Parramatta River

The City of Ryde is a member of the Parramatta River Catchment Group (PRCG) along with 11 other Councils including Ashfield, Auburn, Bankstown, Blacktown, Canada Bay, Holroyd, Hunters Hill, Leichhardt, Parramatta and Strathfield Councils, as well as Sydney Water and other state government agencies and authorities.

The purpose of the group is to improve the health of the Parramatta River and the aim is to make it swimmable by 2025. Council is involved in the following initiatives and projects helping to achieve this:

• The Ryde River Walk, a 12km long landscaped pathway that skirts along the banks of the Parramatta River, between Kissing Point Park and Melrose Park, meandering in to bays, parks and playgrounds, through bushland, mangroves, art installations and cultural sites. It aims to improve foreshore access and recreational opportunities.
• Bioretention systems, gross pollutant trap devices and other water sensitive urban design features e.g. at Meadowbank Park and Looking Glass Bay to help purify incoming stormwater before it enters certain creeks.
• The extensive Catchment Connections program which included a number of storm-water and catchment education initiatives that engaged over 10,000 people. It included water themed festivals, guided river walks, community and business workshops and school presentations.
• Leachate collection works at Porters Creek to prevent leachate from the former organic landfill site from entering the creek. The works were conducted as part of the 2013-14 Porters Creek Reconfiguration study project.
• The River to River program, a three year urban wildlife corridor project that aimed to reconnect fragmented and disconnected bushland, whilst establishing new and enhanced habitats for birds and other fauna, planting over 12,500 plants along two corridors between the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers.
• Riparian Protection and Rehabilitation Management Plan including extensive vegetation mapping of Archer’s Porter’s and Terry’s Creek.
• Water Quality Monitoring (WQM) Program over 7 years in 5 creek systems that all drain into the greater Parramatta River catchment (one system i.e. Archer’s Creek, enters the river directly), and a WQM strategic overview.
• Upgrading and repair work of Parramatta River seawalls, extensive creek restoration.
• Flood Studies including the completion of an Eastwood Town Centre Flood Options Feasibility Study, a draft Buffalo and Kittys Creek Risk Management Plan, and a draft Parramatta River Floodplain Risk Management Plan and a Stormwater Management Plan.

To find out more about the Our Living River initiative visit the Our Living River website