Introduction and Background of "The River, the Bay and the Strait" public forum

Introduction to “The River, the Bay and the Strait” Public Forum 5 October 2008
Does SEQ need a new dam?
Estuaries, freshwater & today’s presentations

Where the decision making process is at…
QWI have provided Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement to Qld Govt
Now with Queensland Coordinator General
Supplementary EIS was “exposed” to the public
Once Queensland Coordinator General hands his report to Peter Garrett, the Minister has 30 working days for a decision
Four of seven Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES)
Decision is possible by Christmas??

Does South East Queensland need a new dam? NO!

Reason 1: The water isn’t needed From 2008 SEQ Water Strategy document 2006 2056 Prediction of Water SEQ will use We are paying for a water surplus

Reason 2: There are better alternatives
Meet domestic and business water needs with less water (I)
Reduce water use in power generation: Shift to dry cooling in power stations (II)
Capture of stormwater eg Orange
Recycling
Desalination (III)
Other methods
Supplementary EIS has not addressed these possibilities adequately

Alternative I: smart approach Meet domestic and business water needs with less water Elements of proposed program and water saved (Mary Council of Mayors report, 2007)
Negative Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Average unit cost: $1.15 per 1000 L
TOTAL ADDITIONAL SAVINGS 190,000ML/a

Alternative II: expanded DM in the power sector
In SEQ, electricity generation accounts for over 6% of total water consumption
The majority lost as evaporation in cooling towers
Alternative to evaporative cooling - “Dry Cooling” or “Air Cooling”
Similar concept to car radiator
~95% reduction in water use
Savings ~40,000 ML/a
Unit cost ~ $1.08 per 1000 L
Source: Qld Govt Dept. of Energy

Alternative III: Desalination
This was the main alternative that Queensland Government compared with the dam
Some things to know:
Energy use assumed by Government is about 34% higher than Kwinana plant in Perth
Cost is of desal inflated, cost of dam deflated
Greenhouse gas emissions are less than proposed dam (by up to 190,000 tonnes CO2 per year)
Reliable process that can be operated when needed
Mary council report recommended desal as a “readiness option”, unit cost approximately $2.39 per 1000 kL

Side by side comparison Dry cooling (II) Desal (III) Dam Smart approach (I) Cost (per 1000 L) Reliability GHG (cars) Dam has worst social and environmental impacts $1.15 Very High 142,000 cars off the road $1.08 $2.39 $3.38 Very high Low Very high No estimate available Up to 50,000 new cars Up to 71,000 new cars

There is not a shortage of better alternatives
But
a shortage of political will to choose the best options from an economic, environmental and social point of view.

Photo Nikki Michail South Head of the Mary River

A brief introduction to estuaries, why they need rivers and what to expect from today’s presentations Photo Stewart Riddel

What to expect…
Brief Introduction to estuarine ecology
Role of freshwater
Role of nutrients, salinity etc
Impacts on the plants and animals and their interactions (food web, behaviours etc)
Brief summary of QWIPL and Qld Government views
Explanation of how the presentations today relate to the estuarine and river system

Estuaries & Rivers
Estuaries are the downstream reaches of rivers where they enter the coastal ocean and are influenced by tidal motions.
An estuary isn’t an estuary without freshwater flow
Estuaries produce approximately 75% of Queensland’s seafood
Estuaries are some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet
We have a lot to learn about how they interact
Great Sandy Strait is unique & internationally significant
So what do QWIPL and Qld Government have to say about this?

Currently, the supplementary EIS says:
“ The Integrated Quantity and Quality Model (IQQM) for the Project has demonstrated the reliability of the system to deliver the legislated requirements of the Mary River WRP.”
“ overall it is concluded that the dam will not have any substantial impact upon the values of the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar wetland. The impact is expected to be negligible.”
BUT.. Many important issues not addressed

MORNING SESSION

Sediment
Source:
Beach Protection Authority, 1989
Transport paths , sediment source Mary river Fraser Island Continental shelf

AFTERNOON SESSION

Mangroves Seagrass Dugong Phyto- plankton Zoo- plankton Benthic fish Fish eating fish Seabirds Plant eating fish Zoo- planktivorous fish Prawns Crabs Mud eating fish Green turtles Benthic Invertebrates Micro-phyto -benthos Macro- algae Detritus Burnett Mary Region Coastal Food web Adapted from: Gehrke, P.C. 2007. A comparative analysis of coastal fishery food webs in the Great Barrier Reef region . CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship Whales?? Dolphins Loggerhead turtles

Key messages from today
The flows from the river play a role that is complex, intricately balanced.
Application of the precautionary principles requires the proponent to show they will “not have a significant impact” under the EPBC Act
Presentations today aim to increase our understanding of this beautiful ecosystem
With this knowledge our message to Garrett and Bligh will be even stronger
We hope you leave today full of ideas for your own letters to decision makers and full of inspiration to save the Sandy Strait and the Mary River

Key references
Peirson, WL., Bishop, K., Van Senden, D., Horton, PR. and Adamantidis, CA., Environmental Water Requirements to Maintain Estuarine Processes (2002), Environmental Flows Initiative Technical Report Number 3, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. (available on internet)
Beach Protection Authority Queensland (BPA) 1989, Hervey Bay Beaches , Beach Protection Authority, Queensland.
Gehrke, P.C. 2007. A comparative analysis of coastal fishery food webs in the Great Barrier Reef region . CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. (available on internet)

Introduction and Background of "The River, the Bay and the Strait" public forum

by greatermary on Oct 15, 2008

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 2

Statistics

Introduction and Background of "The River, the Bay and the Strait" public forum Presentation Transcript

http://www.slideshare.net	1
http://www.linkedin.com	1