Managing Our Water

Catchment Management

Pet and Guide Rivers Catchment Management Project

Summary

Burnie City Council has taken a lead in implementing an integrated approach to long-term protection for quality of Burnie's domestic water supply through actions to improve catchment ecology and land management practices within the Pet and Guide River valleys.

The Pet and Guide Rivers Catchment Management Plan 1998 proposed a range of measures to avoid and remedy threats to water quality.

Council has achieved implementation of the Plan over several years in close and cooperative partnership with local landowners, community interest groups and relevant agencies, and with funding assistance from the Natural Heritage Trust the National Landcare Project.

Practical outcomes include many kilometres of fencing to exclude stock from stream-sides, revegetation to restore natural habitat and filter systems; and tangible cost savings in drinking water treatment. Environmental performance of the catchment will continue to improve, with on-going benefits for water quality and the health and productivity of agriculture.

The project has proven to be a win-win for everyone. It demonstrates that simple techniques and a willingness to re-examine established practices can yield continuing dividends for all.

How the project has protected and enhanced the freshwater environment

Water from the Pet and Guide river catchments (with a area of 30.7 sq km) is utilised as the potable water supply for 19,000 residents in the Burnie Municipality. Over a hundred years of conventional agricultural practices and more recently forestry operations in these catchments has reduced biodiversity values and degraded the water quality through soil erosion, nutrient loads, effluent run-off, and clearing of riparian vegetation. Council has therefore undertaken measures to protect and enhance the natural resource base, primarily the water quality. Approaching issues at the catchment management level also contributes to meeting broader sustainability goals.

The Pet and Guide Rivers Catchment Management project has shown huge local benefits by reducing in-stream contamination entering the Water Treatment Plant, which has greatly reduced operational costs for Burnie City Council. Primary producers have benefited from improved sustainable land management practices and stock health, while the rate of degradation of ecological processes within the catchments has been greatly reduced.

Water quality decline, aquatic and terrestrial habitat loss or modification, threatened species, accelerated soil erosion, soil health decline and limited community participation have been identified as priority issues in the Cradle Coast Regional Natural Resource Management Strategy and are also nationally significant issues. The Pet and Guide Rivers Catchment Management Project, through its catchment approach to dealing with degraded water quality, is continuing to manage many of these regional, state and national issues.

The project has been hugely successful in addressing the catchment issues identified in the 'Pet and Guide Catchment Management Plan, 1998' and has met the principal objective of the plan, which was to "maintain and enhance the protected environmental values (as defined by Council and the community) of the streams, rivers and reservoirs of the Pet and Guide catchments".

Issues identified as impacting biodiversity and ecological processes include;

The Tasmanian Giant Freshwater Lobster is extremely susceptible to sedimentation and increases in water temperature, riparian revegetation greatly reduces both and leads to increased stream health.

Issues identified by landowners and farmers that were impacting sustainable production include deteriorating stream crossings and accessibility of livestock to clean drinking water resulting in poor livestock health.

Apart from the Burnie City Council, Pet and Guide Catchment Management Plan, 1998, catchment management has also been integrated into other management documents for the Pet and Guide Catchments. The project and its works are also guided and implemented through the 'Burnie City Council Water Strategy, 2007', the 'Water Catchment Land Management Services, Service Level Document, 2006', the 'Burnie City Council, Burnie Municipal Weed management Plan, 2005', the 'Burnie City Council and North Forests Burnie (Gunns), A Forest Management Plan for the Guide and Pet Reservoirs, 1999'

Over the past four years Council and stakeholders have committed approximately $1.2m including in-kind funding to works and to their continued maintenance in the catchment, including fencing, weed control, stream crossings and revegetation. Monitoring and evaluation of the works and the catchment as a whole will continue to ensure improvements in water quality and general biodiversity values through best practice land management practices and community awareness.

Significant achievements

The initial 'Pet and Guide Catchment Management Plan 1998' details catchment issues and provides a plan of action for improvement in water quality and rehabilitation of the ecology of the catchments. Issues and related management responses to improve water quality and to protect the biodiversity and ecological systems in the Pet and Guide Catchments were best met by identifying discrete management zones within each catchment. Management zones include the Pet and Guide Reservoir Buffer Zones, Primary and Secondary Stream Buffer Zones, Remnant Vegetation Protection Zones, Agricultural Zones and Forestry Zones.

Achievements to date include protection of approximately 50 km of streams, fenced off areas planted with thousands of native plants and improved weed management practices. Specific actions that have reduced the impacts of stock management include; construction of approximately 80 km of stock proof fencing, pumps and tanks installed to supply water for off stream stock watering troughs, 171 water troughs with gravel hard stand, construction of 5 in-stream watering points and instillation of culverts and crossing upgrades.

Outcomes have ensured huge improvements in water quality, which are highlighted by the reduction of ammonia levels in streams by up to 73% and the prevention of algal blooms in the Pet Dam. Since undertaking this initiative it can be shown that chemicals utilised by the water treatment plant (that ensures raw water meets State Government drinking water guidelines) have been reduced by approximately 20% and has resulted in significant cost savings to the Burnie City Council.

The revegetated riparian reserves made up of native species, (Blackwoods, Eucalyptus, understorey species, reeds and rushes) along the 50 km of streamside have created a filter zone reducing greatly impacts on water quality and have also increased biodiversity and created an extensive vegetation corridor for flora and fauna. Anecdotal evidence from Todd Walsh (Waterwatch Officer and Project Officer for the Giant Freshwater Lobster Project - funded by Cradle Coast NRM) and others support improvements in catchment health, including habitat for Giant Freshwater Lobster and the Burnie Burrowing Crayfish as well as general improvements in stream condition and health. Due to improvements in the quality of water for livestock there have been considerable cost benefits to the agricultural sector due to enhanced livestock health.

Over the duration of the project there has been considerable media coverage including ABC radio, The Advocate newspaper and the Tasmanian Country newspaper.

For their efforts in catchment management the Burnie City Council and the Pet Catchment Working Group were awarded the Natural Heritage Trust, Rivercare Award in 2001.

The broader impact of the project

Apart from dramatically improving water quality, meeting the principal objective of the 'Pet and Guide Rivers Catchment Management Plan, 1998', and achieving outcomes identified previously a number of secondary objectives that reflect other values that are important to land users and residents within the catchments are being addressed and will be managed into the future. These include:

There has been significant input into in-kind support for the project. Support includes machinery hire, meeting time and labour by landowners, the Pet and Guide Catchment Working Group, and community employment programs such as the Work for the Dole and Greencorp, Conservation Volunteers Australia.

>A field day in March 2007 showcased the works undertaken in the catchments to approximately 50 people from the local community. The works include weed management, revegetation of streams, streamside fencing, off-stream stock watering points and general improvements in agricultural land management practices by the local farmers. One of the major objectives of the day was to provide a cross section of the community including the urban population with an understanding of where their water originates, the issues with maintaining water quality for both potable supply and ecological benefits. The other objective was to show how the Burnie City Council, the local landowners and the broader community can work together to achieve improvements in catchment health and management which will benefit the community into the future.

The Burnie City Council supports local landowners in the catchment with ongoing financial and technical assistance. The 'Pet and Guide Rivers Catchment Management Plan, the 'Burnie Municipal Weed Management Plan' and the 'Forest Management Plan for the Pet and Guide Catchments' will ensure water quality and general catchment management are continually improved.

Innovative practices utilised

Best practice land management techniques were used for revegetation and in-stream stock watering points.

Due to the Pet and Guide Rivers being the source of the potable water supply for the Burnie Municipality, techniques used for revegetation, fencing and stock watering are of the highest standards. Riparian reserves vary in width and in some cases the Council has been able to negotiate with landowners to achieve reserves of up to 80 metres in width. The riparian reserves are comprised of locally sourced native mixed species and include a suite of structural layers such as overstorey, mid layer and understorey.

The best practice design used for the in-stream stock watering points has been utilised in other catchments in the region such as the Inglis as a result of this project. Riparian revegetation sites have been used to demonstrate revegetation techniques to other Landcare groups, TAFE Tasmania and the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association.

How partnerships were utilised and stakeholders engaged in achieving the results

A Steering Committee that helped direct the management plan by identifying issues and formulating agreed solutions was made up of expertise from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, the Department of Environment and Land Management, North Forests Burnie, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association and the Pet Catchment Working Group. Members of the Steering Committee also provided guidance in stream and vegetation management principles and techniques.

Technical advice for catchment management processes including revegetation management expertise was provided by Community organisations such as Landcare and Greening Australia. Stream health and threatened species expertise was provided by Waterwatch and Todd Walsh. Funding has been provided by Burnie City Council and the Australian Government's National Landcare Program and Natural Heritage Trust. In-kind support has been provided by the Pet and Guide Catchment Management Working Group, Conservation Volunteers Australia and Greencorps.

Land management practices within the Pet and Guide River catchments are important to Burnie City Council because the catchments are the water source for the Burnie Municpality. As a result, Burnie City Council is committed to ongoing funding for maintenance of works and to ensuring its partnership with the Pet and Guide Catchment Management Working Group continues. This partnership with landowners was the key to the success of implementing the Catchment Management Plan. Council has also entered into a formalised agreement with North Forest Burnie (Gunns) for the management of forestry activities in the catchments. The document "A Forest Management Plan for the Guide and Pet Reservoirs, 1999" along with the Forest Practices Code, 2000, will ensure agreed codes of practice are maintained into the future.