What is GeoCatch doing to improve water quality in the Vasse Wonnerup Wetlands? Sally Clifton Parks – GeoCatch Coordinator
Who is GeoCatch? Why GeoCatch started? What have we done in the past to improve water quality? What are we doing now? Have we made any progress? What challenges do we face? What else can GeoCatch do? www.geocatch.asn.au
Why GeoCatch started Community concern about the health of Geographe Bay in 1997 prompted discussions between the Shire’s of Busselton and Capel. GeoCatch was formed as a response to these concerns. GeoCatch aim to improve the health of our wetlands, waterways and bay We do this through partnerships with management agencies, research organisations, our regional group and working with the community. www.geocatch.asn.au
Who are we? Our Council: • 8 community members • 2 council reps (Busselton and Capel) • 3 state government agency reps (DAFWA, DoW, DEC) • Meet 8 times per year • Oversee the activities of GeoCatch www.geocatch.asn.au
Who are we? Our staff: 6 project officers 1 finance officer 1 executive officer 1 coordinator www.geocatch.asn.au
Department of Water Partnership Partnership since 1997 (then Water and Rivers Commission) DoW GeoCatch GeoCatch council member sitting Work with the community to improve fees the condition of our waterways, wetlands and Geographe Bay Core staff support including the Source funding to deliver on ground employment of a GeoCatch outcomes Coordinator Create and maintain partnerships with Office facilities, IT and technical community, local, state and federal support government. www.geocatch.asn.au
www.geocatch.asn.au
Lower Vasse River Clean-up program 1997 – 2007 Insitu water quality improvement Restoring river ecology www.geocatch.asn.au
Trials included: • dredging sediments • Oxygenation • phoslock TM • macrophyte trial • bank revegetation • goldfish control • floating reed rafts www.geocatch.asn.au
The problem with the ‘clean up’ approach • Varying levels of success in trials, but water quality could not be improved enough to stop algal blooms • Only treats the nutrients in situ. They are still entering from the sediment, from groundwater (septics) and in-flow from the catchment • Adressing only one of these sources of nutrients means algal blooms will continue These actions treat the symptoms. Need to manage the source of the nutrients = inflow from the catchment www.geocatch.asn.au
A change in thinking was needed….. www.geocatch.asn.au
Working at a whole of catchment scale Nationally recognised Coastal Hotspot •Part of the Australian Government’s Coastal Catchments Initiative project • Aimed to reduce pollution (nutrients) in key coastal ‘hotspots’. • 2010 Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIP) has been developed for the Vasse – Wonnerup wetlands and Geographe Bay. www.geocatch.asn.au
Water Quality Improvement Plan The development of the WQIP was a partnership between GeoCatch and the Department of Water The WQIP is our ‘action plan’ to improve water quality It brings together the best current science to give us a tool kit of management actions Focuses on all catchments of Geographe Bay, but prioritises ‘nutrient hotspots’ WQIP implementation needs everyone’s involvement to be successful - GeoCatch actively engages a broad range of partners and stakeholders, industry, government and community www.geocatch.asn.au
What’s the problem? Phosphorus concentration summary (1998–2007) 0.7 Winter median concentraion (95% confidence intervals) Winter median target concentration Winter median concentration (mg/L) 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Capel River Ludlow River Carbunup River Five Mile Creek Abba River Sabina River Lower Vasse River Buayanyup River Dunsborough Region Gynudup Brook Vasse Diversion Drain Annie Brook Toby Inlet Jingarmup Brook
WQIP Management Categories Protection, Intervention, Recovery • Protection – for waterways that meet the N and P acceptable concentration levels. • Intervention – for waterways that currently meet the P target, but not N. • Recovery – For waterways that do not meet either N or P targets. 5.1 www.geocatch.asn.au
Where are the nutrients coming from in Vasse- Wonnerup Wetlands? Cattle for beef and cattle for dairy (fertiliser) Point sources significant contrbutor of P (dairy sheds, feedlots) Urban contributions is currently small, but is predicted to increase greatly with urban expansion Point sources Cattle for Cattle for beef and beef and dairy dairy
What is GeoCatch doing now? Working with the community and partners to reduce nutrients from both urban and rural sources Ongoing monitoring of the catchment’s waterways Monitoring the health of the wetlands and Bay www.geocatch.asn.au
Dairy Effluent Upgrades Aim: to stop nutrients from dairy sheds entering Geographe waterways Experience from previous projects told us we needed a new approach: Upskill WA - Workshops to train local contractors and consultants in dairy effluent system design Engage Industry - Western Dairy partnership Effluent Management Code of Practice developed Ten farmers have installed effluent system upgrades Challenge – expense of set up and ongoing maintenance Effluent Management Training workshops www.geocatch.asn.au
Riparian Management Aim: to prevent nutrients entering waterways through stock exclusion fencing and revegetation • Approximately 270+km of rivers and streams have been fenced through GeoCatch since 1997 • Partnership with South West Catchments Council • Large in-kind contribution from farmers across the catchment • Challenge for future – working with the un-willing www.geocatch.asn.au
Riparian management www.geocatch.asn.au
$mart Soils Aim: Reduce nutrients (Phosphorus) from agricultural fertiliser entering Geographe waterways by implementing best practice fertilise use • Soil testing, nutrient interpretation and production of fertiliser maps • A close working partnership with DAFWA • 100 farms tested over 2 years in the Geographe catchment • Currently doing follow up surveys to gauge behaviour change www.geocatch.asn.au
Urban Drainage Management Aim: To reduce nutrients and pollutants leaving urban areas and entering Geographe waterways Create ‘Wetlands’ and ‘streams’ that strip nutrients and pollutants from stormwater Demonstrate to local government what can be achieved and incorporated into their retrofitting and re-development Coles carpark programs. • Strelly St and Barlee St bioretention gardens • Queen Street roundabout rain gardens • Bunbury Street Basin and Fairlawn Drain upgrades • Coles carpark rain gardens College Avenue • College Avenue and Capel townsite living wetlands Strong partnership with City of Busselton and Shire of Capel, both cash and in-kind support to projects Demonstrate what can be achieved www.geocatch.asn.au Queen St
Bay Friendly Businesses Aim: To reduce nutrients and pollutants leaving high risk businesses • Undertaking audits and developing management plans for high risk businesses (44 completed) • Following the audit, businesses can be recognised as ‘In progress’ or ‘Approved’ as Bay Friendly • 25 Bay Friendly Businesses to date • Response from businesses has been very positive • On going support and building relationships with business owners has been key • 20 new businesses in 2013 www.geocatch.asn.au
Urban Nutrient Management Aim: To reduce nutrients leaving urban properties and entering Geographe waterways Urban areas are a significant contributor to nutrients entering the Lower Vasse The biggest predicted increases in nutrients in the future will be from new urban developments The average gardener applies more fertiliser than dairy or horticulture Activities include low nutrient gardening workshops and demonstrations
Bay OK program The branding and marketing behind GeoCatch’s WQIP implementation • Encouraging behaviour change • On-ground works • Creating partnership • Recognition program – Bay Friendly Schools, businesses
Have we made any progress?
Monitoring • Fortnightly monitoring of rivers in the Geographe catchment • Annual monitoring of Vasse Wonnerup wetlands for aquatic plants and water quality (since 2006, Murdoch Uni) • Annual seagrass health monitoring in Geographe Bay (2012 and 2013, Edith Cowan Uni) www.geocatch.asn.au
Monitoring results • Catchment monitoring shows that we have made improvements in sub- catchments where we have been focusing our efforts in on ground works (Phosphorus reduction in Lower Sabina and Vasse Diversion Drain) x • Conversely, in sub catchments where we have not been working, nutrients have increased beyond predictions • Seagrass monitoring shows the bay appears to be in good health (from nutrient perspective) • Vasse Wonnerup wetland monitoring. The wetlands are on a tipping point ? between a healthy macrophyte dominated system, and an unhealthy phytoplankton dominated system. www.geocatch.asn.au
What challenges do we face? Working with the un-willing Awareness raising vs behaviour change Scale of the problem Meeting community expectations Funding! www.geocatch.asn.au
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