| Duck River |
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Duck River The Duck River sub-catchment covers an area of approximately 104 square kilometres. The catchment is bounded by Pennant Hills Road in the north and extend to Bankstown in the south. The Parramatta River weir forms the upstream boundary and the downstream boundary is the Ryde Bridge. The confluence of Duck River and Parramatta River occurs at Silverwater, just to the west of Silverwater Bridge. There are three main drainage systems within the catchment. The water in the south-western areas of the catchment drains into Duck and A’Becketts Creek, which are tributaries of the Duck River. The south-eastern areas drains into Powell, Haslam and Boundary creeks, and then into Homebush Bay. At the northern side of the river, Subiaco and Vineyard creeks drain directly into the Parramatta River. Duck River, Homebush Bay and the northern catchment are tributaries of the greater middle Parramatta River catchment which drains into Sydney Harbour. Within the catchment there are a number of endangered ecological communities and many active Bushcare groups working to secure the future of these and other bushland areas. The catchment contains Sydney Olympic Park and Bicentennial Park The catchment is highly urbanised and has an estimate population at June 2010 of 763,803 The main landuses are industrial, residential commercial and recreational. Some of the larger landusers include the Shell Oil Refinery, Clyde NSW State Rail marshalling yards, Rose Hill Racecourse, Potts Hill Reservoir, Rookwood Necropolis, Royal Australian Air Force and numerous golf courses. The catchment hosts the largest remnant of Cumberland Plain Woodland (250 hectares along the Parramatta River). This is located within Millennium Parklands and forms part of the <Newington Nature Reserve>. The catchment also has the largest remaining area of estuarine wetlands in the Sydney region. These areas host a number of vegetation communities including mangroves, saltmarsh, and mudflats. These wetlands contain significant biodiversity and provide habitat for many species including international migratory birds. Local Government Areas within the catchment include: Auburn (pop 78,600); Bankstown (188,814); City of Canada Bay (78,700); Holroyd (102,188); Parramatta (172,300); Ryde (106,289); Strathfield (36,911). Biodiversity Relatively little remnant vegetation still exists in the catchment, making that which does remain all the more valuable. The main ecological communities are wetland, bushland, riverside vegetation and open green space. Wetlands The largest remaining area of estuarine wetlands in Sydney occurs near Homebush Bay and hosts many mangroves, saltmarsh and mudflats. There are three species of saltmarsh plants that are endemic to Homebush Bay. These are Halosarcia, Wilsonia and Lampranthus. The wetlands provide habitat for various species including migratory birds protected by the Japan-Australia and China-Australia Korea-Australia Migratory Bird Agreements (JAMBA, CAMBA, ROKAMBA). Extensive remediation works in these areas has place to enhance natural ecosystems previously adversely affected by human interventions such as seawalls and waste landfill operations. Bushland Remnants of the once extensive Melaleuca Paperbark Forests and the Eucalypt Woodland Forests still exists in the catchment. The Threatened Species Conservation Act (1995) recognises six plant communities as being Endangered Ecological Communities. These are:
Turpentine Ironbark Forest was once widespread over much of Strathfield, Concord, Homebush, Auburn, Berala and Lidcombe. Remnants of this forest type are still found at Newington Nature Reserve at Sydney Olympic Park, and also on the northern edge of the catchment within the Dundas Valley/Eastwood/Meadowbank/Ryde areas where the turpentine is scattered throughout Blue Gum High Forest. Blue Gum High Forest was once found along the northern boundary of the catchment and now exists in very small remnants at Carlingford. The Cooks River Clay Plain Scrub Forest remnants are found along the Duck River and at Rookwood Necropolis. This association is typified by Greg Box and the now rare Downy Wattle (Acacia pubescens). The Cumberland Plain Woodland begins at the eastern edge of the catchment at Auburn, Granville, Guildford, Chester Hill and continues to the base of the Blue Mountains. Sydney Coastal River-flat Forest remnants occur at the mouths of the major creeks and the Harbour. These remnants extend to the middle reaches of the Parramatta River. The Shale/Sandstone Transition Forest community typifies the remaining bushland at the interface of the Hornsby Plateau (sandstone) and the shales of the Cumberland Plain, and the creeks of Oatlands, Dundas, Meadowbank, West Ryde and Ryde flowing to the Parramatta River. Riparian Vegetation Many small areas of riparian vegetation occur in the catchment, particularly along the Duck River corridor. These areas contain a number of rare species such as Acacia pubescens, Elymus scabrous, and Lasiopetalum parviflorum. |