There's an overriding desire to protect these estuaries for future generations

Hi Editor,

Firstly, happy 2022 wished to thee and thine. At your discretion you may wish to publish this letter. It consists mostly of a simple submission to Council, and I trust there will be better researched ones submitted and other community member contributed ones in regard to this issue.

To date, of course, we do not yet have official contact details of our new councillor body. So in lieu of being able to cc them into my emailed submission to the bureaucracy, and to give them a 'heads up', as to what I perceive will be a major ongoing issue that will require their attention over their term, I provide the following : SUBMISSION To Council (Closing date being c.o.b. 5 Jan 2022) I start my brief submission with a quote: " There's an overriding desire to protect these estuaries for future generations...."

The source being from Council's website as per, https://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/news-and-events/latest-news/2021/fishing-for-feedback-on-estuary-plan . I, as many in our community also do, share that OVERRIDING desire to PROTECT these estuaries. I will focus on Mummaga Lake as it is the one area that the consultants hired to provide the report could find no previously prepared recent reliable environmental research as revealed in their scoping study. Their own research however did note that urban runoff into the Lake from the existing Dalmeny urban settlement was a High Risk consideration. From the draft report it is evident that the consultants, in looking at 'risks' and consequent recommended actions within the draft 'plan' to alleviate the same, had an assumption that the population of Dalmeny would increase by a mere 10% over the next 15 years. Given that Council has contracted (but not yet settled the deal) to sell approx 40 hectares of forested land, that adjoins a further approx 60 hectares of forested land all earmarked for urban development, this assumption is completely negated. I should emphasise that this large area of forested land, now being actively prepared for development, was obviously not a factor in the consideration of the consultants who prepared their environmental input for the estuary plan. The recent approval by council to sell their 40 hectares that they control on behalf of the community, to a developer that facilitates even more existing developer owned land also being more easily transformed into urban settlement is a game changer. Topographic analysis will I am sure reveal two things. Given the elevation of much of this land, which leads DIRECTLY to Mummaga Lake, there will be two key factors that must be considered. The first will be the potential for massive damage to Mummaga Lake environs and ecosystems due to rain runoff of soil and debris as this huge parcel of forested land is cleared for residential building blocks. Add to this the deeper disruption by installation of infrastructure of new roads, plus sewage pipes and water pipes. With the potential for so many urban blocks being cleared over such a big area, no doubt over many years, how can this NOT be a critical factor in developing an estuary management plan The second will be the ongoing management of everyday but hugely expanded urban runoff, from roads, etc...which you may remember was already seen as high risk by the consultants within the existing urban footprint. Given the above, how did it happen that these issues were not highlighted in BIG BOLD letters to the community (or councillors of the day), when these drafts went out for public comment ?" Regards, Pat McGinlay Dalmeny NSW