Georges River catchment | Guidelines for better practice in foreshore works | July 2004

Guideline 11:

Constructed wetlands management plans

Primary benefit
! Constructed wetland management plans ensure the improvements to water quality
provided by the wetlands are maintained.

Additional benefits
! Enhance and maintain wildlife habitat values and biodiversity. ! Enhance and maintain aesthetic values.

What is it?
! A Wetland Management Plan (WMP) provides a schedule of monitoring and
maintenance actions to ensure that the required wetland performance is achieved and maintained.

Purpose
! WMPs monitor the performance of constructed wetlands against their design criteria
and specify actions to achieve or improve performance.

Limitations
! Wetlands are often costed as a one-off activity, with no budget provided for ongoing
monitoring and maintenance.

Information sources
! The Constructed Wetlands Manual, Vols 1 & 2, DLWC, 1998.

Materials
! A WMP should be developed as part of the wetland design process. ! It should be adopted and implemented by the wetland manager.

Guidelines
! Prepare a WMP for each wetland that covers:
Regular cleaning of gross pollutant traps. Removal of rubbish overspilling gross pollutant traps. Maintenance of structures and the integrity of flow paths. Actions to manage contamination by toxic waste or hydrocarbons in the wetland. Sampling flows and water quality at wetland inlet and outlet points. Weed and pest fauna management. Monitoring native flora and fauna. Periodic removal of silt from detention basins. A Health and Safety Plan that addresses issues such as hypodermic needles, visitor management and contaminated water.

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Georges River catchment | Guidelines for better practice in foreshore works | July 2004

! Ensure the WMP addresses all of the potential sources of pollution (see Table 4). ! Ensure the WMP prescribes actions to enhance wetlands, such as staged
vegetation, and additional facilities for visitor use.

Management and monitoring

! Wetland performance data should be collected in a form that allows decisions to be
made on wetland management and on the design of future wetlands.

! Monitoring should include periodic surveys of fauna and flora to assess biodiversity
and the health of the ecosystem. Table 4 Type, source and impact of typical wetland pollutants Type of pollutant Gross pollutants (organic and inorganic and sediments) Organic matter (DO, BOD) Source Street litter, leaf litter, construction sites and erosion Impact

! Aesthetically unpleasing ! Chemical and biological breakdown releases pollutants ! Sediment smothers benthic organisms and plants and
reduce biodiversity

Vegetation and sewage

! Leads to oxygen depletion, which results in the death of

aquatic wildlife

! Efficiency of phosphorus removal is reduced

Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) Sewage, chemical spills, erosion, fertilisers and detergents Stormwater, agricultural run-off, industrial and mine drainage Sewage, animal droppings and septic seepage Road surfaces, detergents, food preparation outlets and industry Pesticides

! Eutrophication and excess algal and macrophyte growth ! The ratio of orthophosphorus to particulate P is important in
design

Trace metals (lead, cadmium, zinc, copper)

! Food chain contamination ! Accumulation in sediments ! Important if habitat enhancement is a major objective ! A public health risk

Faecal coliforms

Oil/grease

! Oxygen depletion ! Surface scums and films

Organic compounds

! Accumulation in sediments and food chain ! Toxic poisoning of fish and molluscs ! Important for overall ecosystem and wetland health ! May kill wetland plants and cause changes in species
composition

Salinity (EC)

Groundwater inflows, soils, estuarine and industry Organic or inorganic substances, construction, land degradation, industry

Suspended sediments

! Light depletion ! Fish kills and destruction of invertebrate habitats ! Water temperature increases ! Smothers plants, benthic organisms
Source: The Constructed Wetlands Manual DLWC NSW

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