1. Natural Resource Management in Northern Tasmania Tamar Estuary & Esk Rivers Program

2. Tamar Estuary and Esk Rivers program TEER Northern Tasmania Toni Furlonge March 2018

3. Tamar Estuary – Northern Tasmania
Drains km2
Home to Launceston (2nd largest city)
Representing 15% of Tasmania’s land mass
Mix of landuses:
industrial
agriculture (grazing, cropping and dairy
both irrigated and dryland)
forestry (plantation and native)
aquiculture
reserved land for conservation

4. Tamar Estuary Freshwater to marine Urban to industrial
Increasing urban and agriculture (vineyards and berries)
Recreational hot spots
In 2008 the Tamar Estuary and Esk Rivers program
was formed = TEER
Partnership with business and local government
along the length of the Estuary.
Councils
Taswater (water authority)
EPA
Dept Health and Human Services
Institute of Marine Sciences (University)
Temco South 32
Bell Bay Aluminium
Petuna Seafoods

5. Program partners and aims
TEER program is a partnership approach to waterway management
Over 20 organisations
Common goals for improving waterway health
A coordinated approach
Investment to protect, maintain and enhance
Improving scientific understanding
Data custodian and supply for other studies

6. TEER documents
WQIP
The blueprint for improving water quality in the Tamar River estuary
Launched in December 2015
Implementation schedule
Sets out what activities will be done
Partnership report
Summarises main projects
Terms of reference
Data sharing agreement
Monitoring agreements
Partnership agreements
Science Action Plan
Fact sheets

7. What we do Bi annual meetings of partners – discuss and endorse
Working groups (FST, Stormwater, BG Algae)
Collect and collate WQ data for report cards
Supply WQ data to support decision making for Sewage Treatment Plant upgrades, Agricultural and Aquiculture development, River flows and proposed developments such as a Tamar barrage, tidal power generation and sediment management options).
Work with partners – EPA biological monitoring
Community Education – Schools and events
Recreational water quality and the accumulation
of silt are the big community concerns

8. Program links to WQIP - catchment
Outlines 3 key activities: Grazing – 45% land area
Ground cover management
Stock access to streams
Riparian buffer zones
What we have achieved through NRM
95km of fencing livestock out of rivers
101 ha of riparian areas protected
16 riverbank erosion sites addressed
estimated 1.8 tonnes of sediment reduced
138 ha of revegetation
558 ha of improved effluent management/irrigation on dairy farms

9. Program links to WQIP - Dairy
Outlines 4 key activities: Dairy <1% land area
effluent management
Stock access to waterways
Irrigation management
Drainage management
FERT$MART
150 farmers
6 commercial machinery contractors have purchased $3+ million
of machinery to spread effluent.
There used to be just 1.
CLEAN RIVERS
107 farmers
More water troughs,
Better effluent re-use.

10. Program links to WQIP – other
Cropping <3% land area
Aquaculture enterprises
Forestry 25% land area
Urban adoption of water sensitive urban design
combined system overflows
sewerage infrastructure upgrades

11. WQIP targets & Report Cards - how we are tracking
Sewage treatment plant discharge loads show a
reduction of Total Suspended Solids, Total Nitrogen,
Total Phosphorous and overall discharge (12%, 25%, 36%
and 13% respectively).
Zone 1 shows a reduction in average monthly levels of
Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorous (22% and 10%
respectively),
all other zones show an increase (up to 13%) or small
decrease (up to 3%).
Zone 1 doing well, other zones not so well
…… high and low rainfall years does what to
report card grades??????????????
WQIP Reduction Load Targets

12. WQIP and Report Cards leverage investment
2017 business’s partners with Local and State Government invested in a further 3 year monitoring and reporting plan (NRM TEER program)
In addition…Local government, NRM and business’s worked together to attract further State and Federal government $$. To improve water quality in zone 1 (urban) through a decrease in pathogens.
Two investment plans ($$) developed showing multiple benefits
over different time frames and spatial scales
Catchment action for improved water quality
Combined system overflows infrastructure upgrades

13. In Summary…. TEER program started in 2008 WQIP completed 2015
Using 7 years of our WQ data, developed own WQ
indicator levels for report cards
In 2017 using WQIP, TEER leveraged financial support from 5 local government agencies, 2 state government agencies (EPA Lab support & Dept Health Human services) and State Government for 3 years of continuous WQ monitoring and report cards
Local Government, NRM and Business’s worked together to develop catchment and Combined Systems Overflow improvement plans successful in winning State and Federal $$

14. Now… 2018 Report card (2017 data)
Governance (external) overview to direct management of new state and federal funding
Ongoing monthly water quality monitoring
Faecal source tracking
Biological (autumn and spring)
Blue Green Algae
New State and Federal investment
Urban plan (Sewage treatment plant upgrades)
Catchment plan (stock out of waterways,
improved dairy etc)