Central Coast Council is developing new Coastal Management Programs (CMP’s). This is something that every local government in NSW is doing in alignment with a new Coastal Management Framework from the NSW Government. Although it’s something we HAVE to do, it’s also something we WANT to do as we are always keen to explore ways in which we can improve management of our incredible waterways. 

Here on the Central Coast we are involved in the development of 5 separate CMPs and each one goes through a 5-stage risk management process. Each CMP will set a 10-year plan for the management of our coastal environments including our rivers, estuaries, lagoons, beaches and associated catchments.

Each plan must identify the coastal management issues and opportunities, identify actions required to address those issues in an integrated and strategic manner and identify how and when those actions are to be implemented including who is responsible and where funding will come from. Since 2020 each of Council’s existing CMP’s have received funding through the NSW Government Coastal and Estuary grants program to fund their development. 

Ultimately, we want to achieve the right balance between the many different uses of our environment and the protection of nature, scenic and recreational values, livelihoods and cultural practices. The plan will cover a range of issues, including:

• ecological values, including aquatic and terrestrial habitats, riparian and floodplain connectivity, flora and fauna, and exotic species that threaten ecosystem integrity.
• key aquatic ecosystem processes, indicators and their triggers.
• adaptation to climate change, potential inundation of built assets because of sea level rise, and capacity for migration of natural habitats.
• physical environmental conditions, including foreshore erosion, bank instability and coastal shoreline recession.
• event-based hazards, such as coastal and catchment flooding, bushfires, droughts, tsunamis.
• water quality, including catchment inputs to the estuary, and the impact upper catchment and floodplain runoff has on ecosystem health.
• recreational and sustainable commercial uses (e.g. fishing, oyster farming, tourism, boating, agriculture, etc.)
• Aboriginal values and uses of the estuary.
• community values and aspirations for its use and management. 
   

Current Status of each CMP including studies and community engagement

• Lake Macquarie
  • In collaboration with Lake Macquarie Council we are proud to say that this CMP is complete and was certified by the NSW Minister for the Environment on 26 September 2023. The final report can be found on their Shape Lake Mac website. 
• Hawkesbury Nepean, including Brisbane Water
  • We are pleased to be working alongside 5 other local governments to develop the Hawkesbury Nepean CMP (which will include Brisbane Water). 
  • Stage 1 involved a Scoping Study that reviewed the history of managing the river system, developed a shared understanding of the current situation and identified the strategic path of the remaining CMP stages. 
  • The goal of Stage 2 was to address knowledge gaps that were identified. Technical studies were completed including:
    • Community Uses and Values Report
    • Coastal Inundation Study 
    • Estuary Bank Erosion Study
    • Physical and Ecological Processes Report
  • The project is now transitioning into Stage 3 that will collate the information produced as part of Stages 1 and 2 and use a more complete picture of estuarine processes and relevant management issues to guide the identification, evaluation and selection of appropriate management actions. This stage will build on established working partnerships to share the decision-making dilemma in identifying and evaluating local and regional-scale coastal management actions and determining their viability and acceptability.
  • Once a draft has been prepared it will be exhibited for further community input. 
• Tuggerah Lakes
  • The stage 1 scoping study and stage 2 technical studies for Tuggerah Lakes are now complete. The scoping study identified knowledge gaps which were filled by the following technical studies:
    • Catchment and Receiving Waters Modelling.
    • Tidal Inundation SLR Assessment
    • Wetland Refugia SLR Study
    • Entrance Channel Coastal Processes and Socio-Economic Assessments
  • We are now in the process of developing an Entrance Management Strategy and Wrack Management Strategy as part of Stage 3. Through extensive community engagement we have heard the community’s concerns over the Entrance Channel and wrack accumulation and are working hard to ensure our management programs find the best balance between protecting our environment and supporting our community. 
  • We have some great community members onboard as part of our community reference groups for these strategies and will be running further engagement sessions later in the year once our options assessment is ready. 
• Coastal Lagoons
  • The Stage 1 scoping study and Stage 2 technical studies for our Coastal Lagoons are now complete, including a Social and Recreational Use Study to understand the recreational use and recreational infrastructure and provide a comprehensive series of recommendations for consideration. These include Terrigal, Wamberal, Avoca and Cockrone Lagoons. 
  • The Stage 3 Options Assessment process for our Lagoons will commence later this year. It is temporarily on hold as we focus our limited staff resources on our other CMPs
• Open Coast
  • The Stage 1 scoping study and Stage 2 technical studies for our Open Coast are now complete, including the Social and Recreational Use Study and Coastal Hazard Study (pending final revision). 
  • The purpose of the Coastal Hazard Study was to provide: 
    • an improved understanding of coastal sand movements for the entire Coast 
    • a detailed review and update of existing coastal hazard assessment studies 
    • the scientific basis for understanding the nature and extent of risks to public safety, built assets, coastal land, cultural heritage/features, ecosystem health and recreational amenity from coastal hazards 
    • the scientific basis for understanding of the factors that contribute to vulnerability from current and future risks. 
  • Stage 3 is all about using existing information and recommendations from stage 2 studies to develop an options assessment, shaped by community consultation which is currently underway. The aim is to identify and evaluate possible management options in order to develop the best management program, guided by scientific evidence and community values. 

The development of CMPs for the Central Coast is incredibly important. For more information, or to stay up to date as these continue to be developed, please visit our Your Voice Our Coast.

This article was written by Ashley Kelly, Senior Science Communicator, Central Coast Council