Blue Mountains City Council, with funding from Council’s Environment Levy, is teaming up with the local community and the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) in a $300,000 project to clean up Leura Falls Creek.
Leura Falls Creek forms the headwaters of Leura Cascades, one of the Blue Mountains’ most well-loved locations.
In recent years, this iconic waterway has suffered increasingly from the effects of urban stormwater runoff and pollution.
The Leura Falls Creek project aims to improve creek condition by constructing seven pollution-trapping stormwater treatment systems within the catchment, restoring degraded creek sections and running hands-on education workshops for local businesses and residents.
The Leura Falls Creek Catchment Working Group (LFCCWG), made up of five dedicated local Bushcare volunteer groups, will be actively involved – assisting the Council and the SCA to run a monitoring program to track changes in
water quality.
Mayor, Councillor Mark Greenhill said that healhy waterways are criticial to Council’s water supply.
“Urban stormwater runoff is one of the biggest threats to our local waterways and our community consistently rates local water quality as a significant priority (in Council’s annual community survey).”
“Council is currently restoring over 130 creek and bushland sites such as Leura Falls Creek across the City – work which is only made possible with funding raised through Council’s Environment Levy.”
The Council secured a $150,000 grant from the SCA for the project by matching the grant with a $150,000 contribution from Council’s Environment Levy.
The Levy raises around $1.5 million annually from Council rates and funds projects to restore creeks, improve water quality, control noxious weeds and maintain walking tracks and lookouts across the City.
The Environment Levy also funds regular water quality testing at over 40 local creek and water way sites.
