Hawkesbury-Nepean River Environmental Monitoring Program

• This broad-scale monitoring of the river system will not necessarily enable the
resolution of localised or initiative-specific cause/effect questions. These targeted
studies are usually undertaken over a much shorter time frame and are more
intensive (requiring an increased frequency of sites and times monitored).
Notably:
⎯ the need for detailed information on specific initiatives or localised areas will
still need to be addressed through targeted studies
⎯ targeted studies identified to date that would be important to understanding
the impacts of the Metro Water Plan on river health will include the e-flow
studies being undertaken by the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA),
monitoring to be commissioned by Sydney Water Corporation (SWC) on the
replacement flows project, and monitoring of the effectiveness of weir
modification along the Nepean River
⎯ it is not anticipated the HN-EMP Program will exert any particular control over
any targeted studies beyond providing a basis for the coordination of
monitoring and data sharing. The HN-EMP can however, provide a longerterm
temporal context for these targeted studies.
• Together, these two monitoring approaches (broad-scale and targeted) will
provide both the long-term and short-term data needed to assess the systemwide
effect of cumulative and initiative-specific management changes in the
Hawkesbury-Nepean River system. They are complementary to one another, and
both are required to monitor and understand the system and how it responds to
future changes.
• This report focuses on the broad-scale surveillance monitoring program; initiativespecific
monitoring is left to be conducted by the appropriate agencies at the
appropriate times.
• A further objective of the initial phase of the project was to collate historic data,
assess recent trends, and provide a benchmark for future monitoring and
evaluation.
Time frame
The Program was not designed to replace existing SCA and SWC information
collected under licensing obligations but it will make the best use of these data
through collation, the application of systematic methods, and the analysis of collated
data for a common purpose.
Limitations
The Program will not include monitoring of water-borne pathogens for recreational
water use, riparian vegetation mapping, or ground water studies, unless the latter are
likely to have significant river health implications.
Users
Primary users of Program data will be:
• the participating agencies: SCA, SWC, Department of Water and Energy (DWE) ,
Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), Department of Primary
Industries (DPI)
• Metropolitan Water Directorate / Metro Water Chief Executive Officers
• Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority (CMA)
2 Hawkesbury Nepean River Environmental Monitoring Program: Final Technical Report