Lake Parramatta is located in the Hunts Creek catchment. The lake was created in 1855 when a masonry dam was built as a source of freshwater. on history

Today the Lake is a recreational water body only. The catchment is 760ha. 55% of the catchment landuse is low density residential housing and the remainder almost evenly divided between open space and special uses such as schools. The surface area of the lake is 10km2 with a current storage of 450ML. on vegetation about the catchment

On occasions, particularly after rainfall, the Lake has high levels of pollution caused by sewer overflows, stormwater and general catchment run-off. It is then unsuitable for swimming. The Trust, Parramatta City Council and Baulkham Hills Shire Council have been working together to improve water quality so the Lake can be made clean enough for swimming. on swimming. on causes of poor water quality.

In 1996 the Trust conducted a project called "Streamly Clean" to determine what the community valued about the catchment's waterways and what the community would like to done. The outcome for Lake Parramatta was that the community have a strong desire to restore the water quality to a standard that allows swimming. Streamly Clean document is available in pdf format.

In 1998 a Water Quality Management Plan for Lake Parramatta was completed. (Document available in pdf format). This plan analysed data, undertook water quality monitoring and suggested a number of management options.

As an outcome of these actions, the "Swim Towards 2005, help clean up Lake Parramatta" project started. This project was supported by grants from NSW Environmental Trusts and Natural Heritage Trust. in recent years the focus has been on water quality issues directly related to swimming.

In 2003, the trust commissioned a three stage study by the Centre for Water and Waste Technology (CWWT) at the University of NSW. Stages 1 and 2 have been completed while the Stage 3 report is currently in draft form. Stage 1 was an assessment of the (then) current status, Stage 2 assessed dry weather flows and Stage 3 examined the impact of wet weather flows on water quality.

In October 2005, with the support of the Lord Mayor, Parramatta City Council set up a technicalworking group within council to identify the neccessary measures, facilities and likely costs of allowing swimming. Council had a Risk Management Plan prepared to address other factors which could impact swimming in the lake.

In June 2006, Council agreed to permit swimming during events or when controlled by clubs. The first such event was held on the 3rd December 2006. Though the swimming events organised for the day did not occur due to a rainstorm the day before, there were still many other activities on offer, and with 1300 people attending, the day was a definite success. Photos from Fresh Water Festival 2006