Parramatta River Catchment Environmental Issues

The Parramatta River catchment is one of the most highly urbanized catchments in Australia. However, many different issues impact the health of the catchment. These land and water issues affect the Parramatta River due to the consequences of human activity. Activities such as development, industry, land and water pollution, stormwater runoff, flooding, boating, and even simple daily actions like driving or walking, all have an impact on the health of the waterways.

Addressing Catchment Issues: Improvement Program

To address these challenges, an Environmental Improvement Program is in place, structured around four main streams:

• Stormwater Management
• Floodplain Management
• Healthy Waterways
• Sustainable Water

Each stream functions to improve the water quality of the catchment. Healthy catchments are vital for human life as they are where food is grown and where clean water originates.

Weeds: A Threat to Waterways and Habitat

Other factors also have a significant impact on the catchment, such as weeds. They can reduce water quality, choke waterways, and destroy the habitat of native animals.

Two main types of weeds affect the Parramatta River catchment:

• Noxious Weeds: By law, these weeds must be controlled because they affect human and animal health. Typically, they are plants that grow aggressively, multiply quickly without natural controls, and can cause adverse effects through contact or ingestion.
• Environmental Weeds: These affect the balance of the entire ecosystem by reducing biodiversity and taking away vital food sources and habitat for native insects, birdlife, and fauna. Environmental weeds can spread via wind, water, animals, and unsuitable disposal of garden waste.

Stormwater Runoff and Pollution Impact

Stormwater is collected from drains on roofs or paved areas like driveways, roads, and footpaths, and is carried away through the stormwater system. In some cases, the water is partially filtered and treated by stormwater treatment devices. However, most of the time, the water remains untreated. This means that anything washed down the drains, such as oil, litter, and pesticides, ends up in our waterways.

The impact of stormwater pollution is often worse after rain. This is why, in some cases, people are advised not to swim due to the health risks that stormwater pollution poses.