EPA testing gives Little Newry waterways and Oyster Creek the all clear

Testing conducted by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has found that forestry operations in Little Newry State Forest near Coffs Harbour have not impacted the water quality in nearby rivers and creeks.

The EPA undertook an extensive testing program following community raising concerns that forestry activities near two small historical mineral prospecting sites had led to elevated levels of arsenic in the streams within the Forest and further downstream in the Oyster Creek estuary.

NSW EPA Director Technical Services, Sonya Errington, said arsenic concentrations did not exceed guideline values in any water samples from the forest streams immediately downstream of the harvest areas.

“Arsenic concentrations were below the recreational water quality guideline values in all samples from Oyster Creek estuary, indicating that they do not pose a risk to people swimming or wading in the creek,” Ms Errington said.

“It’s great for the community to be able to confidently swim in their local waterways knowing that thorough testing has been conducted.

“There were elevated levels of arsenic in one sediment sample from the forest streams which shows that historically arsenic has been present in this area long-term and fits with the natural geology of the area.

“We also found arsenic levels at Oyster Creek that exceeded the guideline value for aquatic ecosystem health. This is not unexpected and in mineralised catchments the aquatic ecosystem typically adapts to the naturally elevated levels of metals in the waterways.

“The catchments in the Forest where more harvesting occurred had lower levels of arsenic than other waterways we tested, so there are no indications that forestry operations have increased arsenic levels.”

Three rounds of testing were conducted at six locations within the Forest and in nearby Oyster and Dalhousie Creeks. More information can be found on the EPA website.