By
Greg,
Jiefei,
Kenny,
Anson and
Steve.
• The Parramatta river the one of the main tributaries of
Sydney Harbour along with the smaller Lane Cove river
and is one of the largest rivers in Sydney.
• The river starts from Parramatta then flows through many
areas Homebush, Meadowbank, Kissing point, Cabarita,
Abottsford, Fivedock and Gladeville which than all flows
to Sydney harbour and into the sea.
• The river travels 40KM upstream into the Toongabie area and beyond,
the opening is quite large , the river slowly becomes smaller until it
reaches Toonagabie creek, where it is then split into deltas
• The Parrammatta river meanders a vast amount while it is split from
the Lane cove river.
• Unfortunately through the many years, the river has been acting like
an open sewer for industries which cause a vast variety of
environmental issues for the people and animals surrounding it.
• Fortunately an effort is being made to protect the many
wetlands and swamps within the river and surrounding it.
• The Parramatta is a bustling area for animals to thrive in,
and is also a vast area in which people use to do water
testing and recreational activities. The river also meets
with the Lane Cove river, which is a very clean and
pristine river.
• But unfortunately through the many years, people have
caused vast amounts of damage to the Parramatta, it is so
bad that private organisations had to set up resources to
keep the river clean.
• This problem is mostly due to the fact the there are surrounding
factories which leak toxic waste and chemicals into the once clean and
pristine Parramatta river.
• The river today is filled with many chemicals, few examples include
PCBs, lead and cadmium.
• Most of these chemicals aren’t found on the main leg of the river but
more on the smaller deltas which flow into the Parramatta river.
• There are many impacts to the many rivers of Australia. Some main
concerns include the increasing demands on water for agriculture,
industry and domestic purposes. Another key impact is the increased
use of the environments for tourism purposes.
• The first concern is the rise in population. The rise of population
usually leads to over use of water and poor water disposal. One
example is the Parramatta river. The Parramatta river is one of
Sydney’s largest rivers, but due to poor filtration and water pollution,
the Dissolved oxygen levels decline to a large extent as someone
travels up the Parramatta river.
• The first concern is the rise in population. The rise of population
usually leads to over use of water and poor water disposal. One
example is the Parramatta river. The Parramatta river is one of
Sydney’s largest rivers, but due to poor filtration and water pollution,
the Dissolved oxygen levels decline to a large extent as someone
travels up the Parramatta river.
• The highest levels of pollution is detected in the Duck River, which is
an interconnect of the Parramatta river, within Duck river there is a
high amount of factory waste discharge into the river.
• Turbidity is another issue for the Parramatta river system, as the river
enters the eastern section of the river, the Turbidity decreases.
• Most turbidity issues exist in the inner areas of the Parramatta river
where most of the factories are located.
• These issues not only happen in the Parramatta river system but many
more rivers also have the same issue, mostly within rivers which have
many factories.
• There have been many responses from individuals and groups in
Sydney to help save the Parramatta river from destruction. One
example is the Parramatta river scheme that was run by the
Environmental Protection agency in mid 2000 due to a government
grant of $257,650.
• The aim of this scheme was to increase the knowledge and
understanding of the river to many people around the area. The prople
then started to look after the river for a brighter future for future
generations.
• A few examples of contribution included a mural, library displays on
the river and annual cleaning events, in where many people
participated.
• Some individuals and government initiatives have also opted to buy
back some parts of the Parramatta land areas to research the water
quality and similar.
• One government activity was cementing some areas where industrial
use was high, this was to stop the harmful chemicals from flowing into
the river.
• Another example is the Winston Hills and Toongabbie bushcare
program, this is a community/ individual group program which aims to
restore the ecological environment. The group has been very
successful for a number of years in receiving grants from the Natural
Heritage Trust and Rivercare.
• The group is involved in a wide range of activities, a few examples
include bush regeneration, providing habitat for wildlife and water
filtering for better quality fish.
• These programs not only happen in the Parramatta river, but are
covered through many other different waterways, one example being
the Lane Cove river, where an EPA program was also launched.
• The Parramatta River is a large river in Sydney that contains many fish
and marine animals. The river contains many wetlands and swamps
which were damaged due to the industrial waste that was dump in the
1970’s.
• Now the area has been protected by activists, but the waste was
because the Parramatta River was an open sewer for industrial waste
such various metals and chemicals that are hazardous to the animals
and caused the water quality to deteriorate.
• This caused major concern due to many fishing stocks around the
Sydney Harbour area to be contaminated and inconsumable, many
people that ate the fish became sick because of this and developed
diseases and proved that Sydney Harbour was one of the most
contaminated areas in Australia destroying the fragile wetlands that
surround the area.
• Within the river, many wildlife exist, one example being the cod
towards the opening of the river. Birds also live around that area for
food and water, the primary bierd being the seagull.
• But the Parramatta is now a part of a government water catchment
scheme to provide water management and provide drinking water for
the people of Sydney