The Healthy Rivers program is part of our commitment to manage water resources for sustainable use and development, and to protect ecosystems and the environment.
Through this program we routinely monitor about 150 unique sites across the south-west of WA, from Jurien Bay in the north to Esperance in the south-east. We use multiple indicators from the South West Index of River Condition to provide integrated assessments of river health. Our program adds to past assessments, providing results from over 1000 assessments at more than 350 sites.
These assessments are used to help with water allocation planning, to inform river management and guide restoration decisions and to help us to understand the impacts of climate change on our south-west rivers systems.
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation has a long and successful history of collaborating with others to achieve better outcomes for our rivers.
Through our partnerships with Water Corporation, Harvey Water, Peel Harvey Catchment Council and Harvey River Restoration Taskforce, river assessments are also being conducted below most of the large water supply dams, and through the Harvey, Serpentine and Hotham river systems.
Read more information on our Healthy Rivers website, including:
- River assessments
- Assessment methods and results
- Fauna in south-west rivers
- Adapting to changing climate
- River health data
Other tools for assessing specific aspects of river health include water quality monitoring and foreshore condition assessment.
