Clean waterways
Our City has many rivers and open water bodies which require careful maintenance and monitoring
Water quality
We work together with other organisations, local environmental groups and our community to help keep our waterways and water bodies clean.
Along with a regular water quality monitoring program, which regularly samples 18 sites throughout the local government area for blue-green algae, bacteria and nutrient content, we also regularly clean our water quality devices (WQDs), including pollutant traps, open water bodies and wetlands.
Water Quality Monitoring 2025-26 Annual Progress Report.
Map below represent water quality monitoring locations across CBCity.
The dashboard below provides updated information on the cleaning of our water quality devices and open water bodies.
Move your cursor over the points on the map to see when the last clean occurred and the type of material removed.
Litter in waterways
Council is receiving increased enquiries about litter in our rivers, creeks and waterways.
Most litter in rivers comes from higher in the catchment, from streets in urban and industrial areas. If rubbish isn’t put in a bin, it gets blown or washed into drains when it rains, entering waterways through stormwater.
The easiest way to stop this is to prevent littering. CBCity is working to prevent littering through a variety of education campaigns and infrastructure upgrades, in partnership with the community and other agencies like the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
Littering is illegal and Council works with other organisations and the community to prevent littering and improve the health of our waterways.
Litter management is a multi-government responsibility. With many agencies now preparing litter prevention strategies, from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to catchment management organisations overseeing the Cooks River, Georges River and Parramatta River catchments, as well as councils. Once completed, these strategies will overlap and update different litter prevention responsibilities.
Once litter is on public land in Canterbury-Bankstown, including parks, streets and next to waterways, it is removed by Council.
Litter in waterways beyond the bank edge are the responsibility of the agency with ownership, which is usually Transport for NSW – Maritime for a natural waterway like Salt Pan Creek or lower Cooks River. If the waterway has been concreted and has a Sydney Water fencelike the Cooks River upstream of the Fifth Ave bridge at Campsie, it is managed by Sydney Water. Some creeks in Canterbury-Bankstown have been historically concreted by former councils, so continue to be fully managed by CBCity.
If you witness any litter or chemical spills, please report it to Council or the NSW EPA as soon as possible.
Along with building, upgrading and cleaning our more than 90 water quality devices and biofilters, which prevent around 300 tonnes of litter from reaching waterways each year, Council also runs many litter prevention programs, involving education, events, advocacy and direct litter-reduction programs. Find out more on our litter prevention page.
We work with catchment groups and Corrective Services NSW on litter reduction programs, where people fulfil their community service hours by collecting rubbish from our riverside parks.
We also regularly pick up litter and sweep streets, especially streets near waterways and pollution devices.
This table shows the best reporting methods for waterway pollution.
| Pollution type and location | Report to: |
| Floating or submerged bulky litter in open water bodies, small creeks, canals and channels | Council – dial 9707 9000 or email council@cbcity.gov.au |
| Floating or submerged bulky litter in water or in-water vegetation like mangroves in large natural creeks or rivers such as Salt Pan Creek, Cooks River or Georges River | Transport for NSW – Maritime – dial 13 12 36 |
| Someone polluting waterways, including throwing food to feed animals, littering or pouring anything other than water | Council – dial 9707 9000 immediately. Major pollution incidents contact NSW EPA and record as many details as possible. |
| Litter, dumped rubbish or chemicals near waterways or drains | Council – dial 9707 9000 or email council@cbcity.gov.au |
| Sewage overflows | Sydney Water – dial 132 090 |
| Algal blooms in open water bodies within Council parks | Council – dial 9707 9000 or email council@cbcity.gov.au |
| Algal blooms in creeks or rivers such as the Cooks River | NSW EPA – dial 131 555 |
| Dead animals such as fish or water birds in open water bodies within Council parks | Council – dial 9707 9000 immediately |
| Dead animals such as fish or waterbirds in creeks or rivers such as the Cooks River | NSW EPA – dial 131 555 immediately |
| Fishing litter in large natural creeks or rivers such as Salt Pan Creek, Cooks River or Georges River | NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) – dial 1800 043 536 |
| Fishing litter in open water bodies within Council parks | Council – dial 9707 9000 or email council@cbcity.gov.au |
| Large chemical spill such as oil or unknown chemical slicks in rivers and creeks | NSW EPA – dial 131 555 |
| Major pollution incident that presents an immediate threat to human health or property, such as toxic fumes or a large chemical spill | Emergency services – dial 000 |
Blue-green algae
Blue-green algae is natural and caused by large amounts of nutrients in slow-moving water with low oxygen. In an urban area like Canterbury-Bankstown, additions to our water like stormwater run-off and inappropriate food from bird feeding add large amounts of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen to the water, far more than in a natural system. This causes more frequent algal blooms.
Between 2025 and 2026, we trialled a project capturing nitrogen and phosphorus, the nutrients causing blue-green algae blooms, from Wiley Park’s south pond. This trial used photosynthesis in a machine called a photobioreactor. Nutrients were drawn up from the pond and used to cultivate a species of microalgae. This project was led by ALBON Pty Ltd in partnership with CBCity, using results from our water quality monitoring program.
Blue-green algae will usually disappear seasonally when weather and water temperature cools, but can become a problem if toxic algal species are present, which we sample for and treat if needed.
| BGA alert level | What this means |
| No alert (White) | Less than 500 cells/mL toxic BGA species or less than 0.04 mm3/L total biovolume |
| Green | Between 500 and 5,000 cells/mL of toxic BGA species, or between 0.04 to 0.4 mm3/L of total biovolume |
| Amber | Between 5,000 and 50,000 cells/mL of toxic BGA species or between 0.4 and 4 mm3/L total biovolume |
| Red | Over 50,000 cells/mL of toxic BGA species or over 4 mm3/L total biovolume |
| Bacterial content | What this means |
| <200 Enterococci/100Ml | Less than 200 enterococci organisms per 100mL of water is safe for people and animals to come into secondary contact with the water, meaning any contact which isn’t full immersion or swimming |
| >200 Enterococci/100Ml | More than 200 enterococci organisms per 100mL of water is unsafe for people and animals to come into secondary contact with the water, meaning any contact which isn’t full immersion or swimming |