Penrhyn Estuary rehabilitation

Port Authority has spent about $8 million to rehabilitate and expand Penrhyn Estuary in Botany Bay to provide habitat for migratory birds protected by State and Federal legislation.

A Habitat Enhancement Plan detailing the works and long term management and monitoring was prepared and approved by the Department of Planning and Commonwealth Department of Environment, Heritage and the Arts.

Key features of the works included:

weed and mangrove removal
creation of 2.4 hectares of planted saltmarsh habitat to achieve a total area of 3.5 hectares
expansion, from eight to 14 hectares, of intertidal sand/mud flats for shorebird feeding
creation of 6.5 hectares of seagrass habitat
construction of a public lookout and bird hide
long term maintenance.

Port Authority has monitored the success of the enhancement works between 2012 and late 2018.

Cardno consultants were engaged to measure and report on water quality within the estuary, migratory shorebird numbers, seagrass colonisation, benthic invertebrate concentrations in the estuary substrate and the area and quality of the saltmarsh habitat.

The End of Project Report can be found below. It summarises ther results of the post-construction monitoring program and assesses the Penrhyn Estuary Habitat Enhancement Plan (PEHEP) against the nominated ‘success criteria’ to determine whether the key objectives of the PEHEP have been met.

Port Authority will now be undertaking the recommendations of the End of Project Report.

Port Authority of New South Wales

Penrhyn Estuary rehabilitation

Port Authority has spent about $8 million to rehabilitate and expand Penrhyn Estuary in Botany Bay to provide habitat for migratory birds protected by State and Federal legislation.

Reports

End of Project Report

Annual Reports

Shorebird Reports

Water Quality Reports

Benthos Reports

Saltmarsh Reports

Seagrass Reports