INTEGRATED WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM - BURGESS CREEK (Referred from Planning & Environment Committee Meeting dated 11 July 2023 - Item 5.8) · Report

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                             17 JULY 2023


purpose of the REMP is to monitor the effects of the release of contaminants (treated wastewater)
on the receiving water environment i.e. Burgess Creek.

The REMP for the Noosa STP must include but is not limited to:

   1. A description of the potentially affected environment including key communities and ambient
      water quality.
   2. A description of water quality objectives and biological objectives to be achieved.
   3. A description of selected physio-chemical and biological indicators and reasons for their
      inclusion.
   4. The locations of monitoring stations including monitoring transects away from the outfall of
      the approved release as well as any control locations.
   5. The proposed sampling depths.
   6. The water quality characteristics of receiving waters to be determined.
   7. The frequency of sampling and analysis.
   8. Any historical data sets to be relied upon.
   9. A description of the statistical basis on which conclusions are drawn.

The REMP includes water quality monitoring at seven sample sites in the Burgess Creek Catchment
on a monthly schedule for laboratory analysis including e.coli, enterococci, total suspended solids,
total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrate + nitrite (NOx), phosphate as p, ammonia, and chlorophyll-
a. In situ water quality monitoring using a water quality meter is also carried out for turbidity, pH,
dissolved oxygen, and electrical conductivity.

Unitywater is compliant with all required water quality characteristic limits set by DES for releasing
treated wastewater including those for faecal coliforms, intestinal enterococci, total nitrogen, total
phosphorus and turbidity, which are tested weekly (except for turbidity which is continuously
monitored).

In October 2022 Unitywater established an interagency group to meet monthly on water quality and
catchment management matters. A request was sent via Council’s CEO to access Unitywater’s
REMP data. Unitywater agreed to the request providing a Confidentiality Agreement was established
in a meeting held 9 December 2022.

The Confidentiality Deed was created by Unitywater for a period of five years from January 2023-
2027 for the purposes of sharing information on Burgess Creek’s water quality and cooperating on
environmental protection matters, and was signed by both parties in January 2023.

Under the Deed, Unitywater presented data to Noosa Council officers in the interagency working
group on 8 February 2023, and access to the full suite of data was subsequently provided to the
Environment Officer – Rivers & Coast who was designated the assigned data controller for Noosa
Council. Data is stored in Unitywater’s Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

The data controller is responsible for:

   •   Controlling the data at Noosa Council and reinforcing the Confidentiality Deed, ensuring
       everyone has read and understood the Deed before accessing data.
   •   Holding a register of those who have requested access and ensuring the Deed has been
       read and understood.