Nobbys Beach – one of the Hunter region’s most highly valued social, heritage, cultural and tourism icons – is also one of only a few Australian sites to trial innovative sandfilter technology in the treatment of stormwater pollution. This technology has been used for some years in the United States with wide success.
Nobbys is a stormwater pollution hot spot. Like most of Newcastle City Council’s urban coastal destinations, it attracts high visitor numbers. Its transient population includes beach goers, picnickers, fishermen, walkers and their dogs, local residents, life saving clubs members and young people in their cars. Pollutant loads include large amounts of litter, hydrocarbons and heavy metals from roads and carparks, and bacteria and nutrients from dog droppings.
In response to these issues, Council developed the Nobbys Street to Beach Project, a model for integrating ageing infrastructure and existing resources with a program of new technology works and education initiatives.The project has seen the removal of stormwater pollution from Nobbys Beach. It was the NSW champion in innovative pollution controls in last year’s Clean Beach Challenge.
The project, funded by Council and the NSW Environment Protection Authority Stormwater Trust, provided the following.
- Local, regional and national opportunities for promotion of more sustainable urban water cycle management.
- Opportunities for the development of partnerships between government, community and industry.
- A benchmark model in integrating ageing infrastructure with innovative but simple state of the art technology and education to deliver water quality outcomes, in response to typical coastal management issues.
- Opportunities for learning and capacity building across Council staff, stormwater management partners and the community.
- Experience in use of multifunctional teams.
- Structural works that combine innovative sandfilter technology and street pit excerpt devices, as close to source as possible, to remove all pollutants targeted in the catchment.
- Positive shifts in community awareness and behaviour changes in litter and dog waste disposal.
Today the legacy of the project continues, through workshops on the concept, design, construction and maintenance of the pit excerpt devices, Council signage, Nobbys Dunecare and the Newcastle East Residents Forum. Newcastle City Council has shown its commitment to improving water management by using case studies to demonstrate the benefits, encouraging innovation and building capacity in the community and with Council staff.
For further information contact Council’s City Strategist – Urban Water, Karenne Jurd, email kjurd@ncc.nsw.gov.au or telephone (02) 4974 2894.
