Sydney Rivers Community Forum

Sydney's rivers are under pressure but the people fighting for them have a plan! 

The Nature Conservation Council’s Sydney Rivers Community Forum on Saturday 23 May 2026 brought together 150 people, including Riverkeepers, scientists, campaigners, conservation groups and community members working to protect Sydney’s waterways. 

The Forum explored some of the biggest challenges facing Sydney's rivers, wetlands and drinking water catchments, from stormwater and mining pollution to biodiversity loss, marine protection and the future of Sydney’s Blue-Green Grid, including the koala belt between the Georges and Nepean Rivers. 

Georges Riverkeeper, Cooks River Alliance, Parramatta River Catchment Group and Sydney Coastal Councils Group collaborated to present on the governance challenges that integrated water management in Sydney faces. At the Forum, spokespeople for this groups, Jason L’Ecuyer (Cooks River Alliance) and Alexi Gilchrist (Parramatta River Catchment Group) highlighted the lack of coordination by local and state governments to manage waterways. They referred to the NSW Water Quality Governance Roadmap, which identifies thirty distinct organisations with some degree of responsibility for water management in NSW. 

Nell Graham, Georges Riverkeeper, says: "Integrated catchment management is about understanding how everything in a catchment is connected. It means bringing together people with different skills and knowledge to share responsibility and work towards the same goals. We ask the NSW Government to commit to implementing an integrated catchment management governance model that provides a whole-of-government approach and addresses the diverse needs of coastal, metro and regional areas and the challenges they face. Such a model should be developed collaboratively with existing catchment organisations. Let's make Sydney waterways a priority in recognition of the value of our rivers."