Water Quality and Toxicity Assessment of Wakehurst Golf Course and Surrounds

Project Member(s): Lim, R.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Wakehurst Golf Club

Start year: 2004

Summary: Wakehurst golf course has been a focus of much public debate because of its history of construction, proximity to Manly Dam reservoir and ongoing horticulture practices necessary to maintain playing surfaces. There have been clear attempts to address some problems relating to nutrient and sediment export from t e golf course to Manly Dam, however, these and other onsite issues are likely to stay in the foreground of attention for some years, and take up considerable resources of Wakehurst Golf Club in the future. Wakehurst Golf Club requested input on potential research programs to address various water quality and usage issues. This proposal provides a framework to explore and understand the impacts of waters from the Wakehurst golf course entering Manly Dam. The project may be considered in three components. The water quality assessment component provides ongoing monitoring of run off from the golf course during wet and dry weather. The second component, an aquatic macroinvertabrate survey, will begin to explore the health of water courses in the area and will identify local native organisms suitable for toxicity testing. The final component is a battery of toxicity tests to assess the toxicity of leachate and runoff from the golf course. This study will be conducted as a Master of Science research project over a 2 year period from July 2004 to July 2006. The project will be supervised by staff from UTS. A funding amount of $10,000 (exc. GST) is sought from Wakehurst Golf Club to undertake this research. TUS will more than match this amount through infrastructure and supervisory support. This project has the full support of the Institute for Water and Environmental Resources Management and Department of Environmental Sciences at UTS.

FOR Codes: Environmental Impact Assessment, Freshwater Ecology, Land and water management, Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management, Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Environments, Freshwater ecology , Environmental assessment and monitoring, Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.