Work has begun today on a project which will improve the water quality in the Nepean River and help protect the river for years to come.

The project, by Sydney Water in partnership with Camden Council, will restore a 200- metre section of the riverbank at Fergusons Land, which eroded due to flooding. The restoration will prevent excess nutrients from entering the river, while the installation of natural stabilisation structures will prevent damage to the bank by future floods. Weeds at the site will also be replaced with native River-Flat Eucalypt Forest.

Measurements showed that more than 6,500 cubic metres of soil was lost at the site between December 2021 and May 2022 due to the impacts of flooding – enough material to fill more than two and a half Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The works are fully funded by Sydney Water, and form part of a pilot project under of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Nutrient Management Framework developed by the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

Sydney Water Environmental Regulatory Manager, Jenny Rogers, said Sydney Water was excited to be collaborating with Camden Council on this pilot bank stabilisation project.

“We’re committed to improving waterway health and biodiversity to ensure our waterways are world-class and support thriving, liveable and sustainable cities,” Ms Rogers said.

“This project is an important step for us to improve this important waterway.

“As part of our commitment, we are investigating new and innovative ways to mitigate the impacts of nutrients discharged from our wastewater treatment plants into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River.”

Mayor of Camden, Cr Ashleigh Cagney, said the work being done was crucial to the protection of the Nepean.“

Unfortunately, flooding events have had numerous negative impacts on our LGA, one of which being the erosion of riverbank at this site in Fergusons Land,” she said.

“I’d like to thank Sydney Water for funding this project and working with us to help improve and protect the Nepean.”

The works are expected to be completed by November.