2017-01-16 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                               16 JANUARY 2017


9                         NOOSA RIVER MANAGEMENT
Document i nformati on




Author                                Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast), Jan Maddin
                                      Planning & Infrastructure Department

Index                                 ECM/ Subject / Waterways Management – Noosa River

Attachments                           1.    Waterways Monitoring in the Noosa Shire

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.


RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Environment Officer (Rivers and Coast) to the General
Committee Meeting dated 16 January 2017 and agree to the proposal to review and update the
Noosa River Plan under a whole-of-catchment management framework as outlined in the report.


1.                        PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT
In October 2016, two workshops were conducted with Councillors to explore each of the Noosa
River Community Jury recommendations and identify any significant issues regarding their
implementation, including the State’s response to Council’s request to support the transfer of
agreed river management responsibilities.
Some of the discussions at the workshops concerned the possibly limited scope of the Jury topic
(i.e. largely Noosa Estuary focussed), and whether a whole-of-catchment approach to river
management ought to be adopted moving forward.
The purpose of this report is to propose a whole-of-catchment approach to river management and
provide information about:
                       the Noosa River catchment;
                       the values, threats and management challenges within the catchment;
                       the outcomes of 20 years of river planning activities; and
                       how the Jury recommendations can be implemented under a whole-of-catchment
                         management framework.


2.                        NOOSA RIVER CATCHMENT
Noosa is one of three river systems located within or partly within the Noosa Local Government
Area. It covers 63% of the Shire, while tributaries of the Mary River cover 36% and minor tributaries
of the Maroochy River cover 1% (refer Map 1 below).




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