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| Torbay catchment activities
- August 1999
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Summary of Torbay Catchment Project
The Torbay catchment is an extremely valuable fishing, farming, tourism and conservation resource for the people of the south coast. Unfortunately water bodies in the catchment are now in an environmentally fragile state, with elevated nutrient levels and extensive algal blooms a regular occurrence in Lake Powell and adjacent waterways at the bottom end of the catchment.
Drains in the lower catchment were originally designed to remove water rapidly from flood prone areas. However these and other waterways throughout the catchment are now severely degraded in places. Large amounts of sediment and nutrients have been eroded from productive agricultural land.
People living in the catchment are involved in a diverse range of activities and landuses and all share concern for the environmental health of their waterways. Seventy local residents attended the initial community meeting in March and the Torbay Sub-Catchment Group is now underway. Twenty-five people took part in the May bus tour, which helped raise our awareness of landuse issues in the sub-catchment. Projects now planned for the area include:
- Improving the water quality in Marbellup Brook, Lake Powell and Torbay Inlet
- Reducing sediment and nutrient loads entering the waterways
- Catchment repair projects to protect and enhance waterways and vegetation
- Community participation in water quality monitoring
- Torbay sub-catchment survey of the foreshore condition of waterways
- Further water quality monitoring involving the community
- Waterway foreshore condition survey
We encourage people from throughout the sub-catchment, which extends up to Redmond, to contact us and participate in catchment activities.
Project Update
Following is an update of the projects and activities taking place in the Torbay Sub-Catchment since the community meeting held at the Elleker Hall in March this year. The involvement of catchment residents has been tremendous and we will continue to keep you informed of activities and opportunities for involvement.
The role of the Water and Rivers Commission is to assist in improving the water quality and environmental conditions of waterways in the catchment, however the driving force for this work continues to be Torbay Sub-catchment residents. Therefore we really encourage your contribution in the form of ideas and participation in catchment activities.
Torbay Sub-Catchment Group
The newly formed Torbay Sub-catchment Group is a positive, active group which meets every 6-8 weeks. The Group faces the challenge of working towards the vision they have developed for the catchment, which is:
"An environmentally clean, balanced ecology supporting a prosperous community in which people respect each other's use of the catchment and waterways"
The group has also developed objectives which provide the focus for achieving this vision. Issues which the Sub-catchment Group can address through on-the-ground work have been identified and catchment planning is progressing with the help of Kym Witney-Soanes of AGWEST.
Catchment planning continued at the August meeting with Stuart Wheeler and Austin Rogerson of AGWEST presented valuable information on declared weeds and nuisance weeds growing in the Torbay Sub-catchment. Staff from CALM and the City of Albany provided updates on their weed management programs.
Meetings are open to all and you are welcome to attend. If interested please contact Chairperson Des Wolfe on 9845 1059 or Deputy Chairperson Andrew Marshall on 9845 1081 for more information.
Funds available for waterways fencing and revegetation
The Torbay Sub-catchment group now has funds available through the Water and Rivers Commission for waterways fencing and revegetation work. To ensure a coordinated approach, the catchment area above Lake Powell is to be targeted initially, with priority given to the funding of projects along Five and Seven Mile Creeks.
Algal bloom management
It is expected that trials will commence this summer on two methods of algal bloom management in Marbellup Brook. CSIRO and the Water and Rivers Commission are callaborating on this project, which will also include a nutrient and phytoplankton monitoring program. Residents affected by the algal blooms are invited to an information evening on 7th October at Elleker Hall, commencing at 7.00 pm. Please contact Julie Pech at the Water and Rivers Commission for further information.
Community Newsletter
Local resident Pat Walker is keen to get a community newsletter started. If you have articles of interest or would like to help out, please contact her on 9844 6391. Pat is working towards having the first newsletter out at the end of October. If you know of any positive landcare or watercare work please send in an article!
Demonstration sites
Application has been made for Coast Coast & Clean Seas funding of two drainage demonstration sites in Torbay Sub-catchment. If funded, the sites will show how drains can be modified to reduce sediment and nutrient transport.
Household effluent disposal policy
The City of Albany has advised that it is to review Council's household effluent disposal policy to more appropriately reflect the Department of Environmental Protection guidelines for environmentally sensitive areas. This policy guides the density, distance from waterways and type of household effluent disposal unit allowed.
The policy change will mean that future development proposals for low lying areas and areas in close proximity to waterways, if allowed at all, will have conditions applied to minimise the risk of nutrients leaching from household effluent disposal systems into waterways.
Logo design competition
The Torbay Sub-catchment Group is now holding a logo design competition, open to all school-aged residents of the sub-catchment. It could be your logo that we see on the Group's letterheads, press releases and on roadside signs for projects carried out in the catchment! The closing date is 30th September 1999.
Lake Powell bird hide
CALM is currently assisting the Albany Bird Group with their application for a bird hide at Lake Powell. As Lake Powell is an A-Class reserve, formal approval from CALM is required and the application must demonstrate that a bird hide will benefit scientic study and educational purposes.
Further information
If you would like more information or would like to discuss any of these projects further please contact Julie Pech on 9842 5760.
This project is supported by the Water and Rivers Commission
