An AquAtic ecosystem heAlth check for the

THE PORT MACQUARIE ECOHEALTH PROJECT

Port Macquarie-Hastings Shire Council is the second local government area to participate in the Northern Rivers Region Ecohealth program developed by the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority and partner agencies.

The Ecohealth program provides a standard way of monitoring the health of our river systems and is designed to be replicated across the region. Over time, the Ecohealth Program will provide a complete picture of the long-term health of our waterways.

In partnership with the University of New England, University of NSW, NSW DPI Fisheries, NSW OEH and the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has undertaken an assessment of all major waterways in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Government Area.

This report card presents a summary of results for the Hastings catchment and reflects the average health of its river systems over a 12 month sampling period in 2011–12.

report card2012

HASTINGS CATCHMENT

EcohealthA health check for our waterways

Maria River Riparian Vegetation

Further information

For more information about the Ecohealth program or to access the Port Macquarie-Hastings Ecohealth Technical Report and other information about the results of this report card, visit www.northern.cma.nsw.gov.au or contact Port Macquarie-Hastings Shire Council:

Port Macquarie-Hastings CouncilBurrawan Street Port Macquarie, 2444phone: (02) 6581 8111email: council@pmhc.nsw.gov.auwww.hastings.nsw.gov.au

Project Partners:

The Hastings and Camden Haven Catchments Ecohealth Project was funded by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council through the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Estuary Management Program and the Northern Rivers CMA through “Catchment Action New South Wales” and the Australian Government “Caring For Our Country” programs.

This Report Card is intended as a community educational resource only. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the NSW or Australian Government or its agencies. The Report Card provides a guide to where future investment in natural resource management activities may be needed in the Hastings and Camden Haven catchments to restore and maintain aquatic ecosystem health. The content of this report card may be reproduced, providing its source is acknowledged.

© 2012, December. State of New South Wales through the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority. (CMA125)

EcohealthA health check for our waterways

Kundabung

PORT MACQUARIE

WAUCHOPE

Pappinbarra River

Forbes River

Morton Creek

Wilson River

Maria River

Thone River

Ellenborough River

Hastings River

For more detail on individual site grades, go to www.northern.cma.nsw.gov.au/projects/ecohealth

about the ecohealth program

Ecohealth is an aquatic ecosystem monitoring program that measures how healthy our rivers and estuaries are for the plants and animals that live in them.

Ecohealth assesses key indicators of aquatic health such as water quality, riparian (riverbank) vegetation, fish (distribution and population size), and macroinvertebrates (waterbugs) and reports on their condition.

This information enables natural resource managers to determine where our rivers are under stress and where investment in environmental management activities should be made.

It also helps councils and State government agencies meet local and State monitoring, evaluation and reporting requirements by providing scientifically valid and consistent data about our river systems across the Northern Rivers region.

key inDicAtors of ecosystem heAlth

Scientists and natural resource managers use the health of particular components of an ecosystem to indicate if there are stresses to the habitat as a whole.

The Ecohealth team has selected several indicators of aquatic health which when measured and assessed against national guidelines for healthy rivers indicates how healthy our waterways are.

The Ecohealth team has ensured that the selection of indicators used in the Ecohealth program have been subject to a scientific review process. Not all indicators are used at all locations.

Continued over leaf...

Port MacquarieNSW

Sydney

KEY TO THE GRADESGRADE RESULTA ExcellentB GoodC FairD PoorE Very Poor

0 5Kms

HASTINGS CATCHMENT 2012 GrAdES

KEY TO THE INDICATORS

Water Quality Grade

Fish Community Results

Zooplankton

Riparian Vegetation Grade

Macro- invertebrate Grade

ALL FRESHWATER SITES

OVERALL GRADE

B-

C+

B-

C-B+

HASTINGS CATCHMENT

OVERALL GRADE

B-

C+

C+

C-B+

B

ALL ESTUARINE SITES

OVERALL GRADE

C

BC-

D

WILSON RIVER

B-B+

C-A-B

OVERALL GRADE

BD+

B+

B+

MARIA RIVER

OVERALL GRADE

B-

LIMEBURNERS CREEK

C+

A

OVERALL GRADE

B+

MORTONS CREEK

D+

B

C+

OVERALL GRADE

C+

PAPPINBARRA RIVER

B-B-

C+

B

OVERALL GRADE

B-

THONERIVER

C+

C

D+

C

OVERALL GRADE

C

ELLENBOROUGH RIVER

B-B

CB+

OVERALL GRADE

B-

FORBES RIVER

CB-

C-A-

OVERALL GRADE

B-

HASTINGS RIVER

CC

D+

A-C+

OVERALL GRADE

C+

EcohealthA health check for our waterways

Ecohealth indicators used in this report include:

Water quality – oxygen level, salinity, acidity, murkiness (turbidity) and nutrients - which provides an understanding of how changes in

land-use practices within the catchment are affecting the health of our waterways.

Riparian vegetation – occurrence of weeds, habitat (e.g. fallen logs) and bank condition (slope, exposed tree roots and erosion) in

freshwater reaches, and mangrove and seagrass cover in estuary reaches - which is important for maintaining good water quality, stabilising riverbanks and providing habitat for waterbugs and fish.

Macroinvertebrates – diversity of aquatic worms, beetles, mayflies, shrimps and other types of waterbugs – these organisms are

sensitive to changes in aquatic habitat, pollution and poor water quality in freshwater areas and are a good indicator of ecosystem health.

Fish - type and number of freshwater fish occurring in our rivers – which provides a longer-term indication of river condition,

given fish are highly mobile, require good habitat to breed, are long-lived and occur at the top of the food chain.

Zooplankton – type and number of small animals (less than 2mm) that drift or swim in the open water of estuaries and coastal

lagoons – which are at the bottom of the food chain and in an healthy ecosystem with good water quality support many estuarine and marine animals such as oysters and fish.

HASTINGS CATCHMENT RESULTS

Overall grades

The rivers in the Hastings catchment recorded very positive river health scores. Given the high number of floods in 2011 when the sampling occurred, the results highlight the ability of most rivers to bounce back to good health after major flooding. All rivers in the catchment received grades of C or higher, an excellent result for the health of the rivers in the Hastings region.

The rivers in the Hastings catchment received an overall grade of B-; with good water quality and native fish populations, and fair riparian condition and waterbug diversity.

All freshwater sites in the Hastings catchment received a combined grade of B-, again driven by good scores for water quality and native fish.

All estuary sites combined in the Hastings catchment received a combined grade of C, with poor riparian and bank condition reducing the scores compared to sites upstream.

Nine major river systems were sampled across the Hastings catchment. Limeburners Creek recorded the highest grade of B+ with good water quality and excellent riparian condition. At the other end of the scale, the Thone River received a grade of C, with poor riparian condition in the lower reaches reducing the score.

Indicator results

Water quality ranged from poor (in the Maria River) to excellent (in the upper Wilson and Ellenborough Rivers) highlighting most rivers have few water quality issues to impact their health. Elevated levels of nutrients were found

ecohealth scoring and grading

Information about each of the Ecohealth indicators is collected from sampling sites over the course of a year and analysed to provide an assessment of aquatic health. Condition scores are calculated for each indicator at each site based on how often the measured values satisfy national guidelines for healthy rivers. The condition scores are then given a corresponding grade and result (see below).

This scoring and grading system is based on the traditional format of a school report card, with ratings ranging from a high of ‘A’, through intermediate ratings of ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’, to the lowest possible score of an ‘E’. Secondary grades of + and – are included to provide greater resolution within a grade, and to better help show improvements over time.

This diagram shows an example of the Ecohealth grading system, where a grade has been given for water quality, macroinvertebrates and riparian vegetation. Based on the average of these grades, an overall grade is awarded to the site. Overall grades are also awarded for all freshwater and all estuarine sites within a river system and for the river system itself.

CONDITION SCORE GRADE RESULT95/100 A Excellent85/100 B Good70/100 C Fair55/100 D Poor<45/100 E Very Poor

CAMDEN HAVEN CATCHMENT

OVERALL GRADE

C+CC-CB-B

ABOUT OUR RIVER SYSTEMS

Located with the traditional lands of the Bunyah and Birpai people, Port Macquarie-Hastings Local Government Area covers 4,513km2 and has a current population of 75,000. There are 3 major river systems being the Camden Haven, Hastings and Wilson / Maria systems that flow into the Hastings and Camden Haven Estuaries. Lake Cathie / Innes system is a coastal lagoon situated between the two major estuaries.

A mixture of landscapes characterise the area and include expanses of coastal floodplain and sandplain; footslope, escarpment and gorge country, and the Comboyne plateau. Elevations range from sea level to 1260m.

The area experiences a moderate climate, which has been classified as humid sub-tropical, characterised by warm to hot summers and mild winters, and experiences a high average annual rainfall averaging 1500mm, with most rain falling in late summer and early autumn. The cooler months receive much less rainfall and dry spells are not uncommon from May to October. The climate is strongly influenced by the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system, by creating multi- year cycles of dry and wet.

Wilson RiverPrimitive Reserve

what action is required?

what action is haPPEninG?

Improving the condition of the riparian vegetation, stabilising river banks where needed and managing catchment-use issues that impact on our rivers is important for maintaining water quality and habitat for aquatic animals. Without action to protect and restore these important areas, it is likely that we would see a gradual decline in the health of our waterways through reduced water quality, the loss of riparian vegetation for birds and wildlife, and the smothering of macroinvertebrates, native fish and seagrass habitats from sediments washed into the river from eroding riverbanks.

In partnership with local landholders, state agencies and funding bodies, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council have been actively rehabilitating the local waterways, focussing on erosion, weed control, stock exclusion and habitat corridor replanting. Council also actively controls over 70km waterways affected by invasive vine weeds (madeira vine and cats claw creeper) on behalf of the community.

Council’s Estuary Management Plans continue to be implemented. With all Acid Sulfate Soil remediation works completed in 2009, Council will continue to focus towards repairing riparian corridors and bank erosion. Any landholders wishing to participate in Council’s river and estuary rehabilitation programme are welcome to contract Council on Ph. (02)65 818 111.

in the estuary reaches of all rivers, but this did not result in excessive algae in the water. Low oxygen and low pH (acid conditions) were persistent issues in the Maria River and at the tidal limit in the Hastings River.

The positive results for macroinvertebrates were due to the high level of biodiversity and the occurrence of many pollution-sensitive species, particularly in the upper reaches. There was a consistent pattern of lower scores in the lower reaches of all rivers where vegetation clearing and changed land use have impacted waterbugs.

The riparian condition scores ranged from excellent in the upper reaches located in State Parks and nature reserves, to poor and very poor condition in lower and estuary reaches where vegetation clearing has significantly reduced scores. Infestations from weed species such as lantana, camphor laurel and privet, and evidence of eroding banks contributed to reduced scores in many rivers.

An abundance of native fish species were found throughout the freshwater reaches of all rivers in the Hastings catchment resulting in a rating of good to excellent across sites. The positive results for fish in the river support the results for good water quality and fish habitat in the catchment.

Zooplankton are small waterbugs that live in the open water in rivers, estuaries and the ocean. The plankton community in estuary reaches of the Hastings catchment were rated as good to very good, and again reflected the good water quality in the region.