Local students stencil a ‘drains are only for rain’ Health Snapshot message on drains around their school. IMAGE: Emma Kennedy Your rates at work: More ways to help 2O19 fostering water sensitive Report pollution people NSW Environment Line 131 555 In schools Report sewage leaks Through our Connecting Kids to Creeks Program we Sydney Water 13 20 90 are inspiring the next generation to look after our Dispose of chemicals safely waterways. Over 600 students, aged 3-17 years from local schools are involved in the program each year. Household Chemical Cleanout: By learning about our waterways, doing hands-on www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/cleanout water science and taking practical action, these students are learning to be our waterway guardians Become a volunteer of the future. www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/envirovolunteers To find out about our schools program visit: www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/schools-program In our community We support over 500 conservation volunteers at 130 sites across the city—with advice, tools and the city within training. Come along and make a practical difference Locked Bag 1005 the city within a World Heritage 2 Civic Place to your local creeks and bushland! www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au Katoomba NSW 2780 a World Heritage National Park Visit: www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/envirovolunteers PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER T 02 4780 5000 CARBON NEUTRAL PRINTING E [email protected] National Park IMAGE: Ian Brown CREDITED IMAGES Boy in creek: Ona Janzen | Glenbrook Lagoon: Ian Brown Wentworth Falls: Murray Fredericks | Frog: Lucy Kidson PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER How healthy Protecting our creeks are our waterways? from stormwater runoff Council regularly monitors local waterways for ecological Stormwater runoff (from roads, roofs and paved areas) health and recreational water quality. is the number one cause of damage to our creeks. You can find detailed waterways reports at: www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/waterquality Unlike sewage, stormwater runoff is generally not treated—it flows directly to our creeks, causing pollution, erosion, sedimentation and habitat loss. Ecological health results Based on testing that uses water bugs as indicators of waterway health. This year, Is your property Raingardens nine of the test sites had no water flow. ‘water sensitive’? Raingardens are specially-constructed gardens which reduce peak stormwater flows and pollution DRY % Waterways in good EXCELLENT A ‘water sensitive’ by absorbing and filtering runoff from roofs and 59 POOR to excellent health home or business paved areas. FAIR helps protect our % Waterways in poor GOOD 24 waterways from Find out more at www.melbournewater.com.au to fair health stormwater damage by Sediment control reducing runoff Is your property, unsealed driveway or building site Recreational water quality results and keeping shedding soil or sand into street gutters? Thousands of pollutants out of Based on weekly testing for bacterial tonnes of sediment are washed into our creeks every stormwater drains. contamination over summer. year, smothering habitats and silting up streams. Being water Wentworth Falls Lake sensitive also Find out more at Generally good microbial water quality. means using www.yourhome.gov.au/housing/sediment-control Suitable for swimming most of the time. water efficiently, recycling and Glenbrook Lagoon, Megalong Creek, reusing Minnehaha Falls (Yosemite Creek) stormwater where Susceptible to faecal pollution. Not always IMAGE: Ona Janzen possible. suitable for swimming. Minnehaha is currently closed due to geological instability. Rainwater tanks At all sites, avoid swimming during and for up Save up to 240,000L of drinking water a year and reduce to three days after rain, or if there are signs of peak stormwater flows by installing a rainwater tank. By pollution in the water. Before swimming, using the water from your roof in the garden, toilet or consider other risks such as water depth, laundry, you could also save up to $200 per year. temperature and submerged hazards. Find out more at www.sydneywater.com.au A single site can lose up to 4 truck loads of sediment in one storm. ● Excellent health These ratings are based on the types of G waterbugs found at each site. Waterbugs Good health (such as mayflies and crayfish) are widely G Fair health accepted indicators of ecological creek Ecological waterway health G Poor health health. A rich variety of sensitive waterbugs indicates a healthy waterway. in the City of Blue Mountains G Dry Colo Catchment Glenbrook Catchment Kedumba Cachment ●1 Waterfall Creek ●17 Magdala Creek ●38 Kedumba Creek ●18 Glenbrook Creek ●39 Leura Falls Creek Coxs Catchment ●19 Glenbrook Creek ●40 Gordon Creek 20 41 ●2 Fairy Dell Creek ● Glenbrook Creek tributary ● Lillians Glen 21 42 ●3 Centennial Glen Creek ● Florabella Pass Creek ● Jamison Creek 43 ●4 Megalong Creek ● Kedumba River Grose Catchment 44 ●5 Megalong Creek tributary ● Wentworth Falls Lake ●6 Pulpit Hill Creek ●22 Grose River tributary Nepean Catchment ●7 Pulpit Hill Creek tributary ●23 Hat Hill Creek ●8 Back Creek NEW ●24 Popes Glen Creek ●45 Fitzgerald Creek ●25 Bridal Veil Creek/ ●46 Long Angle Creek Erskine Catchment Govetts Leap Brook ●47 Blue Gum Swamp Creek 26 ● Yosemite Creek 48 ●9 Bedford Creek ● Frasers Creek 27 ● Katoomba Creek 49 ●10 Terrace Falls Creek ● Frasers Creek tributary 28 ● Govetts Creek 50 ●11 Lawson Creek ● Cripple Creek 29 ● Wentworth Creek 51 ●12 Cataract Creek ● Strathdon Creek 30 ● Water Nymphs Dell 52 ●13 Red Gum Park ● Lapstone Creek 31 ● Dantes Glen 53 ●14 Bedford Creek tributary NEW ● Knapsack Creek 32 ● Hazelbrook Creek 54 ●15 Wilsons Glen Creek NEW ● Glenbrook Lagoon ●33 Woodford Creek ●16 Erskine Creek NEW ●34 Linden Creek tributary 35 ● Springwood Creek ●36 Bulls Creek NEW ●37 Adams Creek Crayfish can live up to 50 years. They are slow Our fantastic crayfish! growing and only breed from about 9 years old. What’s in a name? People often confuse spiny crayfish with yabbies, which grow quickly, breed early and are introduced pests in our mountain streams. To tell them apart, look at their claws. If the bottom edge is smooth, it’s an introduced yabby, if spiny, it could be one of the two local spiny crayfish species. How you can help… IMAGE: R. McCormack R. IMAGE: When fertilisers, pesticides and detergents get into The Blue Mountains is home to one of the world’s street gutters and drains, they end up in our creeks. largest crayfish—the Giant Spiny Crayfish. In 2012, over 1,000 dead Giant Spiny Crayfish were killed by pesticides that found their way into Crayfish are a vital food source for other water Jamison Creek, at Wentworth Falls. creatures in our creeks, with only one out of 1,000 baby crayfish surviving to old age. The rest help So remember, only rain down the drain! Don’t take nourish the entire creek system, including turtles, crayfish from their streams. And don’t use yabbie platypus, water rats, water birds, lizards and snakes. traps—these can drown water birds and platypus..