Bega Valley

Bega Valley Updates Summary 2008-09

This section presents a summary of recorded changes for 2008-09 against the same 22 indicators as in the 2004-08 report. Links to each of the indicators within the comprehensive 2004-09 report are listed below. The new data, including charts and tables, for the period 30 June 2008 to 1 July 2009 are available within the comprehensive 2004-09 report. For easy identification, the 2008-09 changes have been marked in coloured text. Local initiatives undertaken within this period can be viewed as snapshots.

What the 2008-09 results tell us for Bega Valley

Managing the supply and quality of water within the Shire has continued as a focus of the 2008-09 period. During the period water quality supplied by Bega Valley Shire was of excellent quality and there were no days of water restrictions in place for any of the Council's water supplies. However, demand is increasing and estimated to reach about 3000ML by 2030. Demand for the Tantawangalo Kiah water supply scheme that supplies Wolumla, Candelo, Merimbula ,Tura Beach, Pambula, Pambula Beach, and Eden is currently at or beyond the secure yield of the system. In addition the transfer capacity of the system between the two sources is limited by the main size between the Kiah borefield and the Tantawangalo Creek. Augmentation of the supply is needed and is being planned through the proposed Bega – Yellow Pinch Water Transfer Project. A number of other future projects will focus on water treatment and filtration.

Management of solid and hazardous waste is another area where Council faces challenges. In 2008-09 waste diverted from landfill through recycling increased slightly from the previous year to 17%. However, although the total volume of waste dropped slightly in the 2008-09 period, compared with 2007-08, the overall upward trend since 2004-05 has continued. While Kerbside recycling, including the collection of co-mingled material, continues, the total amount of recycled material collected in the Shire is not able to be reported accurately. The main data gaps relate to recycled materials collected by commercial contractors direct and materials dropped off directly at Council’s facilities – tonnages from these sources are unknown. Council acknowledges that this data management situation needs to be rectified.

In 2008-2009, 10,176 kilograms (net weight) of hazardous waste were collected from the Eden, Pambula and Bega hazardous waste collection points and transported from the Shire for appropriate disposal according to the National Environment Protection Measure for the collection, transportation and disposal of 'controlled' waste.

Council has committed to better resource the management of trade waste discharges to ensure that all trade waste discharges are quantified and classified and treated as required before discharge to the sewerage system. These changes will be implemented during the next reporting period.

Despite the extreme conditions which brought such devastating bushfire events to Victoria, in Bega Shire the 2008-09 bushfire season was relatively quiet. One major fire event occurred in the south-west of the Shire. It, along with with associated back burns, covered an area of some 1000 hectares.

Rainfall data for 2008-09 have been included. Reduced observation coverage has limited data collection and resulted in no new temperature data available for 2008-09 in this Council area.

Indicators updated for 2008-09

Issue: Atmosphere and Weather

Indicator: Rainfall

Analyses of monthly 2004-09 rainfall and a long-term perspective are available for the indicator. The main rainfall observing sites used in this analysis were Bega - Newtown Road (Bureau of Meteorology Station No. 069002) and Eden Caravan Park (No. 069015). Data from other nearby stations were used to calculate values for months with missing data at these two sites (see Appendix 2 for further information).

Indicator: Temperature

The Bureau of Meteorology is heavily reliant on volunteer observers to record temperature readings across the Region. Reduced observation coverage has limited data collection and resulted in no new temperature data available for 2008-09 in this Council area.

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Issue: Biodiversity

Indicator: Fire

The 2008-09 bushfire season was relatively quiet, particularly in the context of the bushfire events in Victoria. There was one major fire event in the south-west of the Shire, in the South East Forest National Park, 5km east of the village of Wyndham. The fire was declared a Section 44 Emergency and saw NSW Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW), Forest NSW and the NSW Rural Fire Services combining their resources to combat this fire. The fire and associated back burns covered an area of some 1000 hectares.

There were several other small lightning strike fires throughout the shire, all of which were rapidly brought under control.

Indicator: Pest Animals

There were no significant changes during the 2008-09 period. As for 2004-08 foxes, rabbits, dingoes and wild dogs were the main pest animals in the Bega Valley Shire during the reporting period, although feral pigs, wild deer and cats were also present. This is a similar trend to the previous reporting period however, due to limitations in the current reporting period data, quantitative information to assess change in the pest animal distribution and abundance is unavailable.

Indicator: Pest Plants

In the 2008 to 2009 period an outbreak of Blue Hounds Tongue occurred and is reported separately in the snapshot.

Indicator: Riparian Conditions

There is no definitive qualitative data to demonstrate improvements or otherwise in the status of riparian communities and ecosystems within the Shire. However the ongoing roll out of projects through major environmental rehabilitation projects through the SRCMA, Landcare and Bega Valley Shire Council has resulted in large stretches of creeks, rivers, wetlands and estuarine foreshores, being fenced, replanted or physically protected.

The Bega Cheese Dairy EMS program has seen the continued planting and fencing of drainage lines and the removal of cattle from creeks and rivers. An excellent example of this project can be seen on the eastern end of Jellat flats about 5km east of Bega.

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Issue: Catchments

Indicator: Contaminated Sites

During the 2004-09 reporting period the Protection of the Environment Operations (Underground Petroleum Storage Systems, UPSS) Regulation 2008 commenced. This new regulation requires owners and operators of underground petroleum storage tanks to regularly check for leaks in the fuel tanks and pipes used to store and handle petroleum products. They also need to meet minimum standards in their day-to-day environmental management of these storage systems.

The Regulation was gazetted on 28 March 2008 and commenced on 1 June 2008. It aims to:

  • introduce preventative measures to reduce harm to the environment and human health;
  • save money and minimise time-consuming remediation by preventing leaks or dealing with them early;
  • ensure industry best practice is followed; and
  • ensure appropriate validation and decommissioning of systems and sites.

DECCW is the regulatory authority in regard the implementation and regulation of the new laws for the first 4 years of the new regulations. After this time (from 1.7.2012) Council will become the appropriate regulatory authority. Under the Regulation, it is against the law to allow or ignore contamination resulting from a leaking or faulty UPSS. The person responsible for an Underground Petroleum Storage System (UPSS), usually the owner/operator, is required to have in place:

  • a system for detecting and monitoring leaks;
  • groundwater monitoring wells at sensitive locations and a program to test them;
  • an Environment Protection Plan for the facility;
  • systems in place for record keeping, reporting of leaks and notifying the local council when a UPSS is decommissioned.
Indicator: Discharge to Waters

Effluent generated in the urban areas of Bega Valley Shire is treated at one of ten sewage treatment plants in Bega, Merimbula-Pambula, Bermagui, Tathra, Tura Beach, Eden, Wolumla, Cobargo, Candelo and Kalaru. Effluent generated in rural areas of Bega Valley Shire is treated in on-site systems. Various systems including transpiration beds, septic tanks and composting toilets are used in rural areas across the Shire.

Annual total mass loads of nitrogen and phosphorus vary between treatment plants and between years during the reporting period. There were no consistent trends in changes to nitrogen and phosphorus loads over the period in treated effluent from the treatment plants.

The New South Wales (NSW) Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECCW) regulates most sewage treatment systems owned by state and local government. Licensed discharges to the catchment or waters from these plants is regulated by the DECCW. Wastewater reuse is undertaken at all 10 Council sewerage systems (see details elsewhere in this report) though licensed discharges are permitted subject to strict conditions.

In addition unlicensed discharges will always also periodically occur in Council’s gravity sewerage systems. These discharges are typically caused by:

  • blockages in the pipeline, caused by tree roots, debris, fat etc;
  • the collapse of a pipeline;
  • an under-capacity sewage network, specifically when the flows increase during wet weather; and
  • the failure of mechanical or electrical assets where standby equipment either does not operate or lacks capacity to handle the sewage flows within the system.

Council has developed in conjunction with DECCW a protocol that specifies the roles and responsibilities for the Council’s staff in responding to any unlicensed discharges.  Council responds to all incidents in line with the protocol and actions to protect public and environmental health are assessed as necessary.

All accidental discharges are investigated by Council staff and reported to DECCW. Council continues to work on its sewerage systems to minimise these accidental discharges. However, it is very difficult to prevent discharges that can effect Council’s main systems where the obstruction occurs within private property.

Trade Waste

Council issues trade waste approvals for all new developments that generate trade waste. However, the Shire Council currently has approximately 300 commercial and industrial premises that discharge trade waste to the Shire Council’s sewerage system without a trade waste approval.

Council has committed to better resource the management of trade waste discharges to ensure that all trade waste discharges are quantified and classified and treated as required before discharge to the sewerage system. These changes will be implemented during the next reporting period.

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Issue: Resource Use

Indicator: Drinking Water Quality

During the period 2008 to 2009 water quality supplied by Bega Valley Shire during the reporting period was of excellent quality. Of the 499 bacteriological samples taken only 1 failure was recorded by NSW Health who reported a 100% compliance rate for the year.  In terms of chemical quality 46 samples were collected with NSW Health reporting 100% compliance with the national drinking water guidelines in all but one parameter.  28% of separate samples failed the criteria for iron during the reporting period. It should be noted though that this criteria is amenity based and not health related. No boil orders or alerts were issued during the reporting period.

Indicator: Hazardous Waste

In 2008-2009, 10,176 kilograms (net weight) of hazardous waste (see Table 1) were collected from the Eden, Pambula and Bega hazardous waste collection points, and transported from the Shire for appropriate disposal according to the National Environment Protection Measure for the collection, transportation and disposal of 'controlled' waste.

The largest quantities collected (by weight) were vehicle batteries, water-based paints, oils, oil-based paints, and gas cylinders.

Unfortunately data on other hazardous wastes dropped-off at each of the landfills or transfer stations around the Shire has not been recorded during the period.

Indicator: Noise

In the period 2008-09 complaints relating to mechanical ventilation/airconditioning noise were the most common source within the 'general noise' category with 7 separate complaints received. One abatement direction was issued by Council staff relating to amplified music.

Indicator: Solid Waste

For the 2008-09 reporting period the contractor removed 163 cubic metres of contamination from the co-mingled recyclables.

Data and records for recycling materials “dropped off” at Council’s facilities and Transfer Stations are unfortunately unavailable for the 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007- 08 and 2008-09 reporting periods.

Expenditure in waste management for the 2008-09 reporting period was $6,435,000, an increase of 67% over the 2004-05 period. This trend is in line with Council’s commitment to sustainably managing waste in the Shire.

The recycling data is only derived from the kerbside collection. Unfortunately the data for total recycled material in the Shire is not available. Data for recycled materials collected by commercial contractors are unknown as, unfortunately, are recycled materials “dropped off” at Council’s facilities.

In addition collection of data relating to dumped rubbish has not been maintained since the 2004 comprehensive State of the Environment Report.

The lack and adequate management of data across all sectors in waste management needs to be rectified.

Indicator: Water Use

In the period 2008-09 there were no days of water restrictions in place for any of the Council's water supplies.

Demand for the Tantawangalo Kiah water supply scheme that supplies Wolumla, Candelo, Merimbula ,Tura Beach, Pambula, Pambula Beach, and Eden is currently at or beyond the secure yield of the system.

Demand is increasing and estimated to reach about 3000ML by 2030. In addition the transfer capacity of the system between the two sources is limited by the main size between the Kiah borefield and the Tantawangalo Creek.

Augmentation of the supply is needed and is being planned through the proposed Bega – Yellow Pinch Water Transfer Project. This project to improve operational flexibility is aimed at providing a water supply that is less reliant on low flows at the source (improving environmental outcomes), more drought secure, and that will satisfy demand for the 35 year planning scenario for the south of the Shire. At an estimated cost of at a cost of $9.4 million, the Bega to Yellow Pinch Dam pipeline will involve the construction of 21.5 km of 450mm pipeline between Bega borefield and the dam to provide a new source of water in the Kiah-Tantawanglo system and provide a link with the Bega-Tathra system.

Other future projects will include:

  • Water treatment at Ben Boyd and Yellow Pinch Dams at a cost of $31.9 million; and South Bega reservoir
  • Water filtration for Bermagui/Wallaga Lake, Merimbula/Pambula/Tura Beach and Eden
  • Water treatment for Bemboka, Candelo and Wolumla;
  • Overall expenditure of $113 million is anticipated over 30 years to ensure that water supply and quality is sufficient for the expanded population of the area.

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