TORBAY CATCHMENT REPORT CARD 2006

How are things going in the Torbay catchment ? Since the development of the " Watershed Torbay project " , a lot of work has been done, but what is the impact of that work? The following catchment indicators were chosen by the community as providing a meaningful measurement of catchment health and whether we are meeting the targets set in the catchment restoration plan.

improving

getting worse

no change

Catchment Summary: Is the health of the catchment changing?

ALGAL BLOOMS Frequency of non-toxic blooms were above the 5-year average Frequency of Toxic blooms were lower than the 5-year average WATER QUALITY Seven Mile Creek is the only waterway with a clear decreasing trend with both N & P. Other creeks show no improvement or increasing nutrient levels REPAIR WORK ON WATERWAYS Level of fencing of waterways in the catchment has been maintained at a steady rate CONTROL OF WEEDS Level of weed control activity in the catchment has been maintained at a steady rate PROTECTION OF BUSHLAND 36 ha of bushland protected More information about the report card is available on the Torbay Catchment Group website: www.torbay.scric.org The Torbay Catchment Group is committed to working to improve the condition of the catchment, with support from partner agencies, Department of Water, Water Corporation and the Department of Agriculture & Food, WA and funding through SCRIPT. Contact Catchment Group Chairman Phil Mellon on 9844 6371 or Catchment Coordinator Karen McKeough on 9841 0128 to see how you can help.

TORBAY CATCHMENT HEALTH REPORT CARD 2006 How are we doing?   improving    getting worse    no change

Algal Blooms
Target for 2025: Reduce algal blooms by one third	Non-toxic Toxic Number of months in bloom 5 year average 2002 - 2006 2005/06 Non-toxic Toxic Non-toxic Toxic Lake Powell 1.6 3.6 3 2 Marbellup Brook 1.0 1.0 3 1 Torbay Inlet 1.0 0.6 2 0
Water Quality ---- Catchments and Waterways
Target for 2025: The total catchment nutrient load is reduced by 38% for N & 24 % for P	N P Waterway Classification status & trends 1997-2005 Total Nitrogen Total Phosphorus Five Mile Creek High - No change Very high - No change Seven Mile Creek Moderate - Decreasing High - Decreasing Cuthbert Drain High - No change Moderate - Increasing Grasmere Creek High - No change High -No change Marbellup Brook Low - Increasing High -Increasing Torbay Main Drain High - No change High - Increasing
Repair Work on Waterways
Target for 2010: Fence and revegetate 150kms of priority waterways	Km's of waterways fenced 2000 - 2004 2005 2006 68.5 km 17.5 km 17.5 km All waterways foreshore condition mapped and prioritised for fencing
Protection of Biodiversity
Target for 2010: All priority remnant vegetation patches greater than 1 ha are fenced and managed to best practice	2006: 36.5 ha of remnant vegetation protected All remnant vegetation has been mapped and prioritised for protection through a model which analyses the remnant by: size, connectivity to other vegetation, and representation of vegetation type in conservation areas.
Control of Weeds
Target for 2015: Map priority weeds. Achieve a 10% reduction in priority weeds each year	Km's of road verge sprayed 2002 2003 2004 2005 60 65 70 70 Weed spraying is at a consistent level. Great partnerships developed between the City of Albany, Department of Corrective Services, West Net Rail and the community to achieve this. Mapping and monitoring still needed.

The 2005 Report Card is also available