In urban areas, water is prevented from entering the ground by roads, houses, driveways, and other sealed surfaces. Rainwater must be encouraged to dissipate quickly or flooding will occur.

This is where storm water drainage plays such an important role.

Catchments:

We are presently living and working in the Loders Creek catchment.

A catchment is a geological term that describes all the land from which rainwater runs before entering a particular creek, river or lake.

Catchments can be very large and stretch for thousands of square kilometers over state boundaries, or small enough to fit into a couple of suburbs. They include mountains, river flats and the estuaries and coastal plains where we live as shown on the figure.

The interrelated nature of water and catchments means that any action in the upper reaches of a stream will have an effect in the lower reaches.

For instance, clearing of vegetation results in erosion during heavy storms. Large quantities of silt are washed into Loders Creek and the Broadwater.

This situation constricts navigation channels, smothers sea grass beds and filter feeding animals, and increases the likelihood of flooding.

Management of the entire catchment is essential to restore Loders Creek!

Urban impacts:

Unfortunately it is not only water that enters Loders Creek through storm water drains. In the few minutes of each storm event - when run off begins, a host of pollutants enter our creek, transported by water.

These pollutants include litter, fertilizers, pesticides, pet faeces, oil and grease, soil, heavy metals, garden waste, solvents and detergents. Another significant impact on the water ways can include sewage overflow.

A poorly managed catchment can lead to decrease in water quality, loss of aquatic life, erosion and sedimentation. Indirect impacts include higher maintenance costs and reduced recreational opportunities.

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Solutions to pollution

Natural catchments:

In a catchment, water infiltrates slowly into the ground and percolates through leaves, soil, rock and plant root systems before entering creeks.

A healthy natural system is characterized by:

Unfortunately some people still think the catchment is a rubbish dump

If storm water is not managed effectively it can transport silt, nutrient, grass clippings, oil and other wastes into the creek.