Environmental sustainability

By Darcy

Environmental Sustainability in Council.

Council is currently working on a number of corporate projects to reduce its impact on our surrounding environment. A selection of these projects include:

Implement of Water and Energy Saving Action Plans. These action plans identify Council's top ten water or energy engulfing facilities and outline Council's response and actions to reduce their water or energy usage. Monitoring of Council's energy, water and fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the day to day functions and services provided by Council. Incorporation of environmental sustainability standards into Council's purchasing procedures.

Coastal & estuary management

Coastal Management Program.

Wollongong has approximately 60km of coastline, extending from Garie Beach in the north to Windang Beach in the south. About half of the coastline contains cliffs and headlands while the rest is beaches and dunes backed by gentler sloping land Various problems including coastal hazards such as erosion and floods, as well as geotechnical problems under the current and a changing climate are being considered in developing a coastal zone management plan for this area. A coastal processes and hazard assessment study is currently being undertaken, using the recently adopted NSW Sea Level Rise Policy benchmarks.

Estuary Management Program.

Under the NSW Estuary Management Policy, local councils are responsible for preparing and implementing detailed management plans for estuaries in their jurisdiction. We have developed two Estuary Management Plans to cover fourteen estuaries in Wollongong.

The End!