Seventy per cent of the recommendations made in a 2020 report by the Tuggerah Lakes Expert Panel (TLEP) are either completed, underway, ongoing or planned.
Central Coast Council has prepared a progress report on actions to improve water quality in the Tuggerah Lakes estuary two years after the expert State Government-appointed panel, handed down its report in December, 2020.
“Central Coast Council has welcomed the report and has made a genuine effort to enact (the recommendations) as we deliver actions through our current Tuggerah Lakes Estuary Management Plan, and holistically integrate them into the development of our new Tuggerah Lakes Estuary Coastal Management Program (CMP), which is expected to be completed by mid-2024,” a spokesperson said.
“Of the 54 recommendations included in the report, 70 per cent are either completed, underway, ongoing or planned via the CMP.
“Many are complex and integrated, which take time to deliver in full.
“Several actions are outside of Council’s responsibility, not feasible at this time, or require further concept validation, but we are working hard to deliver as much as possible for our community and our environment.
“One of the key recommendations presented by the panel was that a communication reset was required (so) we are providing open and transparent information.”
In response to one of the recommendations, Council has prepared a business case for an Erosion and Sediment Control Officer to increase resources and capacity and is in discussions with the Department of Planning and Environment to achieve a Tidal Inundation and Sea Level Rise Assessment.
A new Flood Study for Tuggerah Lakes is currently in preparation.
The report says since 2020, 16.1ha of coastal saltmarsh has been protected and restored using a range of actions including installation of no-mow markers to define the saltmarsh edge, wrack mulching and jute matting to suppress weed regrowth and bush regeneration to enhance the growth of native species.
A further 273.9ha of wetland habitat has been protected and restored, mainly using bush regeneration techniques to improve wetland resilience, reduce weeds and enhance native flora and fauna biodiversity.
The report says a long-term research project was completed at Berkeley Vale in 2022.
This included catchment, groundwater, nearshore and offshore event-based sampling, hydrodynamic model (calibrated by drogues) and bathymetric survey.
“The study provides management options and useful information which can be applied elsewhere where similar issues present,” the report says.
In response to a recommendation to continue monitoring and adaptively managing the estuary, the report says a Central Coast Waterways Report Card is published annually, providing an overview of water quality results and trends for the preceding year.
With 2021 marking the 10th anniversary of the program in Tuggerah Lakes, the report says the latest report card shows improvement at 69 per cent of sites.
Nineteen sites were reported as stable and 12 per cent had declined.
One of the recommendations was to expand the Lakes Festival to celebrate successes.
The report says the popular annual event was back bigger than ever in its seventh year, with more than 30 events making a splash across the entire Central Coast from November 4-13, 2022.
You can read the update report on Council’s website.
Source:
Media release, Dec 22
Central Coast Council
Tuggerah Lakes Estuary
Coastal Management Program progress report