8.2: Water for Living
Catchment
A catchment is an area of land surrounded by natural features, such as hills, from which all water flows to a common low point, such as a creek, lake, river, bay. The volume, direction and speed at which the water flows is dependant on the shape of the land of the catchment. Catchments are hugely variable in size and the amount of water they are capable of capturing depend mainly on the size if the catchment and the amount of rain that falls on the catchment. Catchments include both the natural and human systems including rivers, bushland, farms, dams, homes, streets, plants, animals and people. This means that run-off from farms; spillages both on hard and grassed surfaces and other human and animal pollutants will all eventually find their way to the common low point in the system. This explains why there are signs on the side of the road which say the name of the catchment and have a phone number to call if any spillages occur. This is so they can be cleaned up before they contaminate the catchment.
Healthy catchments are extremely important not only because they are more visually appealing but they also provide:
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A source of clean drinking water;’
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Unspoilt natural areas for recreation and scenic enjoyment;
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Habitat for plants and animals;
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Healthy vegetation and waterways;
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Reliable and clean water for stock and irrigation;
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Opportunities for sustainable agribusiness and industry.
The Central Coast has several large catchment areas which all drain ultimately into the ocean. Continued development and infrastructure in catchments means we need to take more care of our environment so that both our quality of life and water resources remain of the high standard which has always been enjoyed on the Central Coast. When new suburbs are created, the stormwater runoff increases because land that was once pervious (let water through) is now impervious (does not let water through) and can cause problems. Impacts on catchments can include erosion, loss of vegetation, pollution such as litter, chemical spills, stormwater, and much more. Many believe just because they live a long way from the waterways in their catchment that their lifestyle does not affect their catchment and waterways when in fact all activity within a catchment has an effect on it.
Figure 1: A Catchment (Source: Wyong Shire Council)
Outcome: 8.2.5- Students learn to define what is meant by a catchment area