectives were developed for all major fresh and estuarine surface water catchments across New South Wales. They were developed in consultation with local communities and recognise the environmental values and uses people want protected in their waterways and represent ideal natural flow conditions for healthy rivers.
The NSW Water Quality Objectives include a range of water quality indicators to help us assess whether the current condition of our waterways supports the values and uses people want protected.
The NSW River Flow Objectives set out goals for surface water flow management and identify how river flow can protect river health and water quality.
A similar set of objectives are available for marine waters and are known as the Marine Water Quality Objectives.
Update of NSW Water Quality Objectives
We are reviewing the NSW Water Quality Objectives across coastal catchments to ensure they reflect contemporary community values and uses, and as a key action under Initiative 1 of the NSW Marine Estate Management Strategy 2018–2028.
The review to date shows that all three components of the WQOs need to be updated, including where the WQOs apply. Specific updates include:
- Characterisation of waterways according to the level of catchment disturbance – low, moderate, highly disturbed. The latest land use mapping provides more detailed breakdown, as well as captures the changes in land use over time
- Community environmental values and uses are still relevant but need to reflect current values/uses, and our online engagement campaign indicates the need to include cultural values and industrial uses
- Around 30% of Local Government Authorities have already adopted their own site specific or regionally specific guideline values, but we will use our recently developed water quality database to recommend site-specific or regionally-specific guideline values to areas that have not already calculated their own (following the methods outlined in the Australian Water Quality Guidelines (2018), and the Australian and New Zealand guidelines for fresh and marine water quality).
The final step in updating the Water Quality Objectives through a nationally recognised method, will be our endorsement workshops. These workshops will seek confirmation and endorsement of the results from our state-wide surveys and engagement campaigns from local and state land mangers, regulators, scientists, and decision makers.
These workshops will run from July to August 2022, and have been split into key coastal regions. Please see the draft schedule below.
Workshop | Local Government Area/s | Proposed date |
---|---|---|
South Coast | ||
1 | Bega Valley Shire | 19 July |
2 | Eurobodalla | 20 July |
3 | Shoalhaven | 21 July |
Sydney Metro (part 1), and Illawarra Region | ||
4 | Sydney drinking water | 26 July |
5 | Hawkesbury-Nepean | 28 July |
6 | Illawarra Councils | 29 July |
Hunter & Central Coast | ||
7 | Lake Mac & Central Coast | 1 August |
8 | Hunter River | 3 August |
9 | Port Stephens & MidCoast | 4 August |
Sydney Metro (part 2) | ||
10 | Cooks, Georges, Botany | 9 August |
11 | Greater Sydney Harbour | 11 August |
Mid-north & North Coast | ||
12 | Port Mac to Coffs Harbour | 15 August |
13 | Clarence to Richmond | 17 August |
14 | Tweed and Byron | 18 August |