Hunter River Estuary and its catchment (including Hunter Estuary Wetlands Ramsar site comprises Kooragang Nature Reserve and Shortland Wetlands)
The Hunter River Estuary catchment is an area of more than 20 000 km2, bordered in the north-west by the Liverpool Ranges, to the west by the Great Dividing Range, and to the north and north-east by Mt Royal Range and the Barrington Tops.
The Hunter River itself covers a distance of 467 km, starting north of Muswellbrook.
From the headwaters the river flows south where it is joined by its major tributary, the Goulburn River, and then east to Newcastle where it discharges into the Tasman Sea.
Values to be protected
The Hunter River Estuary is an important site for migratory shorebirds and home to a range of fish and crustaceans. The Lower Hunter region is part of a transition zone for many plant and animal species between the sub-tropical influences of the north and the cooler conditions of the south. As a consequence the vegetation and fauna species is unique to neighbouring regions.
Ramsar site
Water quality issues
The Hunter River is experiencing increasing pressure from agricultural activities, mining and urban development. Water quality is affected by continued urban expansion, with urban diffuse, rural diffuse pollution and riverbank erosion. Newcastle is recognised as having the greatest potential for future port expansion and population growth in NSW, and is therefore a strategically important region for improved coastal zone management.
Previous relevant projects
- Acid Sulfate Soils: Priority Investigations fro the Lower Hunter River Estuary
- Shortland Wetlands - hydrological and water quality study
Key stakeholders / agencies
- Department of Environment and Climate Change
- Department of Water and Energy
- Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority
- Newcastle City Council
- National Parks and Wildlife Service
- Port Stephens Council
- Hunter Councils
- Hunter Water Corporation
- Department of Education & Training (Wetlands Environmental Education Centre)
See also
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