Water quality of a Third World country at our doorstep

Jancine Harrison lives alongside Rocky Mouth Creek at Woodburn, and holds great fears of another major fish kill in the Richmond River. She submitted these thoughts and pictures to Ballina Info …

In my opinion conditions are ripe once again for another fish kill in the Richmond River, just as Rocky Mouth Creek is currently experiencing.

As I sit beside Rocky Mouth Creek which flows into the Richmond River less than two kilometres downstream, I can barely stand the stench of the black water coated in a film of white scum, and the sight of three small fish struggling with their heads totally emerged, going by.
This is the result of the recent rises in the river levels of last week and water backing up on the surrounding floodplains, in particular, drains which were implemented mainly in the 1960s as part of the government’s Flood Mitigation program. The aim was to drain wetlands to make way for farming.

The water is trapped and in this case blocked by floodgates in these drains which are deep and exposed to acid sulphate soils until river levels recede.  This also appears to be exacerbated by warm temperatures that cause the rotting of introduced vegetation not native to wetland areas, being submerged by water. This rapidly deoxygenates the water and makes it impossible to sustain any form of life.

Many scientific studies have been funded by governement departments over the past twenty years or more at great expense.  Do we have to wait until damage is irreversible for another twenty years and all life has ceased to exist in and along these rivers and tributaries? I feel the governments and powers-that-be have an obligation to this country to put right the past uninformed decisions to drain these delicate eco-wetland systems that are an integral part of the health of our environment.

With predictions of climate change, rising sea levels, temperatures and more regular flooding predicted for our area, I don’t think that we have the luxury of time to ignore this problem.  The remedies for the recovery of these wetland areas is a slow process as they need to be rehabilitated with native wetland species of grasses and trees, as well as reducing depths of drains on agricultural land.

We all need to push goverment departments as a matter of urgency to begin to implement and fund these issues, or there will be no such thing as clean water, fishing or tourism in our area for future generations to enjoy.

It said that a total of 2.22 million tonnes was processed by the three NSW sugar mills by the time Broadwater mill stopped crushing on January 18. That figure was down on the 2006 record total of 2.64 million tonnes.

Persistent wet weather throughout the season and severe frost, along with teething problems related to whole cane harvesting, presented plenty of challenges for the season, Chief Executive Officer, Greg Messiter said.

Poor weather led to the later than projected finish and the drop in tonnes crushed as some crop was made into fodder because of frost damage or stood over to be harvested after June this year.

Growing conditions had also been less than ideal for parts of the year.

Broadwater crushed 910,760 tonnes for the season, Harwood 791,287 tonnes and Condong crushed 523,456 tonnes.

5116 hectares of sugar cane were harvested in the Condong mill area, 5641 in the Harwood Mill area and 6759 hectares in the Broadwater mill area.

Broadwater produced 90,554 tonnes of raw sugar, Harwood 88, 783 and Condong 55,104.

All 600 NSW cane growers belong to the NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative with about 36,000 hectares of sugar cane along the coastal strip between Grafton and the Queensland border.

Co-op members will be hoping for kinder weather between now and the start of the next crush in June. “One positive for growers is that co-generation plants at Condong and Broadwater are

expected to be in commercial operation by next season,” Mr Messiter said.

As carbon trading becomes an increasingly important tool in the fight against global warming, a new online carbon credit calculator has been developed to help landholders and farmers quickly and easily determine the value of timber plantations.

Developed by Southern Cross University PhD candidate Bill Smart, the carbon calculator has been included on the Australian Forest Corporation (AFC) website. The AFC has been accredited by the NSW government as a carbon abatement certificate provider.

Bill said this was the first web-based calculator of its kind to provide easily accessible information on the value of timber plantations, planted for environmental purposes or for harvesting.

“It is designed as a ‘ready reckoner’ which will give you an indication of the carbon credits you can claim,” Bill said.

“We have a lot of agriculture on land that is not suited for it and we have huge cattle paddocks that are not particularly good for grazing.

“Typically your average farmer knows how much he gets for cattle per hectare. What I am trying to show is what you can be earning for carbon credits and/or timber production.”

The calculator, for example, can tell a landholder that if they have 21 hectares of land and plant flooded gums as an environmental planting (carbon credits only), they will be able to claim approximately $283,000 in carbon credits over the next 100 years, with $178,000 of that amount available in the first 20 years. (Calculation based on the variables of Bill’s own property).

“This is the first calculator designed to give you an idea of what the possibilities are. What I am trying to show is what you can be earning for carbon credits, how that’s spread over time and in particular the value in the early years of a timber plantation,” he said.

Bill, whose expertise lies in the field of computer programming, has received support from forestry experts including Southern Cross University’s Chair of Forestry Professor Jerry Vanclay.

The calculator, which has already been accessed by close to 500 people, is also being assessed for its useability, as part of Bill’s PhD.

“This was wholly and utterly written for the web. It’s accessible by anyone, anywhere in the world. What I’m looking at is the acceptance of how people use these sorts of information systems,” he said.

The calculator, which is specifically set up for Australian timber plantations, can also be easily adapted to other countries.

For information on the calculator (or to try it) visit the website at www.australianforestcorporation.com.au

PICTURE: Bill Smart has developed a web-based carbon credit calculator.

Speaking at a symposium of landowners affected by the Pacific Highway upgrade, Mr Page said two amendments were necessary ‘to deliver justice for landowners because they’re not getting it now’.

The two amendments are:

* For landowners whose land is being acquired by the Government (RTA in this case), the Government should not have the right to keep landowners in a state for years where they can’t sell their land because of the proposed dual carriageway and the RTA is under no obligation to buy them out.

Mr Page said this occurs because the obligation to buy directly affected landowners does not apply until very late in the process when the Minister for Planning gives final planning approval.

It takes several years between the announcement of the ‘preferred route’ and final Ministerial approval, he said.

“This is because an EIS has to be done, comment is received on the EIS from the public and Government agencies, a review of all those submissions is done, a Representations Report is produced and finally a request for consent goes to the Minister for Planning with suggested conditions attached. Finally the Planning Minister signs off,” Mr Page said

“I believe once the preferred route is determined, the blight exists and those affected should be able to trigger the acquisition clauses which require the Government to purchase if that is their desire. People should not be left in limbo for years unable to sell and with no obligation on the RTA to buy.” Mr Page said.

* Landowners whose land is not required for acquisition but live beside or near the road suffer the impact of noise, pollution and loss of property value both during construction phase and afterwards. These people currently are not entitled to any compensation whatsoever.

“This is unjust and unfair,” Mr Page said.

“I believe the legislation should be amended to allow for compensation when a landowner can demonstrate ‘injurious affectation’.

“Such a clause would enable those who genuinely suffer as a result of the upgraded highway to be treated fairly. Currently they are not.”