Catchment management
The SCA’s task is to manage and protect the catchment areas supplying water to the Sydney region.
Listed below are some of the key activities it undertakes in this important and challenging role.
Planning
The new Regional Plan - Sustaining the Catchments: a draft regional plan for the drinking water catchments of Sydney and adjacent regional centres - being developed by the Department of Planning and the SCA introduces a range of tools for the SCA, including:
Neutral or beneficial effect test
The SCA works with councils and other state agencies to assess development proposals to ensure that they have a neutral or beneficial effect on water quality.
Strategic land and water capability assessments
The SCA will use new and more accurate information to prepare assessments that councils can apply to prepare and review local environment plans to ensure future land use will not adversely impact on water quality.
Rectification action planning
The SCA will prepare plans that identify and prioritise actions required to rectify the impacts on water quality from existing and past land uses.
Current recommended practices
The SCA identifies and promotes sustainable management practices that have been tried and tested locally or developed collaboratively by experts and practitioners.
Developing a catchment information system
The SCA is building on existing information systems so that catchment information held by the SCA can be easily accessed to support sound decision-making.
Regulation
The SCA exercises powers under the Sydney Water Catchment Management (General) Regulation 2000. This applies to Special Areas (immediately surrounding storages) and controlled areas (lands containing the SCA's canals and pipelines). The SCA can prohibit and restrict activities - such as fishing, extracting water, driving vehicles or horse-riding, removing plants and wildlife, removing rocks, swimming, boating, camping and lighting fires - in areas where they will harm the catchments or impact on water quality.
The Sydney Water Catchment Management (Environment Protection) Regulation 2000 covers all the SCA's area of operations. It enables the SCA to exercise certain powers under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 in relation to pollution sources impacting on water quality in catchment areas. It does not apply to premises and activities covered by an environment protection licence from the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
Special Areas Strategic Plan of Management
The Special Areas Strategic Plan of Management is a long-term plan to provide high quality water in the storages, ensure ecosystem integrity and improve the environmental quality of the catchment areas. This plan is jointly implemented by the SCA and the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
On-ground activities
SCA field staff undertake a range of routine, on-ground management activities in the catchments, such as pest control, fire control, erosion control and repair, regulating access, containing spills, chemical collections, and weed control.
Many successful projects are undertaken jointly with landholders and community groups, and with other agencies. Examples include:
- mine rehabilitation
- managing and protecting fragile areas such as Wingecarribee Swamp
- auditing contaminated sites in the catchments,and
- remedial works on individual properties such as riverbank stabilisation, willow removal, revegetation and riverbank fencing.
The SCA has an office in Goulburn to help make SCA staff and services more accessible to people living and working within the catchment areas.
