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Resolutions - 21 August 2002 Government Water Quality Reports Catchment Consultation Parliamentary Enquiry Extend Harbourwatch to Concord / Ryde Release the March 2001 EPA Stormwater Audit Summaries of Dr Gavin Birch's works on sediment contamination Check out the Wetlands page as well for details of the Newington and Bicentennial Park Wetlands. Canada Bay Resolutions - 21 August 2002 City of Canada Bay has passed resolutions : 1. That Council request NSW Health to review levels of contamination in fish at various locations in the Parramatta River adjacent to the City of Canada Bay so as to provide public health advice to amateur anglers on the safe levels of consumption of fish caught from the foreshores of the City of Canada Bay, with a focus on areas zoned for higher density and adjacent to areas of foreshore parkland and areas shown by the works of Gavin Birch to have highly contaminated sediments, including areas near the AGL site and the upper reaches of Iron Cove and at the western end of the City where fish are most likely to have been exposed to the toxicity in Homebush Bay. 2. That Council review the draft Sydney Harbour Catchment Blueprint and make submissions within the allowed time to the effect that the actions and timetables should focus on the improvement of the western part of the catchment which suffers most from algal blooms and eutrophication, on the remediation of the most highly contaminated sediments at Mortlake and Iron Cove, on the actions necessary to lift health related fishing bans in the western part of the catchment and on reduction of wet & dry {weather} sewage overflows in the western part of the catchment. 3. That Council request Orica and EPA to release the human health study conducted by URS Australia entitled "Human Health and Environmental Risk Assessment of Sediments in South East Homebush Bay, and if not released to lodge a Freedom of Information Request seeking release of the report and Council to advise {local community groups and community liaison groups} of the results of the requests. (paraphrased) 4 That council review the adequacy of signage in the City of Canada Bay warning of the health based Commercial Fin Fishing Ban west of Gladesville Bridge, the complete fin fishing ban in Homebush Bay and the complete ban on the taking of intertidal organisms in Sydney Harbour and where necessary place or replace appropriate signage. (paraphrased) Council also resolved to display Development Applications relating to the SREP 29 area at Council library and Customer Service Centre nearest Rhodes, subject clear advice that the council officers are not able to assist as the consent authority is Planning NSW. Council also advises that Gavin Birch will do a presentation to council at 6:30 pm on Tuesday 10 September. The presentation will cover sediment contamination in the Parramatta River, including international comparisons and toxic hotspots in Sydney Harbour, including near the AGL site and upper Iron Cove. Catchment Management
Plans
Government
Water Quality sites and Reports The Sydney Water report Towards Sustainability 2001 further confirms the problems. See the section on sewage in Port Jackson (including the Parramatta River). The graphics give a good indication of the relatively poorer state of the western part of the catchment. Sydney Water 2000/01 Water Quality report is available as a pdf file at http://www.sydneywater.com.au/html/tsr/pdf/pdfs.html Download EICR volume 1. Homebush Bay is still one of the worst places for Algal Blooms. To see the Beachwatch Annual Report (which includes information on Harbourwatch) go to http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/beach/annual/ and download the pdf file for the area of interest to you. For Sydney Harbour see http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/beach/download/ar2001/Chapter4-SydHarbour.PDF See the latest Harbourwatch Report. Note where it seems to end for the Parramatta River. See the latest monthly report for Harbourwatch. Note that it monitors Darling Harbour where there is no primary contact and doesn't meet the stated criteria for monitoring but doesn't include Concord & Ryde which does. Harbourwatch rated Cabarita Park at 16 on a scale of 1 to 25 in the report published in the Sunday papers in October 2001. This was one of the poorest results achieved. (It is understood there has now been improvement) Make submissions to the Sydney Harbour Catchment Management Board or if its website is not yet operative see the test site . You might also want to have a look at the website of the Sydney Harbour Manager which includes details of the formation of the Sydney Harbour Region Environment Forum The Western Sydney Region Councils produce a Regional State Of the Environment Report Why does EPA Harbourwatch monitor Parramatta River water quality for Hunters Hill, Balmain and Greenwich area but not for Ryde, Concord? City of Canada Bay has called for the EPA to monitor water quality in the Parramatta River near the entrance to Homebush Bay and to extend EPA's Harbourwatch and website to report results, EPA refuses. The EPA monitors Darling Harbour which does not meet its stated criteria, but not Concord & Ryde which does! Why hasn't the Minister released the Sydney Harbour Stormwater Audit dated March 2000 prepared by the EPA? What could be so damning in this report? Sewerage, contamination of sediments and industrial sites adjoining the river, issues about the redevelopment of the Rhodes Peninsula and the remediation of the dioxin contaminated sediments are all a cause for concern for sailors, rowers, sea scouts and other recreational users of the middle reaches of the Parramatta River. Homebush Bay, and Duck River are two of the most polluted parts of Sydney Harbour, and the tidal flush leaves 50% of the pollution still in the Harbour after 200 days. All of this pollution effects water quality for the residents of Canada Bay, Ryde and Hunters Hill. The lack of concern of the EPA is shown by the failure to include the middle reaches of the River in its Harbour Watch service The sewerage problems in the Lane Cove River and Middle Harbour have been substantially reduced, but the government is ignoring the people of the middle western suburbs. The Council of the City of Canada Bay has called for water quality monitoring at the junction of Homebush Bay and the inclusion of reports on the Harbourwatch web site and for a report by Council Officers on the Stormwater Audit. Write to your local member, the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Sport & Recreation your local council and your sporting body to campaign for better water quality for the Parramatta River, including Homebush Bay, Duck River and the freshwater section of the river. The Minister for the
Environment The Minister for Sport and
Recreation Mr John Murray MP The Mayor The Mayor The Mayor The President Rowing NSW Dear Sir Parramatta River I am writing to you to call on you and the NSW Government to repair the water quality of the Parramatta River, including Homebush Bay, Duck River and the fresh water part of the river. Sydney Water is allowed to pollute the river by the EPA to the extent that Homebush Bay and the upper estuarine catchment of the Parramatta River suffer from among the worst Algal Blooms in Sydney Harbour. The sediments of Homebush Bay need to be remediated to World Health Organisation standards so that the fish in the River are safe to eat. this includes the DDT and Metals affected areas, not just the Dioxin affected areas as presently proposed. Our sailors, rowers, sea scouts and other recreational users of the river are put at risk by the failure to ensure proper water quality in the River. The EPA does not even report water quality in the middle reaches in its Harbour Watch web site, possibly because this would highlight how unacceptable the results are. The EPA should remedy this immediately. It is not acceptable that the problems of the Lane Cove River and Middle Harbour are solved for the well off and that the working class voters of the middle western suburbs have a river of filth. The NSW Government needs to fix this for the voters of the central western suburbs. Yours sincerely, |
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