Sutherland Shire’s iconic waterways and coastlines include the surfing beaches of Bate Bay at Cronulla, the internationally recognised Towra Point wetland in Botany Bay, the protected bays of Port Hacking and numerous freshwater creeks and wetlands.

Our waterways are highly valued for their biodiversity, scenery and recreation. The health of our waterways is connected to the health of the catchment, the area of land on which rain falls and flows as stormwater runoff to a waterway.

Aerial photo of sutherland shire, overlooking Ewey Creek Ewey creek catchment
Aerial photo of Gwawley bay catchment Gwawley Bay catchment
Aerial photo of Towra point Towra Point catchment

The map shows catchments for the main waterways in Sutherland Shire.

Many catchments were once completely forested. Some of these have been cleared since European settlement, which has altered the natural water cycle.

Impacts by development (that does not account for natural environmental processes) can include:

  • water pollution
  • flooding
  • erosion
  • sedimentation
  • weed infestation.

Council is taking an Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) approach to address these issues and protect our waterways. The IUWM incorporates linked approaches to stormwater management, waterway management, flood risk management and coastal management.

This is an ongoing process and includes community consultation.

Stormwater management
Stormwater is rainfall that runs off the ground. In urbanised areas like Sutherland Shire, stormwater is usually collected by private and public stormwater drainage systems and carried to a waterway like a creek or river.
Flood risk management
Flooding occurs during extreme weather when normally dry land is inundated. Flooding is a natural phenomenon.
Waterways management
Council has assessed the condition of nearly 250 km of Sutherland Shire’s urban creeks and undertakes a water rehabilitation program to maintain and improve their condition.
Coastal management
The urban area of Sutherland Shire is surrounded by coastal waters. These include the open coast of Bate Bay in the east, the Botany Bay coastal embayment to the north-east, and the estuaries of Georges River to the north, Port Hacking to the south-east and Woronora River to the west.