Catchment values

Over 50% of the catchment is protected in reserves (photo by John Baker copyright Australian Government)

The Hawkesbury Nepean catchment supplies water, power, agricultural and fisheries produce, tourism and mining resources.

It is a catchment of national significance which:

Stretches 21,400 square kilometres (2.2 million hectares) from south of Goulburn to near Cessnock, west from Lithgow to Palm Beach on the coast
Flows 470 kilometres from near Lake Bathurst to Broken Bay
Provides drinking water for over 4 million people living in Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains (70% of New South Wales population). Plus much of the water for Gosford and Wyong
Supplies water used to produce 70% of NSW's goods and services
Supports a population of 1 million people which is expected to grow to 1.3 million by 2019
Home to 15.6% of New South Wales Aboriginal population
Generates over $1 billion each year in agriculture and horticulture (12% of all NSW's agriculture production). This includes $600 million of irrigated agriculture which provides much of Sydney's fresh vegetables, flowers and fruit.
Supports over $6 million a year in commercial fishing industry (including the state's second largest estuarine trawl industry for prawns and squid)
Supports 43,000 recreational fishers
Supplies 80% of the sand and gravel used in Sydney's construction industry
worth an estimated $100 million a year
Generates over $60 million annually in tourism and recreation from more than
10 million visitors to the catchment each year
Provides 23% of NSW's electricity using water from the Coxs River in the
Wallerwang and Lower Portland power stations
Protects 50% of the area in over 1 million hectares of National Parks and reserves
Boasts the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area that includes the highest diversity of Eucalypt forests in world and almost 10% of Australia's vascular plants
Includes major rivers such as the Hawkesbury, Nepean, Wollondilly, Mulwaree, Tarlo, Wingecarribee, Nattai, Nepean, Coxs, Kowmung, Grose, Capertee, Colo and Macdonald
Has a variable average rainfall across the catchment between 900-1200mm
Supports 22 species of frogs, 17 snakes, 42 lizards, 1 turtle, 2 monotremes, 30 marsupials, 21 bats, 6 native rodents, the dingo and over 450 species of birds
591 plants in the catchment are considered to be of "conservation significance" (i.e listed as endangered, threatened or of regional significance)
Includes 247 species, 10 populations and 31 ecological communities that are endangered.

Further information

Natural assets in the catchment