The Cooks River Environment
The Cooks River is located in the inner South West of Sydney. It runs through some of the most heavily urbanised and industrialised areas in Australia. It is located within the inner south western Sydney area in New South Wales. The Cooks River begins as a small watercourse near Graf Park in Bankstown and flows 23km in a generally easterly direction to enter Botany Bay just south of Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport.
The rivers "catchment" area covers about 100km2 across 13 Local Council areas. Care and control of the river is a complicated issue, where responsibility is shared between local Councils, the community and the State Government through agencies such as:
- Sydney Water Corporation,
- Environment Protection Authority, and
- Land & Water Conservation.
Over recent years, the condition of the river has improved considerably, due in large part to the efforts of these stakeholders and our local community, however it remains a heavily polluted river with much more to be done. In 1991, the Cooks River Catchment Management Committee was formed to co-ordinate the work of these different organisations. This committee meets regularly and has representatives form each organisation and the community.
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