MidCoast Council is celebrating the release of its annual Waterway and Catchment Report Card.
Water sampling is undertaken across the local government area’s six major catchments to check in on their health and allow the Council to greater understand the patterns, trends and cycles of local waterways.
“Each year we work with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to compare the changes in algae growth and water clarity, and the results are presented as a Report Card with scores from A-F,” said Council Water Quality and Estuary Management Program Coordinator, Prue Tucker.
As with previous years the Report Card grades continue to be influenced by the amount of runoff from the catchment, she said.
“During the 2024 sampling season, rainfall was slightly below average over the sampling season, however, larger falls did occur in October and February which impacted results,” said Dr Rebecca Swanson from the Department Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
In 2024, five sites including Coolongolook Estuary, Karuah Estuary, Bombah Broadwater and Charlotte Bay, had improved ecological health when compared to last year’s results. These improvements were largely due to lower levels of algal growth.
Four sites received worse grades for water quality than last year. The decline in water quality for Mid Wallamba Estuary, Wallamba Cove and Farquhar Inlet was due to higher levels of algal growth. Khappinghat Estuary was affected by large rain events that temporarily impacted the water clarity.
This year, Council released the results at a special event on the banks of the Lansdowne River. Attendees got the opportunity to see science at work, undertaking water quality and eDNA sampling in the river.
Scientists from the University of NSW attended the event to talk about their cutting-edge research on the Manning River, exploring the intriguing world of mangrove ecosystems: where they thrive, and the unique environmental factors that make these coastal forests so important.
“It was great to see so many people join us on to learn more about the way that science supports catchment management and protects our environment,” said Ms Tucker.
“These results are also a reminder of the importance of setting strategic priorities for our waterways and manage them in a way that protects their environmental, social, cultural and economic values for the future and builds their resilience.”
Recognising this, Council says it is currently in the process of developing a number of Coastal Management Programs which will set the direction for future actions required to protect local estuaries and coast.
For more information about the Southern Estuaries Coastal Management Plan, visit https://haveyoursay.midcoast.nsw.gov.au/oursouthernestuaries.
More information about the Waterways and Catchment Report Card can be found at midcoast.nsw.gov.au/reportcard.
The Report Card is supported by the NSW Government through its Coast and Estuary Program and Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
