What is a catchment?
A catchment is an area where water is collected by the natural landscape. In a catchment, all rain and run-off water eventually flows to a creek, river, lake or ocean, or into the groundwater system.
Natural and human systems such as rivers, bushland, farms, dams, homes, plants, animals and people can co-exist in a catchment.
Healthy catchments provide:
- a source of clean drinking water
- unspoilt natural areas for recreation
- habitat for plants and animals
- healthy vegetation and waterways
- reliable and clean water for stock and irrigation, and
- opportunities for sustainable agriculture and industry.
Our daily activities affect the health of our catchments. The first step to protect our catchments is to better understand our impact on them.
The Sydney Catchment Authority works to ensure that activity, particularly building, industry and farming, in Sydney's catchments does not harm the environment that our drinking water comes from.
