Parramatta River

• Parramatta Catchment - one of four that feed into the Sydney Harbour Estuary.
• Parramatta River Masterplan - developed in 2018. Key features: 

- to create a swimmable river
- detailed stormwater management
- testing and monitoring.  

The Parramatta River Masterplan has ten steps to make Parramatta River swimmable. Steps in the plan include:

1. Get swimming 
2. Keep watch 
3. Create new swimming spots 
4. Standardise the tests 
5. Reduce stormwater runoff 
6. Improve overflows 
7. Involve the community 
8. Bring in nature 
9. Report back regularly
10. Create clear leadership ​


Overview

• What is a swimmable river?
• River remediation and management
• Opportunities for student fieldwork and citizen science

​Urban communities need spaces to cool off due to:
- climate change
- urban heat-island effect
- increasing heat waves

What are swimmable cities?
Creating swimmable urban rivers involves:
- regeneration around waterways, and 
- better management of stormwater pollution and litter.
- remediation of industrial sites

Principles of the Swimmable Cities Charter:
1. The right to swim
2. One health, many swimmers
3. Urban swimming cultures
4. Water is sacred
5. Rewriting the rules
6. Democratic participation in swimming places
7. Reconnection and resilience
8. New economic opportunities
9. Sharing wellbeing benefits, culture and knowledge 
10. Stewardship for today, tomorrow and future generations 

A swimmable urban waterway provides:
- safe habitat for wildlife
- climate change mitigation
- addresses social interaction 
- promotes economic activity

Read more...
SwimmableCities.org


The Swimmable Cities alliance:

• 153 organisations 
• 83 cities and towns, 
• 30 countries 

Swimmable Cities - definitions

• International research initiative to establish a global baseline for the swimmability of urban waterways worldwide. 
• Interdisciplinary collaboration across environmental science, urban planning, public health, and community engagement to establish ‘swimmability’ as an indicator for urban liveability
• Criteria to benchmark 

- waterway health
- accessibility, 
- biodiversity, and 
- social impact. 

Global example: Munich
- River and Lake bathing, e.g. Eisbach stream
- River Surfing - e.g. Eisbach Surfers