What Is A Catchment?
A catchment is the area of land from which a creek or river receives its water. The boundaries of a catchment are defined by how the land is used in that area. In a natural catchment the boundaries are ridges and hills and water will run downhill over the surface or through the ground into small creeks and then into larger creeks and rivers. In agricultural and urban areas the natural catchment boundaries are often altered because water flow is controlled via channels, gutters, drains and ditches.
A catchment is more than an area marked on a map. Everyone lives in a catchment. The food we eat and the water we drink comes from catchments so we depend on them for our survival. To have a healthy catchment we need to manage all the uses of the land in that catchment including houses, roads, farms, recreation, bush land, businesses and parks.
KESAB Waterwatch is run in two of Adelaide's catchments, the Torrens (PDF approx 120kb) and the Patawalonga (PDF approx 120kb). If you live in Adelaide, contact us for a map of your local catchment area.
If you want to find out which catchment you live in, here are some organisations you could contact:
• Waterwatch Australia: www.waterwatch.org.au
• Local government in South Australia: www.dhs.sa.gov.au/pehs/council-finder/councils.asp
Or your local Natural Resource Management Board or Catchment Authority.
When I flush the toilet does it go into the creek?
The differences between stormwater and wastewater.
Once a swamp, now a suburb
See how changes to land use can affect the health of a catchment.
Not just rain to drain
Stormwater pollution, where it comes from and the problems that it causes.