Water

The water assets of the NRM North region include our surface water, ground water, freshwater lakes, wetlands and estuaries. These assets provide essential clean water for drinking, provide amenity for recreation, are used for industry, and support diverse and unique aquatic biodiversity values and ecosystems. The kanamaluka/Tamar estuary is a focal point for the city of Launceston and underpins the region’s social and economic value. The health of the estuary has been a long-standing issue of contention in the community. The upper reaches of the kanamaluka/Tamar estuary are under pressure from high loads of both diffuse and point source pollutants including nutrients, sediments, metals and pathogens which has resulted in poor health for many years. Other key catchments in the region which support townships and face similar water quality pressures include the Brid and the George catchments. There is an opportunity to work with key partners, landholders and the community to address pressures facing our rivers and estuaries, and reduce pollutants entering our waterways from urban and diffuse (catchment) sources.

The Water Program focuses on improving water quality and enhancing the ecological, social and economic value of the region's waterways by reducing the load of diffuse (catchment) and point source (industry and sewage treatment plants) pollutants entering waterways. The target catchments and issues NRM North will focus on between 2015-2025 include:

• building the capacity and knowledge of the community and management agencies to understand and manage stormwater quality, sewage treatment plant discharges and overflows, and recreational water quality; and
• on-ground actions to reduce the load of diffuse pollutants entering waterways from dairy areas in the Meander, Brid and George catchments and grazing areas in the Brid, George, North Esk, Macquarie, and Brumbys-Lake catchments.

You can read more about the Water Program in the NRM North Strategic Plan 2019-2023.