Health plan for coastal waterways

Is in the process of being developed and the advice and local knowledge of the community is being sought.

ESTUARY management plans to enhance and protect Woolgoolga Lake, Willis Creek and Darkum Creek are in the process of being developed and the advice and local knowledge of the community is being sought.

“Our coastal waterways are ecologically important features of our landscape that play a vital role in the life-cycle of the plants and marine animals that live in our environment,” said Malcolm Robertson, Coffs City Council’s coastal and environmental engineer.

“But they are also somewhere that people like to visit and enjoy.

“The estuary management plans (EMP) that we are developing will aim to take all those aspects into account, as well as find ways to make sure these waterways can continue to be healthy and enjoyable for many years to come.”

Council is creating the EMPs in association with NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water and has engaged GeoLINK, in association with GECO Environmental and Aquatic Science and Management, to develop the plans.

The finalised EMPs will outline priority actions that need to be undertaken to tackle the key issues for each waterway.

The plans will allow the relevant authorities to co-ordinate efforts and help council seek any necessary funding.

The project will include development of an entrance management strategy for Woolgoolga Lake, which will outline the triggers that will decide if, when and how artificial opening of the entrance should happen.

Development of the EMPs will take approximately 12 months to complete and will involve community consultation, assessing existing data, identifying information gaps, undertaking technical studies to understand the physical, chemical and ecological processes of each estuary, determining key objectives and issues for each estuary, and developing appropriate management actions to address the key objectives and issues.

To assist in this process, council and its partners are seeking community input to help inform the study.

The public is invited to attend the first session for the initial round of community workshops, which will be held from 5pm-7pm on Tuesday, September 14, at Woolgoolga Community Centre.