The Coastal Eutrophication Risk Assessment Tool (CERAT) consists of:
- a water quality database,
- contextual spatial information for the catchment or estuary, and
- a coupled series of catchment and estuary models for every estuary in NSW.
The catchment models provide estimates of the amounts of nutrients and sediments exported from land-based activities, such as urban development, deforestation and agriculture. The estuary models assess the potential impact of these exports on the water quality, micro-algal biomass and seagrass abundance.
The models can be used by non-technical users and are built from readily available and/or routinely collected monitoring data. They are best used at a regional scale, such as a Catchment Management Authority (CMA) or natural resource management region. However, CERAT will be provided free to councils and CMAs. Such regional assessments provide a systematic and scientific basis for prioritising actions to monitor estuaries and mitigate pollutant exports at smaller operational scales (farms or residential lots). Managers may also use the models to estimate a sustainable nutrient load for an estuary and determine the extent of remediation required.
CERAT will also be used by OEH staff working on the Estuary Management Program to support councils and CMAs to prioritise projects for funding.
The work was funded by the Natural Heritage Trust, the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, and OEH.