Brisbane Water Plan of Management - Gosford City Council - NSW ...

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Brisbane Water is a tidal arm of Broken Bay located approximately 50 kilometres north of
Sydney within the City of Gosford Local Government Area. In a regional context, the area is
strategically located on the established railway and freeway network between Sydney and
Newcastle. (Refer to Figure 1.)
Brisbane Water is a broad, shallow estuary with an approximate area of 2768 ha, connected to
the sea through a comparatively narrow channel. (Refer to Figure 2.) The five major waterways
which constitute Brisbane Water are:
• Entrance Reach, comprising the waterway between the Rip Bridge and Half Tide Rocks.
• Woy Woy Reach, comprising the waterway in the vicinity of Pelican Island, Rileys Island and
St Huberts Island.
• Kincumber Broadwater and Cockle Creek.
• Brisbane Water Broadwater, which is the largest waterway area and, for the purpose of this
report includes the whole of the areas upstream of Pelican Island, including Fagans Bay.
• Woy Woy Bay and Woy Woy Inlet, which are separated from the Woy Woy Reach by a road
and rail causeway.
The estuary drains a catchment of 185 square kilometres, the principal tributaries being Narara
Creek in the northwest and Erina Creek in the northeast.
In the past decade the permanent population of the Central Coast has almost doubled from
90,000 to around 170,000. The growth rate is three to five times higher than the NSW average.
Such a large increase in population has generated problems associated with the use and
enjoyment of Brisbane Water and creating conflicts and degradation to the natural environment
around Brisbane Water.
Urban areas have developed around the Brisbane Water foreshores with the major
concentrations being centred at Gosford in the north and in the Woy Woy/Ettalong/Umina area
in the southwest. Other smaller residential centres, including Green Point, Saratoga,
Davistown, Empire Bay, Hardys Bay/Killcare and Pretty Beach, are scattered along the eastern
foreshores.
1.1 Need for a Management Plan for Brisbane Water and the purpose of Stage 1 and
Stage 2
This concern for the need to manage conflicts over the use of the resources of Brisbane
Water has led to Council resolving in December 1991, to establish a committee to
undertake Stage I of a Plan of Management for the Brisbane Water Estuary within the
City of Gosford.
The goals of the Brisbane Water Plan of Management Committee is to:
1 Protect, enhance and maintain Brisbane Water and its surrounds;
2 Minimise the urban influence on the aquatic environment;
3 Reverse undesirable impacts using catchment management principles by control of
development and carrying out improvement works; and
Brisbane Water Plan of Management - July 1995 Page 1