Information Sheet (sub-catchment)
S9 - Upper Parramatta River
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1. General Description
The Upper Parramatta River catchment starts at Church Street
south of Lake Parramatta, flows through Parramatta Park to
the weir at the end of Charles Street. From that point the
river is tidal and is known as the Middle Parramatta River
Catchment. The river has natural banks from the dam to the
Marsden Street weir and then is enclosed in stone banks to
beyond the extent of the catchment.
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2. Map Title
Upper Parramatta River Catchment
3. Geology
The Parramatta River collects water from two sets of tributaries:
- Toongabbie Creek and tributaries, Blacktown Creek, Grantham
Creek, Greystanes Creek, Pendle Hill Creek, Coopers Creek and
Finlaysons Creek. These flow from the south and west of the catchment
across the Cumberland Plain. The Cumberland is a low, undulating
area 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 bed has been
engineered along much of its length so rock exposure is rare.
- Darling Mills Creek and Hunts Creek in the north of the catchment
are deeply incised into the Hawkesbury Sandstone of the Hornsby
Plateau with steep V-shaped valleys and sandstone cliff faces.
The Hawkesbury sandstone was laid down as a very thick sheet of
sand by energetic, braided streams flowing from the south west
during the mid Triassic.
4. Geomorphology
The geomorphology of the catchment reflects the underlying geology.
- Darling Mills Creek and its tributaries in the north are deeply
incised into the Hawkesbury Sandstone with steep V-shaped valleys
and sandstone cliff faces. Little natural alluvium flows out of
this system.
- Toongabbie Creek and its tributaries, flowing from the south,
drain across the gently undulating Cumberland Plain with its foundation
of siltstones, mudstones and shales. Extensive deposits of alluvium
and the absence of rocky slopes are characteristic of this sub-catchment.
The Cumberland Plain is a low, undulating plain underlain by horizontally
bedded sediments of the Wianamatta Group, mainly Bringelly Shales.
5. Soil Types
The soils of the Upper Parramatta River reflect both the underlying
geology and the social history of the area. The two geological types
are the Wianamatta shales of the Cumberland Plain to the south and
west, and the Hawkesbury Sandstone of the Hornsby Plateau in the
north east.
In the upper section, near Hunts Creek the soil is generally coarse
to medium grained sands and sandy loams. Hunts River flows over
Hawkesbury Sandstones which are generally quartz rich, coarse grained
sandstones. The soil landscapes occurring in the sub-catchment include
Hawkesbury, Gymea, Glenorie and Lucas Heights. These soils are generally
less than 100 cms in depth, easily eroded even in low flow conditions
and of low fertility.
The Toongabbie Creek sub-catchment soils are generally fine-grained
silts and clays. The predominant soil landscape 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 the Upper Parramatta River flows through parkland
which was the original site of farming settlements, then through
the CBD. In this region rich alluvial river flat soils have been
highly disturbed, affected by flooding and covered by infrastructure.
6. Vegetation communities
The only major remnants are in Bourke Road Reserve, Boundary Road
Reserve and Parramatta Park. The following community remnants have
been noted:
- Shale/Sandstone Transition Forest dominated by Eucalyptus
crebra (Narrow-leaved Ironbark), E. eugenoides (Stringybark)
and E. punctata (Grey Gum).
- Red Gum River-flat Forest occurs in Parramatta Park along with
some scattered woodland trees.
- A stand of Eucalyptus maculata (Spotted Gum) and Syncarpia
glomulifera (Turpentine) of cultural and habitat significance
occur in Belmore Park.
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7. Biodiversity
Biodiversity is limited in the Upper Parramatta River corridor
due to high urbanisation and many mown grass areas in the
available open spaces. Only three major remnants and isolated
canopy trees in exotic grass parklands occur in the catchment.
The hospital grounds have virtually no native vegetation,
the entire side of the creek in this area is inhabited by
herbaceous weeds and exotic grasses such as Kikuyu. This provides
habitat albeit poor quality for creatures such as the Eastern
Water Dragon
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Mown
areas bounded by woodland in Parramatta Park
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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. 98% of total flow volume leaves the catchment
2% of the time, (Master Thesis, Downes, 1998).
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. Creeks such
as Blacktown Creek that originate in the Wianamatta Shale country,
that is in the Cumberland Plain to the west and south, have very
little dry weather flow.
As the Parramatta CBD is the lowest point in the catchment it collects
all the water flowing through the system. In periods of high rainfall
Parramatta CBD is subject to severe flooding.
9. Rainfall
Rainfall measurements between 1969 and 1996 show that there is
a significant variation in the rainfall intensity and average in
the catchment. The highest average rainfall occurs in the north-east
section of the catchment, (headwaters of Darling Mills Creek, 1200mm
per year) and the lowest in the south-west, (headwaters of Toongabbie
and Greystanes Creek, 800mm per year).
10. Landuse
The Upper Parramatta River corridor begins at Church Street, south
of the Lake Parramatta Dam. It flows through Boundary Street Drainage
Reserve, beside Cumberland Hospital, Parramatta Stadium, through
Parramatta Park and two narrow reserves between Church Street and
Stewart Street. Large areas of the river foreshore are accessible
to the public. The Boundary Street Reserve and Drainage Reserve
creates a substantial walk along the western bank of the river extending
up along Toongabbie Creek
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 Park and Parramatta Park, 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.
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The Old Bathhouse in Parramatta park, circa 1930
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Parramatta Park and Old Government
House - the former Government Domain and vice-regal residence
at Parramatta - cover an area of 86 hectares. The earliest successful
colonial farming in Australia and the beginning of the cattle
industry took place here. |
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
Parramtta 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. Management Issues
Flooding in Parramatta CBD is of major concern. Development upstream
of Parramatta, for example in West Pennant Hills and Baulkham Hills,
contributes to the effects of development in the city. This is not
just in terms of increasing quantity of water from new residential
development but also the deteriorating quality of water from all
forms of landuse - residential, commercial, industrial and recreational.
Nowhere are these effects more evident than in and around the CBD.
The CBD is the focus for social, economic and political activity
in the area as well as for the flows of information, finance and
transport.
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The CBD is also the focus for all floodwater and run off
feeding into the Parramatta River, (from an area of 108 km2)
- from the Local Government Areas of Baulkham Hills, Holroyd,
Blacktown and Parramatta. The Parramatta River flows through
the northern part of the CBD under a series of bridges including
the historically significant Lennox Bridge, built 155 years
ago by convicts. The arched sandstone structure of the bridge
constricts river flows which results in higher flows and consequent
flooding of the commercial area of Parramatta CBD. Inadequate
drainage contributes to this problem. After severe flooding
in the 1980's, leaving a damage bill estimated at $19 million,
many strategies have been put forward in an attempt to solve
this problem. Several large projects have been completed including
the McCoy Park and Sierra Place retarding basins on Toongabbie
Creek, the Loyalty Road basin on Darling Mills Creek and the
Gooden Reserve flood basin. However, as Parramatta is built
on a floodplain with many tributaries draining a large catchment,
the flood risk can never be totally eliminated, but it can
be reduced.
Biodiversity is another issue in the catchment. There is
an enormous potential for a bushland corridor along the Upper
Parramatta River due to the large areas of open space. Public
access is currently not encouraged in such areas as the hospital
but the potential exists to create a walkway from Windsor
Road to Church Street, Parramatta. All natural creek banks
in the area are heavily weed infested; immediately upstream
of Marsden Street Weir, Water Hyacinth, a noxious weed is
prolific.
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Lennox Bridge and a flooding Parramatta River
Marsden St Weir
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The following ideas for regeneration of the creek have been out
forward in the Green Corridors Management Strategy:-
- Preserve areas of particular ecological sensitivity such as
the Bourke Street remnant
- Regenerate and restore the Cumberland Woodland Remnant in Parramatta
Park
- Remove exotic weeds from the riverbed
- Encourage riparian vegetation
- Create large areas of dense understorey planting along Boundary
Street Drainage Reserve, in Parramatta Park, Parramatta Stadium
Grounds and the Hospital grounds.
- Construct a continuous shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists
between Windsor Road and Church Street.
- Facilities should be provided for visibility of the confluence
of Parramatta River and Toongabbie Creek for its cultural and
physical significance
13. Other Resources
and Links
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