New speed limit zone: Deep Creek

Transport for NSW, Maritime advises stakeholders and vessel operators that a new four (4) knot speed limit zone will be introduced on the Murray River adjacent to Deep Lagoon, effective December 2023.

Transport for NSW, Maritime are the state service provider and safety regulator for commercial and recreational vessels and their operators. Maritime enacts various waterway restrictions, including speed limit zones, on NSW waters through section 11 of the Marine Safety Act 1998.

Speed restrictions are typically enacted in waterways where infrastructure is placed, high use occurs, there is a mix of waterway users presenting a risk to safety and / or impacts on the environment, amenity or access are being witnessed or reported. Maritime view ‘regulation’ to be a last resort when investigating proposals of this nature, and will first explore all options, including whether an educational and advisory approach or advances in technology can assist in managing waterways outside of regulatory measures.

Maritime considers the area of Murray River adjacent to Deep Lagoon to be a ‘high use zone’. The waterway is shared across a range of uses, with vessels accessing several waterside facilities including two (2) vessel mooring areas, a vessel pump out facility and pontoon owned and managed by the Murray River Council, a large short term vessel berthing facility, as well as the narrow and shallow entrance to the Deep Creek Marina. Within Deep Lagoon (Deep Creek), among other things, there is a marina with more than 100 houseboat moorings that is nearing capacity, a hotel and two (2) boat launching facilities. Deep Lagoon is subject to an existing four (4) knot speed limit and is busy with a variety of vessels operating, including passive craft.

Maritime have conducted a thorough review of this proposal, including consultation with staff that have extensive knowledge on boating operations in this area. Analysing waterway use in this precinct found that the Deep Creek Marina was the primary location from which the majority of vessels operate to and from, resulting in the peak of activities being focused around the entry and exit to the marina. This includes vessels that are starting and finishing towing activities, involving persons and tow lines in the water, vessels transitioning to and from the plane and vessels operating at high speeds.

One of the key functions of this precinct is to provide for the on-water storage and servicing of vessels such as houseboats, which are inherently large, travel slowly and generally restricted in their ability to manoeuvre. These vessels have subsequent operating, storage, and servicing requirements above and beyond those of traditional trailered vessels.

In this regard, the safety of vessel operators utilising the publicly available pump out facility and the protection of the environment during associated transfer operations was a significant consideration, with the infrastructure owner reporting that the pump out facility has been damaged on a number of occasions by wash associated with vessel operations.

As this area continues to grow through the subdivision of waterside land and associated occupations of the surrounding marinas, the numbers of vessels operating in this precinct will also continue to increase, therefore, this amendment to vessel operating conditions is aimed at minimising the impacts of powered vessel operations on waterside land, associated infrastructure and moored vessels and to enhance safety, access and amenity in this stretch of the waterway.

Stakeholder Engagement and Community Consultation

The results of the community consultation process which reached over 21,000 people, involved print media advertising, targeted social media, letter communications outlining the proposal via email and circulated to local vessel owners / operators, indicated that the majority of responders supported the introduction of a speed limit. Maritime received a number of responses in support of the proposal that wanted the zone to be increased in size and some responses that rejected any speed limit. The only alternative presented throughout the consultation period was to implement a ‘No Wash’ zone in lieu of a speed restriction.

Maritime advise that ‘No Wash’ zones were removed from use on NSW waters in 2019, having been replaced instead by ‘Minimise Wash’, which are used in more of an advisory capacity. Furthermore, Maritime has found that despite prolonged education and advisory efforts, ‘Minimise Wash’ zones remain widely misunderstood.

Maritime also uphold that a ‘Minimise Wash’ approach only focuses on managing the impact of vessel wash on waterside land infrastructure and user amenity, however, it fails to address the concerns regarding waterway user safety. These concerns arise from the growing number of vessels and the variety of activities taking place, such as the cumulative effect of unregulated towing and high-speed operations near the Murray River and Deep Lagoon intersection and surrounding infrastructure.

Powered Vessel Restrictions

In consideration of the objectives of the regulatory and legislative framework Maritime administers, Maritime use four key guiding principles in managing NSW waterways; Safety, Environment, Access and Amenity. These four guiding principles are complemented by key service deliverables including keeping safety at the heart of our decision making and respecting our community and the environment.

To this end, Maritime concluded that the current position (no set speed limit or other restrictions on powered vessels) on the Murray River adjacent to the entrance to Deep Lagoon, is not appropriate within the context of Maritime’s delivery responsibilities.

Based on the review of the waterway and stakeholder and community engagement undertaken, which comprises support and endorsement from waterway safety partners including the Murray River Council, the NSW Police Force Murray River District and NSW Marine Rescue Moama, Maritime is proceeding to introduce a four (4) knot speed limit zone for all powered vessel operations on the Murray River adjacent to Deep Lagoon, as illustrated in figure 1. The entire length of the proposed zone is approximately 500 metres, which is expected to take four (4) minutes to transit at the speed limit. Maritime will install new signage in appropriate locations with the new zone to be in place for the commencement December 2023.

Figure 1: Four (4) knot speed limit zone to be implemented on the Murray River adjacent to Deep Lagoon (Moama).

Maritime considers the increased level of safety, improved environmental, infrastructure protection and amenity outcomes for all waterway users, to outweigh any negative impacts, which has been evident during the consultation process. Maritime will conduct an education program to advise waterway users of this change and will continue to monitor this precinct to ensure the effectiveness of the zone.

Should you have any questions or comments regarding this decision please contact the Manager Waterways Operations South Nathaniel Jacobs via email navsouth@transport.nsw.gov.au .