Funding boost for Waterwatch is an opportunity to keep your waterways healthy

The NSW Government has delivered on its pledge to invest $800,000 to empower communities to monitor and improve the health of local waterways through the Waterwatch Citizen Science program.

“This funding will create the opportunity to set up 70 new citizen science groups throughout NSW over the next four years,” said program coordinator, Ms Rachael Kneeves.

“The funding will be used to expand the successful Streamwatch program within Sydney and the Waterwatch program outside of the Greater Sydney region,” Ms Kneeves said.

“This is an excellent opportunity to empower current and future generations to get actively involved in the sustainable use and management of local catchments,” she said. “We will engage communities and educate them about the importance of their waterways.

“Groups will be trained and supported to regularly collect high-quality data. The program will empower volunteers to conduct biological and habitat assessments as well as physical and chemical water tests.

“Healthy local waterways are essential for native wildlife, Aboriginal cultural heritage, local communities, and a diverse range of industries. Everyone benefits when our waterways are healthy.

“Unfortunately the rivers, creeks and estuaries of NSW are under extreme stress. The involvement of residents, landholders and educational facilities is one sure way to keep track of the wellbeing of our waterways, detect threats and improve their health.

“Involvement will also have benefits for the wellbeing of the volunteers by improving social cohesion, combatting isolation and encouraging individuals and groups to spend more time in nature.”

Ms Kneeves said many NSW residents who walk in their local area will regularly pass by a waterway.

“It’s a spot where you can see birds, dragonflies, fish jumping, and even the odd water dragon. Walking by the water helps you relax, is somewhere nice to stroll while you chat with a friend.

“Then one day you might  notice the local creek has gone an unusual colour and smells bad. What’s happened? And what can you do?

“Becoming a Waterwatch volunteer is one way to make sure this scenario doesn’t happen, or you can take swift action to fix the problem.

“By regularly visiting your local waterway with a group of like-minded people, taking a sample of the water, running some basic tests, and uploading this information to a publicly accessible database, you can contribute to environmental research and conservation.

“This is citizen science in action. It means that when something weird happens in your local creek, you can contact the authorities with the evidence that they need to act. You can play a meaningful role in keeping your local waterways healthy.”

As groups upload their quality-assured monitoring results the community and the NSW Government will be able to access the data to monitor events and detect trends over time.

The citizen science projects will be implemented by the Community Environment Network in collaboration with the Greater Sydney Landcare Network. This project has been assisted by the NSW Government through funding from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

All residents are encouraged get involved. More information is available online:
Streamwatch: https://greatersydneylandcare.org/streamwatch/
Waterwatch: https://www.nswwaterwatch.org.au/