The region’s estuarine waterways are in good shape despite torrential rains and flooding over the past two years, with Council’s 2020-21 Central Coast Waterways Report Card revealing that 75 per cent of the sites scored ranking as either good or excellent – an improvement on 50 per cent from just two years ago.
The fourth combined report card for waterways in the region gives each waterway a score from A (excellent) to F (very poor) and is used to track long-term trends in water quality and ecological health and identify where the need to focus management actions lies.
Just five waterways slipped in ranking.
Lake Munmorah went from good to fair, as did Wyong River.
Woy Woy Bay, Cockle Bay and Booker Bay all went from excellent to good.
On the brighter side, several upgrades in score were recorded region-wide.
Lake Haven went from fair to excellent, as did Canton Beach.
The Entrance went from good to excellent and Tumbi Creek, Narara Creek and Erina Creek went from fair to good.
The best result was recorded at Avoca Lagoon, which went from very poor to good.
Council says the results are incredibly encouraging, given that whatever enters our creeks, rivers, groundwater or stormwater ends up impacting on water quality in our lakes.
Of the testing sites, 82 per cent remained stable or improved from last year, with small actions such as picking up dog poo and lawn clippings contributing to large scale positive impacts.
The 2020-21 Waterways Report Card includes Southern Lake Macquarie, Tuggerah Lakes, Brisbane Water, the Lower Hawkesbury River and the coastal lagoons – providing a clear picture of the entire waterways network.
Overall, of the 36 sites sampled, 25 per cent were rated excellent, 50 per cent good and 25 per cent fair, with no waterways rated poor or very poor.
Water quality and ecological health in the three southern bays of Lake Macquarie remained excellent for the fourth consecutive year and Tuggerah Lakes scored four excellent rankings for the first time ever.
Water quality throughout Brisbane Water was graded good with the exception of Kincumber Broadwater which received a fair grade.
Cockrone, Terrigal and Wamberal Lagoons all remained consistent with last year, ranging from excellent at Cockrone to fair at Terrigal and Wamberal.
All sites on the Hawkesbury River remained consistent with last year, ranging from excellent at Patonga Creek to fair at Mooney Mooney Creek.
Data presented was collected throughout 2020-21, with turbidity (water clarity), chlorophyll (levels of microalgae and nutrients) and seagrass depth range (water clarity over longer time periods) measured.
The report also outlines how our waterways support an incredible diversity of life – from osprey and sea eagles to while spoonbills and stilts.
Migratory birds travel to the area from Asia and North America to visit, rest and feed.
Small-mouth hardyhead, sea mullet and flathead gudgeon graze amongst estuary plants, tolerating the extremes of fresh and salt water.
Primary source: Central Coast Council website and 2020-21 Central Coast Waterways Report Card