The objective of the National Water Quality Management Strategy (NWQMS) is to enable effective water quality management for the delivery of fit-for-purpose water that supports community values. It seeks to facilitate water quality management for the productive and sustainable use of Australia’s water resources and to protect community values such as aquatic ecosystems. The document consists of nationally agreed policies, guidelines and tools to assist governments, and other organisations and institutions, to manage water quality, taking account of local conditions and community values (also known as environmental values or beneficial uses). The NWQMS provides guidance and policy on water quality management, particularly about the quality of water that will be fit for purpose. The scope encompasses all types of water in Australia, including fresh water, marine water, groundwater, estuarine water and recycled water; and that will support different purposes of the water, such as for drinking, the environment, primary industry, recreation, industry and cultural and spiritual values. The strategy focuses on identifying community values and management goals, namely: aquatic ecosystems, cultural and spiritual values, drinking water, industrial water, primary industries, recreation and aesthetics. It is worth noticing that the document recognizes that water resources have important cultural and spiritual values, particularly for Indigenous peoples of Australia. Further the strategy provides guidelines for identifying water quality objectives. Provisions on monitoring and evaluation are foreseen as well: once implementation of management strategies has commenced, a monitoring programme should be undertaken to find out if these strategies are achieving the desired water quality. The monitoring programme should use the relevant water quality indicators based on the water quality objectives that will protect desired community values and management goals. The improvements in management actions must also be monitored.
Австралия · 2018-01-01