Estuary Management
The PRCG sub-committees were established as part of the recommendations of the PRCG’s Implementation Plan and their aim is to progress the initial actions of the Plan and further develop opportunities for addressing regional issues relating to each theme. The sub-committees are made up of technical staff from member councils and agencies in the catchment and they enable councils and agencies to build important partnerships and networks, pool resources and reduce duplication in some key environmental areas.
The Estuary Management Sub-committee is involved in the following activities:
» The sub-committee has been progressively overseeing the process involved in developing an Estuary Management Plan (EMP) for the Parramatta River. An EMP can benefit member Councils in many ways, for example, all actions within an adopted Plan are eligible for grant funding up to 50% of the total cost through the NSW Government’s Estuary Management Program. Also, a whole of Parramatta River EMP has reduced the costs for individual councils and includes contributions from catchment-based state government agencies such as the Sydney Olympic Park Authority and the Sydney Metropolitan CMA.
» A total of $60,000 was allocated to Stage One of the process and was contributed by the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Parramatta City Council and the Sydney Metropolitan CMA. Stage One involved a data compilation study which has now been completed and the report Parramatta River Estuary Data Compilation and Review is available to download. Stage Two, an Estuary Processes Study, is currently underway.
» A consultant has been engaged to complete the Parramatta River Estuary Processes Study which involves an historical aerial photo comparison, estuarine foreshore assessment and prioritisation, GIS database compilation and environmental sensitivity analysis. This Study will be the precursor to preparing an Estuary Management Plan in early 2010
» A partnership agreement has also been signed between the University of Sydney and Parramatta City Council in order to finalise a hydrodynamic model of the estuary. The work will be completed over the next 6 months by PhD student Serena Lee under the supervision of Associate Professor Gavin Birch.
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Seeking Community Representatives for the Estuary Management Committee
The Parramatta River Estuary Management Committee is looking for interested and knowledgeable community representatives from the Parramatta River area. The Committee’s role is to advise a group of NSW government agencies and local councils on issues relating to management of the Parramatta River Estuary.
The main work of the Committee at present is to oversee the development of a Study and long-term Management Plan for the Estuary, using the steps recommended by the State Government Estuary Management Process. (http://www.dnr.nsw.gov.au/estuaries/process.shtml)
The Committee meets once every few months, on Thursday evenings in Parramatta. Involvement of community representatives on the Committee would be on a voluntary basis.
If you interested in joining the Committee, or would like more information, please send an email to prcgcoordinator@cma.nsw.gov.au by Friday 28th August 2010 with your name, contact details and a brief summary of your skills and interests that would contribute to the work of the Estuary Management Committee.