Issues

• Values: what do we need to sustain?
• Constraints
• SoE and Limits to Knowledge

• Atmosphere
• Land
• Inland Waters and Wetlands
• Biodiversity
• Settlements
• Cultural Heritage
• Coastal, Estuarine and Marine

• Response Instruments
• Summary of Report Recommendations
• Strategic Recommendations
• Conclusion

This sustainability review of the Inland Waters and Wetlands Chapter summarises the chapter content and provides an overview from a 'sustainability' perspective. A similar framework is used for all chapters within the 'Sustainability Review'. This provides a consistent way of comparing the major findings across the SoE Report within this final chapter. The 'Sustainability Review' provides the highest-level summary of each of the chapters. More detailed information is provided within each of the major theme chapters. Links are provided to the issue reports referred to in the 'conditions and trends' section below.

The content is organised under five major headings from a higher-level summary in the section entitled 'vision' to comparatively more detail in the section on 'conditions and trends' and 'what has been achieved'.

1. Objective: Presents an objective for water resources.
    
2. Integrating concepts or indicators: Reports on any integrating concepts or indicators provided in the chapter.
    
3. Capacity to assess and measure: Reports on capacity to assess conditions and trends for this chapter theme.
    
4. Conditions and trends: Presents a summary of the key findings of the chapter, with links back to the related Issue Reports for further detail.
    
5. What has been achieved, 1998-2003: Presents a summary of key initiatives over the five year review period for the Second SoE Report.
    

Water Resources Objective

The objective reflects the vision established by Tasmania Together and the key findings of the Inland Waters and Wetlands Chapter. Applicable Tasmania Together standards under Goal 24 include: 'To reduce air and water pollution' and 'To maintain and enhance the productive capacity of soil and water'. For further information see Tasmania Together Goals applicable to the Inland Waters and Wetlands Chapter and Tasmania Together.

The productivity of water resources is maintained through regard to land use effects on water resources and the cumulative consequences (and downstream consequences) of our patterns of water use on water quantity and water quality. Riparian vegetation, wetlands, and other aquatic values are protected, recognising the significance of the environmental services provided by these systems. Surface water and groundwater is allocated equitably and sustainably, and appropriate price signals are provided to consumers, which recognise the scarcity of these resources and the cost of supply. Wild rivers are maintained in perpetuity.

Integrating concepts or indicators

Water quality is defined as a measure of the life sustaining nature of Tasmania's inland water resources and the potential of that water. Water quality is the integrator of the effects of our catchment management practices and the impacts of these on our estuaries and coastal zones. It is also a key indicator of sustainability (DPIWE 2003).

Exceedences of the ANZECC (2000) aquatic ecosystem guidelines (adapted for Tasmanian conditions) were recorded for a range of water quality parameters. Sites with a high number of turbidity exceedences of ANZECC guidelines are typically those surrounded by agricultural land or impacted by mining, while forested sites in the Southern Forests showed few exceedences. Conductivity exceedences occur for a number of rivers particularly during low flow periods, and tend to increase as rivers approach the coast. Prolific algal growth resulting from high nutrient levels in streams is noted at specific sites. Metal exceedences are seen in the Pieman and Savage River mining areas, but little monitoring of metals has occurred recently in the King River.

Capacity to assess and measure

Capacity to assess and report on conditions and trends in relation to the State's water resources is improving as a result of the expanded network of stream gauging stations across the State, the National Land and Water Resources Audit, and better dissemination of information through on-line products such as W.I.R.E.D (Water Information Resources and Electronic Data). Some aspects of understanding of aquatic health have improved as a result of National Land and Water Resources Audit Assessments of wetland status and through the AUSRIVAS monitoring of aquatic health through macroinvertebrates. The most notable deficiencies in information relate to groundwater and aspects of aquatic health.

Conditions and trends

The Inland Waters and Wetlands Chapter in this SoE Report reviews freshwater water resources under two broad topics: condition and threatening processes. Within these topics, eight issues are examined - water quality; water quantity and water use; groundwater; health and extent of native riparian vegetation; aquatic health; wetlands; wild rivers; and landuse and inland waters. More detailed information is provided in the Inland Waters and Wetlands Chapter.

Water Quality: Exceedences of the ANZECC (2000) aquatic ecosystem guidelines (adapted for Tasmanian conditions) were recorded for a range of water quality parameters. Sites with a high number of turbidity exceedences of ANZECC guidelines are typically those surrounded by agricultural land or impacted by mining, while forested sites in the Southern Forests showed few exceedences. Conductivity exceedences occur for a number of rivers particularly during low flow periods, and tend to increase as rivers approach the coast. Prolific algal growth resulting from high nutrient levels in streams is noted at specific sites. Metal exceedences are seen in the Pieman and Savage River mining areas. Little monitoring of metals has occurred recently in the King River as monitoring efforts are focussed on downstream impacts on Macquarie Harbour.

Water Quantity and Water Use: Since the last SoE Report (1997), some 907 dams have been approved although most of these are presently 'proposed' rather than 'existing'. As at September 2002, the Water Information Management System database registered 5,516 existing dams (both in-stream and off-stream) for irrigation, stock, and stock and domestic uses. Growth of water use for irrigation since the last SoE Report is shown to be occurring by about 7% per annum. The ABS Water Account for Australia (ABS 2000) reported that Tasmania had the lowest mean household water usage of 176 kL/year. However, there is some uncertainty in this information due to the potential for strong seasonal influences on these data and because of the lack of domestic metering to verify consumption on a more regular basis. The occurrence of water restrictions is one of the few 'measures' of rivers/regions under stress through water extraction. Some 22 rivers/regions are identified as being under stress during a typical dry summer.

Groundwater: In 1996 (most recent data available), groundwater use in Tasmania was estimated to be 20,000 ML/yr. This was only 4% of the total estimated sustainable yield of 500,000 ML/yr for 1995 (ARMCANZ 1996) and less than 1% of the 2,500,000 ML/yr estimate for 2000 (NLWRA 2001). It was also only 6.5% of the total major useable groundwater resources of 312,000 ML/yr (the amount within the Groundwater Management Units and not within fractured rock aquifers). However, there is uncertainty associated with the estimates of sustainable yield, because of the limited groundwater data available in Tasmania. Mineral Resources Tasmania found that only 1.7% (49) of the watertables located in 2,903 production groundwater bores across the State were at high risk of rising salinity. The watertables in 8.8% (255) of the bores were at medium risk and 89.5% (2,599) were at low risk of rising salinity.

Health and Extent of Native Riparian Vegetation: Native riparian vegetation in Tasmania is diverse in species composition and structure; however, in 1998 an estimated 1,668 km² (53%) was categorised as moderately to substantially disturbed. Many communities are poorly reserved.

Aquatic Health: Surveys show impacts to varying degrees in the biological communities in the rivers assessed. To date only a small proportion of the total extent of Tasmania's rivers has been assessed, and the focus has been on sites considered to have known or suspected problems, which creates a biased picture of the State's aquatic health. Tasmania has a higher percentage of unmodified river length than most States, with a number of sites in the South-west Wilderness World Heritage Area considered to be in pristine condition. However, as part of testing the AUSRIVAS river health models in Tasmania, an assessment of selected test sites across the State with known or suspected impacts found that the macroinvertebrate communities were impacted at nearly half of the sites.

Wetlands: Tasmania has a large number of wetlands which are diverse and widely distributed across the State. Of the State's 148 wetland sites of high conservation value, 59 are of conservation importance at a State level and 89 at a national level. Approximately 60% of the nationally important wetlands are in good or near-pristine condition. A further 281 sites are considered to have conservation significance and have been proposed for listing as important wetlands. However, at present very few listed sites have any sort of security through reservation, and in the order of 25% are declining in condition or have suffered extinctions. Information is patchy, outdated or biased towards specific disciplines (e.g. bird values), and the pre-European extent of wetlands is unknown.

Wild Rivers: A Wild Rivers assessment was undertaken in 1998 as part of a national Wild Rivers Assessment (Environment Australia 1998). Tasmania's wild rivers make up 25% of the State's rivers with a total length of 9,907 km, with the majority being in the south-west.

Land Use and Inland Waters: This Issue Report draws together the pressures and effects on Tasmania's inland waters from land use activities and management practices. There are many land use pressures on Tasmania's inland waters. They generally stem from the management practices of water extraction and storage for human uses (e.g. agriculture, drinking water and industry) and catchment land use activities like land clearing, agriculture, native vegetation conversion, industry and urbanisation.

What has been achieved, 1998-2003

• The Water Management Act 1999 was introduced, providing for the sustainable use and development of water resources. The Act supersedes statutory water management provisions in 13 other Acts. All existing water entitlements have been converted to licences and allocations under the Act.
   
• The Board of Environmental Management and Pollution Control has been setting Protected Environmental Values (PEVs) for surface waters since early 1999 as required by the State Policy on Water Quality Management 1997.
   
• Capping of water usage occurred in the South Esk basin with further work done on the Great Forester River to cap use and prevent water creep. Proposals are being considered to extend this type of exercise Statewide. Installation of water meters has also occurred in the South Esk basin as part of water management planning.
   
• Through the water infrastructure program in Tasmania, new water quality and water flow monitoring site installations are occurring.
   
• A new assessment process for dam construction permits under the Water Management Act 1999 has been established which applies to both to small and large storage construction.
   
• The National Heritage Trust has funded river rehabilitation projects in Tasmania as part of the National Rivercare Program. These have been coordinated through The Rivercare Team at DPIWE.
   
• The development of a strategic framework for improved management of the environmental protection of freshwater ecosystem values has commenced in Tasmania. The 'Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystem Values Project' is part of the implementation of the Water Development Plan for Tasmania. This framework includes a program to identify freshwater ecosystem values in Tasmania and the development of a conservation system based on comprehensive, adequate and representative principles.
   
• A National Land and Water Resources Audit assessment was undertaken of the 'Condition and Status of Tasmania's Wetlands and Riparian Vegetation' (Dunn 2002).
   
• The National Land and Water Resources Audit compiled Tasmanian data on water quality and water quantity.
   
• A 'Wetlands Strategy for Tasmania Draft Discussion Paper' (DPIWE 2000) was prepared.
   
• The introduction of changes through the 'Vegetation Management Policy Framework' will provide benefits in relation to the land use effects on water. Initiatives include TASVEG mapping of forest and non-forest communities, the 'Permanent Forest Estate Policy', and the amendments under the Forest Practices Amendment Act 2001 relating to forest clearance other than for forest harvesting.