Blue Mountains City Council and WaterNSW rate Jamison Creek in Wentworth Falls as a high-priority subcatchment for stormwater management, recognising the waterway’s many environmental, cultural and social values and the threats posed to the creek by urban runoff. This vulnerability was highlighted in 2012, when a stormwater-borne pesticide killed over a thousand Giant Spiny Crayfish and many thousands of other invertebrates.
Recovery of crayfish and the wider macroinvertebrate community has been remarkable, however many threats to the creek remain. Council’s regular monitoring of water quality and aquatic macroinvertebrates from 2008 to 2020 produced variable results, with evidence of ongoing disturbance-recovery cycles at the three creek sites sampled. In addition to pollution during this period, a drought and a major flood have also impacted the creek.
The Jamison Catchment Streets to Creeks Project (2015-2019) worked to protect Wentworth Falls Lake and Jamison Creek from stormwater. With funding from WaterNSW, council constructed twelve stormwater biofiltration systems, to remove pollutants and increase groundwater recharge.
While the biofilters are achieving promising site-by-site results, on their own they don’t constitute a whole-of-catchment solution. For genuine transformation, additional holistic approaches are needed, in line with council’s Water Sensitive Blue Mountains Strategic Plan. A high priority is to harvest and use stormwater and rainwater on private and public properties, effectively reducing impervious area, while providing a suite of community benefits.