The role of the Water and Rivers Commission

The Water and Rivers Commission protects and manages the State's waterways. Management Authorities, made up of representatives from the community and supported by Commission staff, are the regional management arms of the Commission in Mandurah (for the Peel-Harvey Estuary), Bunbury (for the Leschenault Estuary), Albany (for Princess Royal and Oyster harbours) and Denmark (for Wilson Inlet). The Swan River Trust is responsible for protecting the Swan-Canning River System.

The Water and Rivers Commission has specific powers to control pollution, but through a formal `memorandum of understanding' with the Department of Environmental Protection the Commission uses the Environmental Protection Act 1986 when it's investigating and reporting pollution.

What does the Water and Rivers Commission do about pollution?

The Commission and the Swan River Trust control pollution in the waterways in several ways:

Detecting pollution

• Inspecting the waterways and drains regularly for signs of pollution
• Monitoring water quality to detect changes in the health of the estuaries
• Monitoring water quality in streams, drains and rivers running into estuaries to locate sources of pollutants, especially nutrients
• Responding to public concerns and complaints

Controlling sources of pollution

• Licensing and monitoring industrial discharges into the waterways
• Responding to, and dealing with, specific pollution problems
• Informing and advising on how to prevent pollution and manage the catchment (for example to industries, local government and landowners)
• Advising about whether proposed developments around waterways are suitable, and putting conditions on developments that are approved so that the risk of pollution is minimised

Cleaning up the mess

• Cleaning up accidental spills of oil, chemicals and petroleum products which might pollute the waterways
• Assisting other emergency services to clean up hazardous chemical spills which threaten the waterways
• Beach cleaning and harvesting algae to keep foreshore beaches clean

Managing the catchments

The key to preventing pollution is good catchment management. The Commission is working closely with other agencies concerned with planning and land management, as well as local government, catchment groups and landowners, to make sure that our waterways are protected for the future.

Cooperation right across the community is the key to caring for our waterways. Everyone lives in a catchment; and everyone has a role to play in making sure our uses of the land do not destroy our waters.

Water quality monitoring

The first step in preventing waterway damage from pollution is to identify the problems: Where is pollution occurring now and where is it likely to happen in the future?

An important way to detect pollution in its early stages is to keep a close eye out for any changes in water quality. Water quality monitoring programmes are carried out to gather information on the current condition of the waterways and to pick up changes over time. The monitoring programmes provide a `watch-dog' for pollution problems and an understanding of what is happening to our waterways: information which is vital to future management.