Gerroa Environmental Protection Society president Warren Holder and member Howard Jones are concerned about the Crooked River Estuary's future.
PRESERVING endangered habitats, managing contamination and bringing the water up to swimming quality will be important talking points when the Crooked River Estuary Management Plan is put under the microscope.
The plan was formulated in 2003 and 10 years later, Kiama Council sustainability project officer Chenaye Collett said many of the issues remained the same.
"About a third of the actions suggested in the last plan were completed - a lot of the ones not completed were due to funding issues," she said.
With levels of fecal contamination from agricultural properties still higher than acceptable levels, Ms Collett said there was still more to do.
"We'd like to get it adequate enough to allow people to swim," she said.
She also said the cause of acid sulphate soil runoff would continue to be investigated, a move Howard Jones from the Gerroa Environmental Protection Society welcomed.
Exposed soils washing into the river after rain led to sulphuric acid contamination on multiple occasions during the past 18 months, changing the water's pH balance and causing fish deaths.
"They've mapped them now, they know what causes the problem, there's not enough monitoring going on and there needs to be regular monitoring at appropriate times," Mr Jones said.
"They need to nail the source . . . and ensure that it doesn't happen because it has an enormous impact on the biodiversity of the river."
Mr Jones said Gerroa was home to the biggest complex of freshwater coastal wetlands in the state and GEPS wanted to see it maintained and preserved.
Ms Collett said the issue of opening the river when it closes would again be discussed, but GEPS president Warren Holder believed nature should take its course.
"Down at Lake Conjola, they made changes to keep the river open and they had a lot of weed problems," he said.
GEPS also wanted to see climate change and sea level rise taken into account.
"A warmer ocean means more intense storm events - it's a big ask to consider, but it has to be considered," he said.
A four-question survey is available online at www.kiama.nsw.gov.au.
Printed copies of the survey are also available at the council's administration building and Kiama Library.
Participants go into a draw for a $100 gift card.
