Page 2381 - Week 06 - Thursday, 10 May 2012
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the Environment Protection Authority to work closely with ACT Health to address the issue of prompt notification of the lake’s reopening after being assessed as meeting the appropriate health standards;
Actew to address the issues identified in relation to the possible leakages from ageing sewer pipes; and
the EPA to work with Queanbeyan City Council to further review the authorisation of the city’s sewage treatment plant to ensure the treatment matches contemporary best practice standards.
The EPA has continuing responsibility for enforcing pollution issues where standards have been breached. The current review of the Environment Protection Act will ensure standards applied in the ACT meet national guidelines as recommended by the report. We will be working under the catchment management structures to review the standards and ensure that they meet national guidelines as recommended by the report.
It is important to note that the commissioner has identified significant scope for Canberrans to take individual responsibility for actions that do impinge on the quality of water in our lakes. These include:
the excessive use of fertilisers which can be easily addressed by gardeners following manufacturers’ directions on application levels to reduce run-off of nutrients into the lakes;
sewage and other spills should be immediately reported to the utilities or to Emergency Services;
to reduce vegetation matter collecting in the lakes, leaves can be collected and used for mulch rather than swept into street gutters to wash into the lakes and exacerbate oxygen depletion as they decompose; and
excrement by pets should be collected and properly disposed of rather than left to wash into waterways and ultimately into our lakes.
Catchment management is a complex issue, as identified in the report. We will shortly be addressing a new catchment management focus following the review of think water, act water. In the meantime, the government has addressed recommendations made by Professor Gary Jones by making catchment management a specific responsibility within the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate.
The government is implementing improved coordination on catchment management and a review of our monitoring and reporting arrangements across the catchment to ensure that we can better identify where standards are not being met in our waterways. The government will then be moving on the information provided through enhanced monitoring to identify the actions needed to address the specific requirements of the different waterways.
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