held Tuesday 30th March 1999
A common goal of people present at the meeting is to improve the water quality in waterways of the Torbay sub-catchment.
Sub-Catchment Planning Process
Kym Witney-Soanes (Catchment Support Officer, Agriculture WA) explained the Sub-Catchment planning process i.e. how we can effectively go about improving environmental conditions in the catchment in a coordinated way.
Current and Planned Activities
Chris Gunby (Water and Rivers Commission) briefly ran through current and planned activities in the catchment including funding of fencing and revegetation projects; vegetation surveys; water quality monitoring; Lake Powell bird hide; looking at ways of addressing algal blooms and nutrient enrichment in the drainage system.
Issues needing attention identified at the meeting have been grouped under a number of headings:
Water Quality Monitoring
Further water quality monitoring is required to identify catchment hot-spots. Water quality sampling training requirement - how, where, what, when.
Information Gathering
Survey needed to identify foreshore sites in catchment needing attention. Required to make decisions on where fencing/revegetation funds to be spent. Little information available on the wider catchment. Better knowledge of the waterways is required.
Education/Communication
Education is an important part of catchment work and rehabilitation. Newsletter - get information out to the community on work in the catchment Perception in the community that effluent from the sewerage farm continues to pollute the waterways - vital to communicate information regularly to public.
Controlling rate of water flow through the catchment
Need to slow the rate at which water flows down through waterways. Used to take weeks - now takes hours.
Corio Road - water moves too fast, taking nutrients and sediment with it and depositing it in waterways at bottom of catchment.
Involve and advise Albany City Council of need to reduce rate of runoff, layout of culverts.
Potato farmers in lower part of the catchment have different issues to address - they need to get water off the land quickly in the lower part of the catchment.
Slowing the flow - instream structures e.g. pool and riffle construction.
Silting up of waterways in the lower catchment (eg. Lake Powell) contributes to flooding.
Planning issues
Flooding of buildings in flood-prone areas and sewerage systems don't work A detailed flood study of the lower catchment is required to aid planning and decision making.
Group Representation
The group attending the meeting was well represented by people from throughout the catchment and having a variety of interests [tourism, residential, broader scale agriculture (cattle) and intensive horticulture (potato farming)]. It would be good to see more people from higher up in the catchment involved and for the group to have some representation from the fishing community.
Role of Torbay Sub-Catchment Group
Several options are possible for the set-up of the catchment group:
Next meeting decide what to do regarding this. In the interim, finances can go to Hay LCDC, to pass on as required. Need to arrange contract with WRC/Hay River LCDC to ensure accountability with this procedure. WRC to prepare draft for discussion at next meeting.
Torbay Sub-Catchment Group Vision
'An environmentally clean, balanced ecology supporting a prosperous community in which people respect each other's use of the catchment and waterways'
Tour of catchment
Catchment tour Friday 14th May, starting at the Elleker Hall at 9.00 a.m. sharp. Lunch and afternoon tea provided.
Newsletter
To communicate catchment works to residents in Torbay catchment. Also publicise work, events, meetings etc. in Hay LCDC newsletter.
Next meeting
To be scheduled beginning of June. Elect chairperson, deputy chair and minute taker. Discuss priorities and draft contract with WRC/Hay River LCDC.