INTEGRATED WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM - BURGESS CREEK · Unitywater Burgess Creek REMP 2022 Annual Review (A7703347)

                                                      Burgess Creek Monitoring Program
                                                                            Annual Review 2022

1.0 Executive Summary

Unitywater undertakes surface water monitoring in accordance with the conditions present
within the Environmental Authority EPPR008691113 (the EA) for Noosa Sewage Treatment
Plant (STP) in the Burgess Creek Catchment. This annual report summarises the surface
water monitoring conducted throughout the 2021 calendar year. During the 2021 review
period, 0 non-compliances were recorded for treated wastewater releases from the Noosa
STP in association with the conditions imposed by the EA.

Water quality monitoring data collected as part of this program has been presented in nine
ways to ensure that the influence of the treated wastewater discharged from the Noosa STP
is adequately represented and assessed. Results highlighted the complexity of the Burgess
Creek catchment and the potential influence of the STP along with additional land use, ocean
proximity and groundwater input drivers. Changing climatic conditions, statistically significant
differences, and temporal variability sourced from estimated flow rate defines trending results
with decreased water in the Catchment. A comparative assessment with Water Quality
Objectives (WQO) indicated a consistent trend of overall compliance with the water quality
objectives.

2.0 Scope
The Burgess Creek Monitoring Program has been developed to ensure compliance with the
EA. Its purpose is to assess the potential impacts of the Noosa STP treated wastewater outfall
within the Burgess Creek catchment. The program is designed per conditions NHW5 and
NHW6 of the EA outlined in Figure 1. It addresses physical, chemical and biological water
quality indicators in line with environmental values of lowland freshwaters in the Noosa River.

Figure 1. Condition NHW5 and NHW6 of Environmental Authority EPPR008691113 (p40).




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