Bankstown City Council area covers an area of about 78.5 km². Waterways are a major feature of the landscape and form a natural boundary around the city. There are 8 existing catchment areas in Bankstown including:
Waters from these catchments feed into the Cooks River, or into the Duck River which feeds the Parramatta River, or into the Georges River system.
The catchments provide an important habitat for numerous fauna species, in particular avifauna (birds), many of which are protected by international treaties, are endangered or regionally significant. Stress however on the many native flora and fauna species in the area has increased due to increasing urban and industrial development; drastically reducing the amount of native habitat areas and leaving the landscape significantly changed post-European settlement. The rivers and catchment areas have become a receptacle for litter, pollution, stormwater run-off, and in some instances sewer overflows.
Total catchment management is a tool employed by the council to preserve and enhance the environment in the catchments by improving water quality, flood mitigation, biodiversity and vegetation loss. Find out more about councils Catchment Management strategies including our Estuary Management Plans and Stormwater Management Plans to see Council initiatives to improve our catchment and river ecosystems.
For more information on each of Bankstown's catchment areas, just follow the links above.