 Environmental
Management Services
Urban Stormwater Quality Management Plan
Overview
Townsville City Council is currently developing an urban stormwater
quality management plan to protect the environmental values of the
streams, drainage lines and wetlands in the Townsville area. An
atlas has been prepared to facilitate the first stage of
consultation.
It represents a compilation of available literature on the
ecological condition and existing use of the drainage lines and waters
into which stormwater flows. The community is invited to comment on the
descriptions of these sites. Stormwater
Stormwater is rainfall which runs off roads, roofs, car parks of
residential and commercial areas and land and then flows into local
creeks, rivers, lakes and the ocean. These creeks, rivers, lakes and
the ocean are termed "receiving waters". Stormwater can become
polluted if it picks up chemicals and litter from its catchment.
When contaminated stormwater flows into receiving waters it has the
potential to adversely affect the environmental quality of those aquatic
environments. Urban catchments are particularly problematic due
to:
- the amount of hard surfaces that do not allow rainfall to soak into
the ground;
- the speed with which runoff is drained to receiving waters;
and
- the proximity of stormwater drainage systems to sources of
pollution, such as oil and grease from roads, litter, sediment and other
pollutants from domestic, commercial and industrial activities which can
enter the drainage system.
Legislation
The State government is raising awareness within the community,
business and industry about stormwater issues. In 1997 the
Environmental Protection (Water) Policy 1997 (EPP (Water)) was enacted to
help manage the quality of Queensland’s waters. EPP (Water) is based
upon the principles of ecologically sustainable
development established in the Environmental Protection Act
(1994). Under EPP (Water), each local government with an urban
stormwater system is required to develop and implement stormwater quality
management plans.
top Urban Stormwater Quality Management Plan
Townsville City Council (TCC) has been actively involved in stormwater
management by providing the city with infrastructure (eg. drains) and
managing activities to reduce the impact of stormwater on Townsville’s
aquatic and riparian habitats. As a natural extension of this,
Council is reviewing the environmental condition of drainage lines and
receiving waters. This review will be used to develop a plan to
further improve the quality of urban stormwater drainage and to protect
Townsville’s environs. Sinclair Knight Merz has been asked to assist
in the development of this Urban Stormwater Quality Management Plan
(USQMP).
TCC’s USQMP will be prepared in accordance with the statutory
requirements of EPP (Water) and will examine the following:
- Environmental values of drainage lines and receiving waters that
should be protected.
- Cost-effective measures to minimise contamination of receiving
waters.
- Cost-effective measures to maximise stormwater infiltration and
soakage.
- Planning and design of new infrastructure, including minimising
ecological impacts on waters in the locality, acceptable health risks,
aesthetics, protection from flooding, public safety and other social
issues.
- Opportunities to build contaminant control measures and re-establish
riparian vegetation and aesthetically pleasing environments where
drainage corridors have become degraded.
- The order of priority for implementing maintenance or improvement
works.
- Integration of the plan with catchment based planning and land
use planning.
top Definitions for Managing Water Quality
Several of the terms used to describe the management of water quality
have specific meanings, some of which are not immediately clear. The
use of these terms in the current document is explained
below.
Site Description
This plan is all about
managing important sites. It is also about prioritising which sites
are in greatest need of protection from the adverse effects of
stormwater. Before this can be done, the important characteristics
of each site which receive stormwater runoff must be described. This
includes a description of ecological characteristics, such as the types of
plants and animals which occur at that site. It might also include
whether a site has particular ecological values (such as being a wildlife
corridor), or is habitat for rare or threatened flora or fauna.
"Ecological values" must not be confused with the term "environmental
value" which has a specific meaning under EPP (Water), and is described
below.
Site Uses
It is also important to
understand how people use and appreciate these sites so that existing and
future levels of threat can be gauged. Site uses can sometimes
conflict with urban stormwater management. For example, urbanisation
of a catchment requires flood prevention works which could threaten water
quality if important vegetation is removed. Since it is the aim of
the USQMP to produce a plan which acknowledges the human context of the
catchment, it is also important that site uses (and the management issues
these can lead to) are identified.
Environmental Values
Ordinarily the term
"environmental value" might be used in a manner similar to that above for
"site description". However this term has a specific meaning under
EPP (Water) and will be used in TCC’s USQMP in a manner consistent with
that Policy.
EPP (Water) and the ANZECC (1992) "Australian Water Quality Guidelines
for Fresh and Marine Waters" (AWQG) establish default standards for water
quality according to the desired characteristics or uses of a particular
water body. The highest level of protection or care is given to
water bodies which are managed to achieve healthy natural
ecosystems. In this case the "environmental value" or management
goal is "ecosystem protection". A water body which is used for
industry water supply and does not need to be managed for any other type
of use would be assigned an "environmental value" or management goal of
"industrial water". Ultimately, these types of standards will be
applied to all Townsville water bodies. Until they are, we need to
be careful not to use the term "environmental value" in a way which might
later cause confusion. For now though, we simply need to identify site
uses and issues.
top Standards
for Managing Water Quality
AWQG defines 5 main levels of "environmental value" or standards for
managing water quality. The full listing of "environmental values"
used in AWQG is:
- ecosystem protection (both inland and marine), including protection
of waters used for shellfish and fish production and by wildlife
- recreation and aesthetics
- raw water for drinking water supply
- agricultural water
- industrial water
EPP (Water) which draws heavily upon this list of "environmental
values". It also puts in place a framework for deciding on
appropriate "environmental values" for water bodies. In essence TCC
will develop and propose environmental values for each site, then
Department of Environment and Heritage and Department of Natural Resources
will review and reach a decision.
top Planning Process
Study Process
Stages in the Urban Stormwater Quality
Plan
A general model for the preparation and ongoing review of TCC’s USQMP
is shown above. The first stage in the development of the USQMP is
to establish the existing environmental condition of the drainage lines
and receiving waters, that is, produce "site descriptions" for each
wetland area. This process is being done through community consultation,
review of existing literature and an assessment of the hydrology and
ecology of each site.
For Stage One of the USQMP, TCC has produced an atlas of key
sites of receiving waters in Townsville. This atlas is being made
available for public consultation so that you, the community, can help us
describe these sites and/or suggest additional sites you think should be
included in the atlas. Information you provide to us through will be used
in Stage Two.
Stage Two will commence once we have all the information about
sites from stakeholder groups and the public. In Stage Two we decide
on the management objectives for each site. This means establishing
the "environmental values" which AWQG and EPP (Water) use to set an
appropriate standard for each water body. These values will be
prepared by TCC and reviewed by a local technical committee comprising
scientists, planners, engineers and representatives of Department of
Environment and Heritage (DEH) and Department of Natural Resources.
DEH will have the final say in adopting values before Stage Three is
undertaken.
In Stage Three we will assess the levels of threat that
stormwater impacts pose to the key sites identified in Stage
One. For each site we will determine whether current or future
stormwater runoff will impact the site so that the water quality
objectives necessary to meet the environmental value may not be
achieved. Obviously the greatest levels of threat will be found in
sites which need to be managed to maintain ecological integrity, but in
which there is heavy urbanisation or industrial
development.
Stage Four will identify and determine the cost of implementing
infrastructure or other programs to achieve the water quality standards
identified in Stage Two. A range of different options will be
examined for each priority site. Options, their cost, and their
likelihood of leading to improved water quality will be compared for each
site so that the highest priorities can be established to protect the
sites under greatest threat. This method ensures that public funds
are directed to where they will achieve the greatest good. Once this
has been determined a document describing the outcomes of Stage Four will
be made available for public consultation.
In Stage Five, a 5 year works program will be developed to
provide guidance to Council on infrastructure required to improve urban
stormwater quality management in the priority areas.
Stage Six is the implementation phase, when Council will conduct
the improvement works. This stage will extend to the end of each
rolling 5 year implementation phase, after which the entire process will
be revisited. During the implementation phase it may sometimes be
necessary to review portions of the USQMP, particularly if major projects
or urban developments affect key sites.
top Where are we now
We are now in Stage One. Background information has been reviewed
and we are now seeking public feedback before finalising the Atlas of
Environmental Values. Identifying Key Sites for the
Atlas
The first stage in developing the TCC USQMP has been to review the
environmental conditions and existing uses of aquatic habitats in the
Townsville area. Sixty-two key sites have been identified and
described in this atlas. Information has been obtained from the following
sources:
- Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research. Wetlands
of the Townsville area. Report No 96/28 (1996).
- Australian Conservation Authority (1996). Directory of important
wetlands.
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority - Central Great Barrier
Reef Zoning information.
- Rapid Identification of Key Environmental Sites (RIKES). A
Community-Based Programme for Environmental Planning in Townsville
(1990).
- State of Queensland (1998) - Department of Environment and Heritage
- Information on Stormwater.
- Townsville - Thuringowa Strategy Plan. Nature Conservation Draft
Policy Paper (1996).
- Townsville City Council - Engineering Services.
- Townsville City Council Land Information Services.
top List
of Sites
|
Contact Us 
Home
Email a Friend
