Coast and Estuaries Assessment and Background

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Coast and Estuaries

Background

There are 22 estuaries along the coast, as well as numerous small creeks discharging into the ocean. There is approx 100 sq km of water surface of coastal lakes and estuaries, and approx 160 km of coast in the Shoalhaven.

The coast and estuaries represent a significant portion of the natural resource values of the Shoalhaven. Of particular importance are the coastal heaths and headlands, the coastal wetlands adjoining most of the estuaries, littoral and gully rainforests and the remnant tall eucalypt forests. These vegetation communities are the home of a significant range of both endangered and more common native fauna.

The coast and estuaries contains significant areas of cultural heritage, including many sites and remains of more than 20,000 years of continuous Aboriginal occupation, as well as the records of 200 years of European settlement.

The majority of the Shoalhaven population live close to or upstream of estuaries, as do the majority of the tourist population. Most of the recreational and tourist facilities are located on or adjacent to the coast and estuaries.

Management of the estuaries over the past 100 years has largely occurred with little or no consideration of the impacts on the ecology of the estuaries. Significant changes including infilling of wetlands, clearing of foreshore areas, construction of breakwalls, urban expansion and the opening of closed lake entrances have imposed great pressure on the ecology of the estuaries.

Shoalhaven was one of the first Local Government areas to commence an Estuary Management Planning under the NSW Estuary Management Policy (1992), in cooperation with Department of Land and Water Conservation. Plans have now been completed for five (5) estuaries and a further six (6) are under way.

Summary of Estuary Indicators (follow links to for more detail on plan in each catchment).

Table 55 - Summary of Estuary Status

Estuary	Size (sq km)	Status of Management Plan	Task Force
Broughton Creek		Draft Catchment Management Plan	No
Shoalhaven River	12.9	Commenced	Yes
Crookhaven River	7.8	Commenced in Shoalhaven river project	Yes
Lake Woollumboola	6.2	Completed	No
Currarong Creek	0.04	Completed	No
Currrambene Creek		Flood Study completed	Yes
Moona Moona		Flood study commenced	Yes
St Georges Basin	38.9	Completed	Yes
Swan Lake	4.1	Completed	Yes
Berrara Creek	0.1	Completed	Yes
Nerrindillah Creek	0.1	N/a	No
Lake Conjola	5.9	Completed	Yes
Narrawallee Inlet	0.5	Completed	Yes
Millards Creek	0.1	Completed	Yes
Burrill Lake	4.2	Completed	Yes
Lake Tabourie	1.4	Completed	Yes
Termeil Lake	0.4	Termeil Coastal Reserves Plan of Management Completed	No
Meroo Lake	0.6	Termeil Coastal Reserves Plan of Management Completed	No
Willinga Lake	0.3	N/a	No
Brush Lake		N/a	No
Kioloa Lake	0.1	N/a	No
Swan Lagoon		N/a	No

Assessment

The state of the coast and estuaries in the Shoalhaven varies significantly along the coast. The coast ranges from pristine areas of great natural beauty and little apparent human impact, such as the Termeil Coastal Reserves between Tabourie Lake and Bawley Point, through to areas which have some modification arising from human impact, such as Currarong, and other areas that have been significantly modified from human occupation and use, such Ulladulla Harbour.

Water quality is generally good in the estuaries and their tributaries, although nutrient and bacterial contamination often occurs after rainfall events.

Large areas of native vegetation are intact, with wildlife corridors linking most of the areas. These natural areas still retain a large range and number of native animal and plant species.

While particular issues will vary from one estuary to another, some common issues affecting estuaries throughout the Shoalhaven are:

Entrance management - Entrance management policies involve balancing the environmental benefit of an entrance regime determined by natural forces alone, with community pressure for modifications to ensure navigation, flushing to maintain water quality in the lower portions of the estuary and minimise flooding during closure of the entrance.
Water Quality - Run off from urban and rural areas can influence water quality as can nutrient cycling within the lake. Both existing land uses and population increases are relevant pressure indicators for catchment derived inputs.
Foreshore and riparian management - Foreshore and riparian vegetation influence the impact of adjacent land uses, as well as ameliorating some of the impacts by trapping sediment and absorbing nutrients; and, providing stability to stream bed and banks.

The Shoalhaven has approximately 160km of coastline and includes the shoreline of Jervis Bay. Beach management is important for both environmental management and for the benefit of tourists and residents. Council�s coastal management program aims to ensure the ongoing health of the beaches as well as providing facilities for visitors.

The main areas experiencing recession of the coastline are located at

Mollymook
Callala Beach
Currarong

The main areas where major sand dune �blow outs� occur are

Cudmirrah Beach south of the Surf Club
Inyadda Beach north of Manyana

Implications

The implications of poor management of the estuaries are significant. These include loss of biodiversity of coastal areas, decline in aquatic and fishing resources, and decline in the overall coastal environment. Poor management is felt in declines in the quality of life for residents, and reductions in the recreational and visual amenity. Health impacts from poor water quality have been raised in some areas. The costs of remediation for issues not properly addressed can be very high.

The implications for well managed coast and estuaries include better conservation of biodiversity and people�s enjoyment of the area being sustained in the long term. The South Coast tourist industry is critically dependent on these resources, and long-term effects would be felt on incomes and employment.

Estuary management also affects Australia�s compliance with international conventions for the protection of migratory birds between Australia and Japan and China.

Implementation of these plans does impose significant costs on Shoalhaven Council, particularly in regard to responding to the backlog of urban infrastructure, which was installed over the past 50 years and does not meet current best practice environmental management. Works such as sealing of roads, curb and guttering, drainage on road verges, extending the sewerage system to smaller villages are all sought in some of the estuary management plans.

Recommendations/Objectives to be achieved

The general recommendation is to prepare, finalise and implement natural resource management plans for each of the estuaries and their catchments, as well as for the coastal areas between each estuary.
Preparation and finalisation of plans are underway in all of the major lakes and estuaries, and many of the minor ones.
Implementation of plans is a far more difficult issue, since the plans cover a wide range of government and non-government organisations. Not all organisations are committed to the priorities of the plans, and competing priorities and interests will sometimes take precedence.
Continue and improve coastal management programs

Coastal Management Planning 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007