Hawkesbury River Waterkeeper

Protecting our Local Water Ways

Western Sydney University, TAFE NSW Western Sydney Institute (opens in a new window) and the Hawkesbury Environment Network (HEN) (opens in a new window) have entered into unique partnership to work together to protect the health and vitality of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River.

The agreement highlights the role of HEN's Hawkesbury River Waterkeeper who will provide independent and scientifically informed monitoring of river health and assist with community-based responses and remediation. Watch the video clip from the Hawkesbury Environment Network launch below for more details about the Waterkeeper initiative.

The Vision

The vision of the Waterkeeper movement is for fishable, swimmable and drinkable waterways worldwide. The Hawkesbury Environment Network, UWS and WSI TAFE would like to introduce the Hawkesbury River Waterkeeper Alan Midgley a UWS PhD student studying the Bass Ecology.

'Serving as HEN's volunteer Waterkeeper, I will bring both a knowledge of aquatic ecology applicable to the Hawkesbury River as well as the technical expertise to identify issues of concern and liaise with the Hawkesbury Environmental Network (HEN) to develop an effective strategy to deal with such issues."

About the Waterkeeper 

The HEN and the Hawkesbury River Waterkeeper have achieved international recognition from the Waterkeeper Alliance (opens in a new window), a global movement of community based organisation employing on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in North and South America, Australia, Asia and Africa.

UWS and WSI TAFE are the first Australian educational institutions to be associated with the Waterkeeper Alliance which was founded in 1999, by environmental attorney and activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Professor Michael Jeffery QC, an environmental law specialist from the UWS School of Law, says 'it is imperative to protect the Hawkesbury-Nepean River as it provides water for the 4.13 million people living in Sydney and is a key driver of the region's natural ecosystem'.

'In almost every part of the world, water resources are declining in quality and quantity and the need to protect our waterways has become clear," says Professor Jeffery. "This unique partnership will bring a greater level of scientific rigor which will better inform local environmental groups of key threats and strategies and actions to improve the local environment as well as providing an educational sustainability platform for students and staff in the form of a living laboratory.'

HEN's first Hawkesbury River Waterkeeper is Alan Midgley (pictured above), PhD candidate in the UWS School of Natural Science. Mr Midgley will be responsible for patrolling 21,400 square kilometers of the river between Wisemans Ferry and the mouth of the Grose River which include some of the earliest areas of European settlement and agriculture in Australia.

Providing concerned members of the public with a point of contact will be a major focus for the Waterkeeper as well as liaising with members of HEN to utilise their local knowledge and expertise.

Professor Geoff Scott, Executive Director of Sustainability at UWS, says the partnership underpins the University's commitment to work with the community to promote environmental sustainability.

"UWS will draw on its expertise in sustainability and its strong connections in Greater Western Sydney to bring sustainability to life within the Hawkesbury Nepean River," says Professor Scott.

For further information about the Hawkesbury Environmental Network, please visit the Hawkesbury Environment Network (HEN) website (opens in a new window).