The local government areas of Lake Macquarie and Wyong are on the central coast of NSW, approximately 100 kilometres north of Sydney.
These areas cover 1,500 square kilometres, with rural valleys to the west and large coastal lagoons to the east. The population of nearly 340,000 is clustered in coastal towns and settlements around the bays and peninsulas.
Major transport routes run north–south and east–west.
Air emission sources
The main sources of air emissions in the Lake Macquarie-Wyong area are from electricity generation plants at Eraring and Vales Point (and previously Lake Munmorah).
Other sources include coal mining, residential wood heating, quarrying, motor vehicles and recreational boats.
You can learn more about emission sources in Lake Macquarie and Wyong by using the EPA's Air Emissions in My Community web tool.
Air quality review
The EPA commissioned a review of air quality of the Lake Macquarie-Wyong region, in response to a community request. The review considered data collected by the NSW Government and industry from September 2013 to June 2016. A detailed review of 2014 and 2015 found that air quality was very good to fair 99% of the time during 2014 and 2015, compared to the NSW Air Quality Index.
The review concluded with the June 2016 report, having demonstrated that air quality in the Lake Macquarie and Wyong areas is consistently good to very good. The Office of Environment and Heritage provides air quality monitoring data for Wyong in near-real time.
Lake Macquarie–Wyong air quality annual and monthly reports
The Lake Macquarie-Wyong air quality annual reports
- summarise all the monthly data for the calendar year up to June 2016.
- analyse trends and compliance with annual average criteria.
The Lake Macquarie–Wyong air quality monthly reports provide a summary of available air quality and meteorological information from industry and government monitoring sites.
Community feedback to the EPA suggests that air quality monitoring data published online by various sources is often complex and difficult to interpret.
The EPA air quality reports present complex air quality information in an easy-to-read format. The report format was developed in consultation with councils, community, industry and NSW Health.