2016-02-02 P&O Committee - Item 3 - Attachment 4 - Mary River Environmental Values and Water Quality Objectives

            Mary River environmental values and water quality objectives



                Environmental             Water type/        Water quality objectives to protect EV
                value                         area           (refer to specified codes and guidelines for full details)
                                         (refer Table 1
                                            and Plan
                                            WQ1381)
                                                                                                9
                Suitability for        coastal,              Objectives as per NHMRC (2008) , including:
                primary contact        estuarine and         • Water free of physical (floating and submerged) hazards
                recreation             freshwaters           • Temperature: 16–34°C
                                                             • pH: 6.5 – 8.5
                                                             • DO: >80%
                                                             • Faecal contamination: designated recreational waters are protected
                                                                 against direct contamination with fresh faecal material, particularly of
                                                                 human or domesticated animal origin. Two principal components are
                                                                 required for assessing faecal contamination:
                                                                      • assessment of evidence for the likely influence of faecal
                                                                      material; and
                                                                      • counts of suitable faecal indicator bacteria (usually
                                                                      enterococci).
                                                                 These two components are combined to produce an overall microbial
                                                                 classification of the recreational water body.
                                                                                             th
                                                             • Intestinal enterococci: 95 %ile ≤40 organisms per 100mL (for
                                                                 healthy adults) (NHMRC, 2008; Table 5.7)
                                                             • Direct contact with venomous or dangerous aquatic organisms
                                                                 should be avoided. Recreational water bodies should be reasonably
                                                                 free of, or protected from, venomous organisms (eg box jellyfish and
                                                                 bluebottles).
                                                             • Cyanobacteria/algae - coastal/estuarine: recreational water bodies
                                                                 should not contain ≥ 10 cells/mL Karenia brevis and/or have Lyngbya
                                                                 majuscula and/or Pfiesteria present in high numbers.
                                                             • Cyanobacteria/algae – fresh water: recreational water bodies should
                                                                 not contain ≥10 µg/L total microcystins; ≥50 000 cells/mL toxic
                                                                                                                              3
                                                                 Microcystis aeruginosa; or biovolume equivalent of ≥4 mm /L for the
                                                                 combined total of all cyanobacteria where a known toxin producer is
                                                                                                                 3
                                                                 dominant in the total biovolume; OR ≥10 mm /L for total biovolume of
                                                                 all cyanobacterial material where known toxins are not present; OR•
                                                                 cyanobacterial scums consistently present. Further details contained
                                                                 in Table 4.
                                                             Waters contaminated with chemicals that are either toxic or irritating to
                                                             the skin or mucous membranes are unsuitable for recreational purposes.
                Suitability for        coastal,              Objectives as per NHMRC (2008), including:
                                                                                             th
                secondary              estuarine and         • Intestinal enterococci: 95 %ile ≤40 organisms per 100mL (for
                contact                freshwaters               healthy adults) (NHMRC, 2008; Table 5.7)
                recreation
                Suitability for        coastal,              Objectives as per NHMRC (2008), including:
                visual recreation      estuarine and         Recreational water bodies should be aesthetically acceptable to
                                       freshwaters           recreational users. The water should be free from visible materials that
                                                             may settle to form objectionable deposits; floating debris, oil, scum and
                                                             other matter; substances producing objectionable colour, odour, taste or
                                                             turbidity; and substances and conditions that produce undesirable
                                                             aquatic life.
                Protection of          coastal, estuarine    Protect or restore indigenous and non-indigenous cultural heritage consistent
                cultural and           and freshwaters,      with relevant policies and plans.
                spiritual values       ground waters


            9
             The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has updated the recreational water quality guidelines
            established in the AWQG (2000). These are available from the NHMRC website at:
            http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/publications/synopses/eh38.pdf



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Document Set ID: 20002123
Version: 1, Version Date: 21/12/2015