Upper Yarra Catchment
The Upper Yarra Catchment includes the following tributaries:
- Upper Yarra River
- Little Yarra and Hoddles Creek
- Woori Yallock Catchment
- Watts River
- Steels and Paul Creek
- Watsons Creek
- Stringy Bark Creek
- Olinda Creek
Healthy Waterways Waterwatch Monitors in the Upper Yarra Catchments
The following Community Groups are currently involved in the Healthy Waterways Waterwatch Program in the Upper Yarra Catchments
- Friends of Hughes Creek
- Healesville Envirowatch
- Mt Toolbewong Landcare
To find out how your community group can become involved in the Healthy Waterways Waterwatch Program, or to join an existing monitoring group, please contact us.
Upper Yarra River
The Upper Yarra River contains the section of Yarra River above Warrandyte, including major tributaries such as the Don River. The headwaters of many tributaries begin in protected forests and are in excellent condition. As a result Melbourne residents receive high quality drinking water and the river sustains diverse flora and fauna including the Mt Donna Buang stonefly and a population of the rare Macquarie Perch. The Yarra River between Warburton and Warrandyte is a Victorian Heritage River. The protected catchments are highly valued by Melburnians and the river attracts many visitors. Risks for the Upper Yarra River include:
- poor water quality,
- poor quality of streamside zone vegetation
- stock access; and
- change in natural flow
Little Yarra and Hoddles Creek
The Little Yarra River catchment contains the Little Yarra River and Hoddles Creek. The headwaters of these rivers and creeks start from protected forest slopes but quickly shift to rural dominated landscapes in their middle and lower reaches. The upper reaches support a variety of significant flora and fauna species, good water quality and a diversity of habitats. The recent introduction of old tree trunks into the Little Yarra has helped improve the surrounding habitat. The condition of the lower reaches has suffered due to the loss of habitat through sand deposition, stock access and poor quality streamside vegetation. In Hoddles Creek, changes in natural flow pose a risk to river health.
Woori Yallock Catchment
The Woori Yallock catchment is a major tributary of the Yarra River and has tributaries such as Cockatoo, Shepherd, McCrae and Wandin Yallock creeks. The catchment is mostly rural with minor urban centres and some forested headwaters. The Woori Yallock Creek supports a range of threatened flora and fauna, platypus and several native fish and frog species and sections of Cockatoo Creek are ecologically healthy. The Yellingbo State Nature Reserve, which extends along several kilometres of the rivers and creeks, supports the largest remaining population of the critically endangered helmeted honeyeater. Parts of the Woori Yallock are good for fishing and are of European heritage significance. Risks to the waterways include:
- lack of streamside vegetation,
- stock access,
- change in natural flow,
- poor water quality; and
- barriers to the migration of fish and other aquatic life.
Watts River
The Watts River is largely contained within the forested Maroondah Reservoir water supply catchment. The reservoir was completed in 1927 and has a capacity of 22,000 million litres. The reaches upstream of the reservoir are considered ecologically healthy. While the dam wall prevents fish migration, spotted galaxias are found in the upper reaches. Tributaries of Watts River include Donnelly’s and New Chum creeks. Donnelly’s Creek contains a heritage-listed weir and along with the upper parts of New Chum Creek, has very high environmental values due to undisturbed forested catchments. Downstream of Maroondah reservoir, the loss of vegetation, reduced flows, erosion and degraded water quality pose significant risks to the Watts River. The headwaters of Graceburn and Corranderrk creeks are also in forested water supply catchments where environmental values are high and the reaches have been defined as ecologically healthy.
The Corranderrk Creek is of high Aboriginal significance due to its connection with the Corranderrk Aboriginal Mission. Whilst the historical weir on Corranderrk Creek is of European cultural importance the weir also poses a significant risk to native fish, preventing migration upstream and downstream. Downstream of the forested areas the condition declines due to cleared streamside vegetation, reduced flows and poor water quality.
Steels and Pauls Creeks
Steels and Pauls Creeks enter the Yarra River from the north, near Yarra Glen. Much of the streamside vegetation was removed when the catchments were cleared for farming which led to bank instability. While the condition of the rural reaches is poor, small areas of the headwaters lie in the forested Kinglake National Park and remain ecologically healthy. Key risks to both creeks in the rural areas include:
- degraded streamside vegetation,
- changes in flow from natural,
- erosion.
In some forested reaches, poor water quality poses a risk to river health.
Watsons Creek
Watsons Creek enters the Yarra River from the north near Wonga Park. The creek originates in the forested Kinglake National Park and quickly passes into cleared land at Christmas Hills and Kangaroo Ground. Watsons Creek has excellent channel form, good streamside vegetation and its headwater reaches have been defined as ecologically healthy. Weeds pose a risk to both the headwater and rural sections.
Stringybark Creek
Stringybark Creek originates at Mount Evelyn and is surrounded by semi-rural and rural landscapes. Risks include degraded streamside zones and stock access. European heritage values are high, and the creek landscape values have been recognised in the planning scheme. Prospects for improving the condition of the creek are moderate to low.
Olinda Creek
Olinda Creek originates in the forested slopes of the Dandenong Ranges and its middle and lower sections pass through rural and urbanised landscapes. The creek has a number of significant flora and fauna species including powerful owls, has high water quality and diverse instream and streamside habitats. The middle and lower reaches have reduced environmental condition. The creek is also an important source of water for agriculture and contains significant Aboriginal and European heritage sites. Risks include:
- degradation of streamside zones
- existence of barriers to fish migration; and
- stream flow stress as a result of extractions
Melbourne Water has developed the Index of River Condition (IRC) program to provide an overall integrated measure of the environmental condition of rivers. To find out more about the health of these rivers and creeks visit Melbourne Water’s website or request Healthy Waterways Waterwatch data.
