Priority 3

Key challenges and opportunities

The health, wellbeing and prosperity of NSW communities and industries depend on healthy rivers, wetlands, floodplains, aquifers, estuaries and water catchments. The health of these surface and groundwater resources depends on good management of the resource, as well as land use and management in the surrounding catchment.

Across NSW, many surface water resources are already under stress. There are challenges in delivering water to the end of our long river systems and the dry decades since 2000 have had harmful impacts on river habitats and ecosystems in some valleys. Estuaries, wetlands, marshes and other waterways are dealing with issues such as reduced water replenishment and higher salinity levels. A more variable and changing climate - along with population growth and industry development - will exacerbate these pressures and change how much and when water will flow to water-dependent ecosystems.

Groundwater resources are also under stress in some places, especially in areas of concentrated use. In some areas, our knowledge about this resource, including the ecosystems it supports, is limited. Regional towns and industries are relying more heavily on groundwater to meet shortfalls in surface water supplies. At a state level, there is a need to ensure that groundwater use is sustainable in changing climate conditions, that access to groundwater is integrated with surface water access and that groundwater access and quality are protected from adverse land use impacts.

Connectivity is also an important characteristic of water system health in NSW. We need to better understand and manage water in the environment for connectivity between water on the land (as soil moisture, overland flow and infiltration), water in waterways and groundwater - recognising it is all one integrated system, not three separate ones.

The health of our surface water and groundwater systems is also directly affected by the land use and land management practices in surrounding catchments. The riparian and aquatic habitat of NSW has suffered a serious decline in quality and quantity since European settlement, with impacts associated with urban, industrial and agricultural development placing significant pressure on the natural environment.

These impacts have also affected native fish populations throughout the state’s waterways. Native fish in all catchments have been affected. In most catchments, native fish populations are in poor health and have suffered serious reductions in distribution and abundance. In the Murray-Darling Basin, native fish populations are estimated to be 10% of their pre-European settlement levels and nearly two thirds of native fish species are listed as threatened under state or Commonwealth legislation.

Despite efforts to alleviate existing pressures, there continue to be significant challenges in delivering water for the environment and improving the health of waterways and their catchments. While regional and metropolitan water strategies will tackle some of these issues at a regional and local scale, integrated decision making and actions are needed at the state level.

A renewed focus on land use and ecosystem health

The Government will take landscape-scale and catchment-wide action to help address the impacts of urban, industrial and agricultural land uses on the health of our rivers and water-dependent ecosystems.

Protecting and enhancing ecological systems

Long Term Water Plans are part of the NSW Government’s commitment to implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The plans draw together local, traditional and scientific knowledge to improve the way water is managed to maximise river and wetland health outcomes within and between catchments over the longer term.

The plans set objectives, targets and watering requirements for key plants, waterbirds, fish and system functions. Nine plans have been completed for NSW Murray-Darling Basin catchments, setting objectives and targets for five-, 10- and 20-year timeframes. Development of the plans provided an opportunity to take a more strategic, coordinated and catchment-wide approach to water management - improving outcomes for the length of the rivers and contributing to Basin-scale benefits over an extended timeframe.

The objectives and targets for birds, fish, vegetation and river functions within the plans are supported by specific Environmental Water Requirements. These requirements describe the volume, timing, duration and frequency of flows needed to achieve the identified objectives and targets.

Taking landscape-scale action

The Government will deliver integrated land management programs and landscape scale rehabilitation activities in priority catchments.

This will involve partnerships and programs facilitated by government agencies such as Local Land Services working with industry partners, communities and non-government organisations, to support sustainable land use practices that improve river health and build the skills and harness the knowledge of local people, including the deep knowledge and experience of First Nations/Aboriginal People.

Actions will complement and be driven by catchment and natural resource management objectives within existing programs and plans, including Long Term Water Plans, Local Land Services Local Strategic Plans, Regional Strategic Weed Management Plans and Regional Landcare Partnership programs. This will help to ensure the successful implementation of recovery plans and priority action statements for Threatened Species and Endangered Ecological Communities.

In coastal catchments, actions will also be driven by Coastal Zone Management Plans and by the Marine Estate Management Strategy, which responds to threats to the water quality, habitats and biodiversity of the state’s coastal waters and estuaries.

Actions will also link with existing programs such as:

• the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, which supports private land conservation
• the Regional Landcare Program, which connects efforts to deliver environmental and agricultural outcomes on private land
• those delivered by Local Land Services that provide advisory and extension services and incentives to change management practices on private land
• the NSW Travelling Stock Reserve Strategy, which manages Crown Land for multiple land uses including biodiversity conservation.

Improve native fish health and populations

In addition to impacts on river health and habitat condition, native fish populations face a number of specific threats that are common to most of the state’s river systems and catchments, including:

• Barriers to fish passage: All native fish need to migrate to spawn, seek food and refuge, and to recolonise habitats following drought. However, the ability of native fish to migrate in NSW has been significantly constrained through the construction of dams and weirs that have contributed to the 90% decline in native fish populations since European settlement. Without specific, targeted intervention to remediate fish passage, native fish populations will continue to decline.
• Cold water pollution: Cold water released into rivers from large water storages during warmer months is a key factor behind the reduction in the range and abundance of native freshwater fish species in NSW. This water is significantly colder in comparison to natural flows as it is released from deep within the dam. In summer, water temperature can be up to 13°C lower than natural river flows immediately downstream of some structures and can persist for hundreds of kilometres in some waterways. Cold water pollution changes the range and distribution of native fish, reduces opportunities for effective reproduction, reduces body growth and condition and reduces recruitment success.
• Fish extraction by water pumps: Every year, large numbers of native fish are extracted by pumps and diverted into irrigation channels, never to return to mainstream river systems. These losses are unnecessary. Screens can stop fish and debris entering pumps and diversions and, at the same time, improve water delivery and extraction efficiency by reducing blockages caused by debris.

Addressing these threats will contribute to major improvements for native fish health and riverine productivity across NSW, as well as enhancing social and economic outcomes from existing water management efforts.

Continue to improve knowledge and information about water resources and catchments

Best practice water management relies upon high quality information. To make the right decisions and choices about sharing and managing water, we need to know the ecological condition of our water resources and understand the risks to these resources from water extraction and inputs. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has developed spatial products to assist with tracking the overall health of NSW rivers.

The NSW High Ecological Value Aquatic Ecosystems (HEVAE) framework is used to map and classify the instream ecological value of river reaches in NSW freshwater rivers. The HEVAE framework informs the development of water sharing plans, along with specific ecological condition and intervention monitoring, including fish community status and threatened species distributions.

Figure 16 shows an example of HEVAE mapping at the scale of a water sharing plan for the Border Rivers area. These analyses have been done for all Murray-Darling Basin valleys and are underway in coastal regions to inform the remaking of coastal water sharing plans. Full NSW coverage is  expected in 2021.

HEVAE has also been used to inform the Natural Resource Access Regulator’s compliance priorities in the Murray-Darling Basin and State Significant Development and WaterNSW licencing and works assessments. HEVAE and associated ecological data, including threatened species distribution and fish community condition, has also been provided to Local Land Services to set priorities for the Northern Basin Riverbanks Program.

An increased focus on water quality

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment has developed water quality management plans for each water resource plan area in the NSW Murray-Darling Basin. These outline the risks, measures to address risks and water quality targets for each area. The plans are supported by water quality and salinity technical reports that describe the current conditions in each plan area. Elements of these plans and reports can be extended to coastal systems.

Monthly water quality sampling of NSW rivers is carried out by WaterNSW and water quality monitoring has improved across the state. However, monitoring of water quality events (for example, fish deaths and blackwater events) is currently managed on an ad hoc basis and could be improved. Better coordination of water quality data collection, management and assessment would allow better evaluation of catchment and water management plans and actions. Developing standard, state-wide arrangements for the monitoring of extreme events would enhance response actions and reduce risks.

The department is also exploring opportunities to improve the coordination and management of diffuse source water pollution. This form of pollution is often caused by runoff from urban and rural activities and significantly influences  the water quality of NSW’s rivers, waterways and the marine environment. By clarifying roles and responsibilities across government and focusing efforts on high priority causes of diffuse source water pollution, the Government aims to establish a unified management approach and deliver improved water quality across NSW.

Improve groundwater knowledge and management

Groundwater is a valuable resource for NSW, supplying 20-30% of all water needs. Groundwater sustains many regional towns, major economic activities in regional areas (including agriculture and mining) and supports internationally protected ecosystems. The quantity, quality, accessibility and demand for groundwater vary depending on the location of the resource and its underlying rock type.

Groundwater is vital in inland regions where surface water is less available. Around 140 inland towns rely wholly on groundwater for town water supply and more than 100 other towns are partially dependent on groundwater, particularly during drought. Concentrated groundwater extraction around some inland major irrigation centres is putting pressure on this vital resource.

Coastal groundwater resources are under pressure from contamination from land use practices (such as industrial effluent) near larger population centres, expanding urban settlements and seawater intrusion.

Groundwater is likely to become an increasingly important water source in parts of regional NSW in the future. We need to carefully manage our groundwater resources to ensure they remain available to meet critical water needs and continue to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits for regional communities.

NSW has a world-class groundwater management framework that has undergone significant reform, including actions to protect the sustainability of groundwater sources - giving us a solid foundation for the future. However, significant opportunities exist to use groundwater more efficiently, innovatively and sustainably; improve our understanding of groundwater processes, ensuring groundwater of suitable quality is available for critical needs; and better manage risks to the resource.

Understand and improve system connectivity

Connectivity of rivers is important for the environment, communities and industry. When water flows along the length of a river into downstream reaches and connected water courses, it provides water to support towns, landholders, Aboriginal people, industries and the environment within and between valleys.

Connectivity between valleys means that enough water is left in the rivers to flow downstream to other communities, towns, environmental assets and water users. Enabling connectivity between valleys is critical to sharing water fairly across NSW. Connectivity is also an important characteristic of water system health in NSW.

While there are provisions for recognising the connection between regions, water is generally managed on a valley-by-valley basis.

A number of recent reviews and assessments have recommended a greater emphasis on connectivity across the northern Murray-Darling Basin (The Independent Panel Assessment of the Management of the 2020 Northern Basin First Flush Event; The Independent Assessment of the 2018-19 fish deaths in the Lower Darling (Vertessy Report) and Review of the Water Sharing Plan for the Barwon-Darling Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources 2012.)  and the NSW Government is working towards improving connectivity in the Basin.

Northern Basin connectivity was a component of the 2017 Water Reform Action Plan, the NSW Government’s response to the Vertessy Report and the Natural Resources Commission’s review of the Barwon-Darling Water Sharing Plan. Water sharing plans also contain rules that contribute to connectivity (either within a valley or between valleys). In the context of a more variable future climate, we may need to do more to improve connectivity across NSW.

Improving connectivity will inevitably involve trade-offs between and within regions in different parts of the state, including potentially restricting water being taken in some regions so other regions can have access to that water. It also requires exploring and resolving a number of complex issues, including:

• defining what connectivity means and having a clear statement on objectives around connectivity
• determining principles that should be used to progress certain connectivity options, including trade-offs that the government and the community are willing to accept on water availability for industry, towns, cultural uses and the environment
• investigating options to deliver an agreed definition of connectivity, including options that would improve water security for critical human needs and the environment during low and cease-to-flow events
• a robust monitoring and evaluation program
• improved understanding of the benefits and impacts on different water users and the environment.