Beach Water Quality Interim Project

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Beach Water Quality Interim Project

• Information session
• 27 March 07

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Overview

• - Project Objective
• -Whats been done
• -Current tasks
• - Future work....

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Project Objective

• To better characterise and improve water
  quality in recreational areas of Port Phillip and
  Westernport Bays
• Identify and map swimming beaches.
• Monitor water quality to establish current
  conditions.
• Identify priority beaches for protection,
• complete source investigations at these beaches
• develop agreed mitigation strategies

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What weve achieved

• - recreational areas identified and mapped
• - beach monitoring program in Port Phillip and
  Westernport Bays 2005-2007 (46 sites)

Current work
- Compiling analysing seasons data
investigation results, - Drafting of water
quality criteria, key risks and priority beaches
reports.
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• Results from monitoring program from
• summer 2006-2007
• 
  
  
• Westernport (10 sites)
• Port Phillip Bay
• (36 sites)

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PORT PHILLIP BAY Enterococci
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WESTERNPORT Enterococci
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Westernport Bay after wet weather...
Rainfall (mm) from 9am on the previous day
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Water Quality Criteria

• Review of guidelines for microbiological,
  phys/chem characteristics in marine recreational
  waters
• collation of WQ criteria based on
• WHO Guidelines for safe recreational water
  environments
• NHMRC Guidelines for managing risks in
  recreational waters
• ANZECC 2000 Australian New Zealand Guidelines
  for Fresh Marine Water

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Key risks to beach water quality

• local discharges (riverine stormwater
  runoff)
• sewage (septic tank seepage overflow etc. )
• bather shedding
• Sensitivities...
• sheltered coastal areas,
• environmental conditions
• beach dynamics

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Determine priority beaches for investigations

• Reporting on the
• - process used to chose beaches in the last
  seasons investigations
• - recommendations for future investigations,
• using historical data the Water Services
  Association of Australias
• method of beach classifications.

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Additional monitoring - Sanitary Inspection
Surveys (SIS)
Priority source investigations

• Purpose
• to provide an assessment of the areas
  susceptibility of influence from human faecal
  contamination - (WHO, 1999)

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Priority beaches in Port Phillip Bay based on
2002 to 06 data

• Beaches with unusual readings in dry weather
  
• Altona
• Rye
• Rosebud
• Frankston Life-Saving Club
• Queenscliff
• Portarlington
• Eastern Beach

• Beaches with issues in all weather
• St Helens
• St Kilda
• Rye
• Mornington
• Frankston Life-Saving Club
• Based on enterococci 95 ile from 2002 - 06

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Altona
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Stakeholder engagement

• Presentation to Westernport councils in Nov
  05
• Bass Coast Shire Council - Cardinia Shire
  Council
• City of Casey - Mornington Peninsula Shire
  Council
• Liasing with Melbourne Water to assist with
  investigations
• Working with councils to implement point source
  investigations within catchment

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Contributions to the main Better Bays Waterways
projects

• Risk Assessment Marine Section
• ...priority areas that are most at risk
  (estuaries, inshore swimming beaches...)
• Condition Report Marine Section
• ..summarize condition.. attainment of SEPP
  objectives for estuaries and beaches...

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Future work

• - Documenting monitoring program source
  investigations results
• - review effectiveness of existing strategies
• - workshoping with external stakeholder groups
  to review the seasons outcomes and develop
  achievable mitigation strategies.

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• Better Bays Waterways Beach Water Quality
• Nigel Nicholls EPA Victoria, Marine Science
  Unit
• Ph 03 8458 2451 nigel.nicholls_at_epa.vic.gov.au
• Data from monitoring program is available at
• http//www.epa.vic.gov.au/beachreport/default.
  asp
• http//www.epa.vic.gov.au/water/coasts/water_qu
  ality.asp