Information Sheet (sub-catchment)

S7 - Pendle Hill Creek Sub-Catchment

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1. General Description Pendle Hill Creek corridor starts at Cumberland Country Golf Course in Greystanes and leads through Pendle Hill to McCoy Park, Toongabbie, to join Greystanes Creek and then both merge with Toongabbie Creek. The headwaters of the creek are at Darling Street Park which contains two flood detention basins. Most of the creek is engineered and contained in a narrow drainage easement that is inaccessible to the public. The condition of the creek varies from badly deteriorated to being completely devoid of vegetation in the majority of engineered sections. Large stormwater inlets bring road run off into the creek, this carries litter, oil by-products and heavy metals. 2. Map Title Pendle Hill Creek Sub-Catchment Map

3. Geology

Pendle Hill Creek along with Greystanes Creek, Grantham Creek, Finlaysons Creek, and Coopers Creek, drain from the south west of the catchment to join with Toongabbie Creek north of the railway line. These creeks flow across the Cumberland Plain which is a low, undulating plain underlain by horizontally bedded sediments of the Wianamatta Group, mainly Bringelly Shales. These shales are generally composed of claystones, siltstones and carbonaceous shales with sparse sandstone lenses. The sediments were laid down in a coastal alluvial plain during the middle Triassic, (200Ma). The creek channel is engineered for most of its length so very little natural rock exposure is evident.

4. Geomorphology

The natural channel of the creek has been largely lost due to engineering. The creek bed has undergone four different treatments depending on flood volumes along its length. Upstream the natural banks have been retained but cleared. Where the easement is very narrow the creek has been contained in a deeper concrete channel to prevent erosion. Downstream, where flood volumes are greater, the creek bed has been changed into a very deep concrete dish drain with a flat, wide grassed easement that acts as a flood plain, eg the Pendle Hill Creek Floodway between Burrabogee Road and Barangaroo Road. Natural areas are restricted to short stretches with creek banks affected by erosion, exotic weed infestation and pollution.

5. Soil Types

The Pendle Hill Creek sub-catchment soils are generally fine-grained silts and clays. The predominant soil landscape in the sub-catchment is Blacktown which has been formed by residual geomorphic processes. These soils are generally of low fertility and less than 100 cms in depth. In the lower reaches of the creek near the confluence with Toongabbie Creek, a much deeper, fluvial soil is evident along the creek margins. This soil is also of low fertility and is highly likely to erode in storm events. Very little of the natural creek line remains but some areas of easement show a depth of fluvial soil.

6. Vegetation communities

Very little of the creek's indigenous vegetation remains. Only remnant trees such as Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis) and Cabbage Tree (Eucalyptus amplifolia) remain scattered in mown grass. In both Darling Street Park and Civic Park the woodland has been cleared, however in Civic Park a number of significant remnant trees remain. Cumberland Country Golf Course has the strongest evidence of original Cumberland Woodland including groves of GreyBox Trees, (Eucalyptus moluccana). Several local parks, such as Adler Parade Reserve, Brighton Reserve and Gallard Reserve have isolated large remnant Cumberland Woodland trees. Along the creek banks native riparian vegetation has been replaced by exotic weeds.

8. Hydrology

Flow regime is the long term pattern of high flows and low flows in creeks and rivers.

Generally there is very little flow in catchment creeks for the majority of the time, (Downes, Masters Thesis, 1998). 98% of total flow volume leaves the catchment in only 2% of the time. The average dry weather flow across the catchment is 1890 litres/ha/day.

Dry weather, (base) flows are generally greater in Darling Mills Creek, Hunts Creek and their tributaries which rise in the Hawkesbury Sandstone areas in the north east of the catchment. The creeks that originate in the Wianamatta Shale country, ie in the Cumberland Plain to the west and south, have very little dry weather flow.

11. Social History and impacts on landuse and the environment (incl. Aboriginal history)

The Upper Parramatta River catchment was originally home to the Dharug Aboriginal people who had inhabited the area for more than forty thousand years before British settlement in 1788. The local clan in the catchment was the Burramatta, from which the name Parramatta came, (burra meaning place and matta meaning eels). Many significant items of Aboriginal cultural heritage can be seen in the catchment, specifically in Lake Parramatta and Parramatta Parks, including such things as middens, tree scars, cave paintings and stone flakes.

The early settlement in Port Jackson faced many difficulties, not the least of which was the poor soil which would not support imported strains of wheat and other staple crops. Governor Phillip, who had explored the upper tidal reaches of the Parramatta River in 1788, encouraged establishment of new farms on the low lying river flats by giving land and convicts to the white settlers. This resulted in the development of the township of Rose Hill which later became known as Parramatta, the Aboriginal name meaning "the place where the eels lie down." Parramatta is Australia's second oldest settlement, having been established on November 2nd 1788. Lake Parramatta provided a clean and reliable water supply for the orchards and market gardens so the township flourished. With the introduction of rail transport in the 1850's Parramatta became the main metropolis of NSW.

Today Parramatta and Blacktown are thriving urban areas and make up a major regional centre. The catchment area of 107 km2, is 70% urbanised and contains approximately 80,000 properties and a population of 220,500 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999). The cities of Parramatta and Blacktown are located at the perimeter of the catchment; Parramatta Central Business District being at the outlet, and Blacktown at the western extremity.

The long history of intensive use of the catchment has resulted in significant environmental management problems. Today factories, residences and commercial businesses cover the area, impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs and car parks result in more frequent flooding and all forms of land use, (residential, commercial, recreational and industrial), have caused severe deterioration in water quality.

12. Community Groups

The Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust and local councils encourage and support local Bushcare groups. Local schools could be encouraged to participate in planting and clean up days along Pendle Hill Creek.

13. Management Measures in Place

The following structures have been put in place to alleviate flooding and help improve water quality in Pendle Hill Creek:

14. Management issues

This corridor has very limited value for biodiversity conservation and recreation, however there is some potential for planting to improve visual amenity and habitat. The following ideas have been put forward by the Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust:

• Revegetation could take place in open spaces and drainage reserves such as McCoy Park, Hackney Street, Bombala Street, Civic Park and Darling Street Park.
• Regeneration under tree remnants
• Staged replacement of weeds with aquatic and riparian vegetation to provide food and shelter for water birds, frogs and fish
• Installation of pollutant traps at stormwater inlets
• Stabilise eroded banks near Bombala Park

15. Other Resources and Links

• Pendle Hill Creek Sub-catchment map
• Upper Parramatta River Catchment Trust www.uprct.nsw.gov.au
• Nature Conservation Council www.nccnsw.org.au
• Department of Land & Water Conservation www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au
• National Parks & Wildlife Service www.npws.nsw.gov.au