Councils fight government cut to Beachwatch
Local councils are fighting a decision made by the NSW Government to pull the plug on funding the Beachwatch water quality monitoring program.
All Sydney coastal councils will be forced to self-fund water quality monitoring from 1 July, when the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) stops covering the cost.
To maintain the Beachwatch service, Sydney councils will need to sign on as a partner and nominate whether they will provide their own collection and analysis of water quality samples or engage DCCEEW to undertake some or all of this work.
Mosman Council estimates it would cost around $13,600 a year for it to undertake water quality monitoring at several beaches including Balmoral, Chinamans and Clifton Gardens. A spokesperson said it was considering the impact of the changes.
“The NSW Government’s Beachwatch program has monitored and reported on water quality at swim sites in the Mosman local government area for the past 30 years.
“The program has been at no cost to (us) and now the State Government wants to change that to a fee-for-service arrangement.
“It represents another case of the State Government cost shifting to local councils,” the spokesperson added.
Hayes Street Beach in Neutral Bay is currently tested by Beachwatch and a North Sydney Council spokesperson said that funding ‘would have to be diverted from other environmental and sustainability programs’ to cover the cost of self-funding.
If Beachwatch conducted sampling and testing, it would cost council $11,500 annually, the spokesperson said. Council would be charged $1,400 annually if it collected the samples and provided them to the EPA – but the spokesperson stressed this figure was not fully costed as it did not include staffing and resourcing for collecting the weekly samples.
“Council has not yet decided on a course of action for future water sampling and testing for Hayes Street Beach,” the spokesperson confirmed.
The Sydney Coastal Councils Group is making representations to the NSW Minister for Environment Penny Sharpe on behalf of all councils to reverse the decision.
