River Management

Sydney's Rouse Hill Recycled Water Area helps to decrease the environmental impact of urban development on the Hawkesbury Nepean River.

In most areas, local councils control stormwater management but in the Rouse Hill Development Area, Sydney Water manages the main stormwater system. Street and house drainage is still managed by local councils.

To cover this service, residents are charged a River Management Fee (PDF - 139KB) by Sydney Water. Sydney Water also provides flood management, up to a one-in-one-hundred-year flood level, via its river management program.

Integrated Management

Integrated water cycle management means managing water, wastewater and stormwater together with monitoring. The impacts of all three are monitored on the quality of water in local rivers.

These three parts of the water cycle are all managed separately throughout most of Sydney. In Rouse Hill, Sydney Water manages all the elements of the system together. This helps to decrease the environmental impact of urban development on the Hawkesbury Nepean River.

Sydney Water tested water quality in the river prior to new housing developments to set water quality targets. The aim is to ensure that water quality does not deteriorate as more homes are built.

There are three main elements to integrated management.

Stormwater or river management

Stormwater in Rouse Hill is collected in grass lined channels which feed the stormwater system through a series of rubbish traps and wetlands in order to reduce the pollutants entering the river system.

Wherever possible these channels follow the natural water course through the area. In areas where flood waters may cause erosion some concrete channels have been used.

Wastewater and recycled water

Wastewater in Rouse Hill is treated to a very high standard. This wastewater has extra treatment which allows it to be recycled. This recycled water is fed back to homes in the area in a separate pipeline for outdoor use and toilet flushing.

Any wastewater that is not recycled is released into the man-made wetlands in Second Ponds Creek. When treated wastewater is discharged to the river, the advanced treatment ensures that the impact on water quality is minimised.

By managing these elements together we can consider the water cycle as a whole unit. This allows us to make better use of a valuable resource by imitating and speeding up the natural processes of the water cycle.

Rouse Hill Development Area and river management

The Rouse Hill Development Area is part of an integrated water cycle management program designed to help protect the Hawkesbury Nepean River.

Sydney Water owns and manages the trunk drainage system as well as the 256 hectares of flood-prone land in the Rouse Hill Development Area. If your property is within the Rouse Hill Development Area, your bill includes a river management charge (PDF - 139KB) . This service charge contributes to the management of the stormwater system and flood-prone land as well as weed management and bush regeneration alongside creeks on land owned by Sydney Water.

The following are devices being used in Rouse Hill to improve stormwater quality and help protect people and property from flooding.

Wet basins remove sediment from stormwater. Wetlands help to remove nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from stormwater by using natural water plants (macrophytes) that feed on these nutrients.

Dry basins temporarily store stormwater during times of high storm flows, and reduce flood heights in waterways downstream by slowly releasing the water over a longer period of time.

SQIDs (Stormwater Quality Improvement Devices) help to remove litter and sediments from stormwater.

Since 1994 our SQIDs have collected 2,500 cubic metres of rubbish and 6,200 tonnes of sediment in the Rouse Hill Development Area.

A reconstructed tributary showing a vegetated channel which provides habitat and water quality benefits.

Natural streams have been restored and enhanced to provide a natural environment in the urban area. This encourages biodiversity and improves water quality.

See what you can do to help if you live in the Rouse Hill Development Area.