Creek Maintenance

If you own land with a creek on it, you are responsible for maintaining the section of creek within your land. Even if a creek is fenced off, it's still the landowner's duty to maintain it.

The only exception to this is if there is a legal easement on your Property Title that includes arrangements for another party, such as Council, to maintain the creek. If you don't have your Property Title, you can apply for a copy through NSW Land Registry Services.

Creeks and waterways between properties

You are generally responsible for maintaining the part of the creek that flows through your land, regardless of who the adjacent owner is, and whether it's private property or public land.

Below is a simple summary of who's generally responsible for different types of creeks and waterways.

Council manages creeks that are on public land, which accounts for about 40% of the creeks within our Local Government Area. The rest of the creeks across our city are managed by private landowners or government bodies.

Council has Estuary Management Plans in place for some coastal creeks and lagoons under our care. We are committed to actively caring for and improving our creeks through ongoing projects and works. You can visit our Creeks and Lagoons page to learn more.

You can improve your creek's health and resilience, and reduce erosion along creeks, by planting a mix of suitable local native plants. This can include ground covers, shrubs and trees.

Not all types of plants and trees are suitable for creek lines. It's a good idea to get advice from a plant expert or engage the services of a professional bush regeneration company. Local companies can be found by searching online.

Our Guide to Creek Plants PDF, 921.51 KB gives some general advice about choosing plants.

The resources section of this page also includes more links to some information to help you choose and find suitable plants.

These are some ways you can help limit erosion, improve the stability of your creek bank/s and support the overall health of the creek system:

• Maintain a healthy buffer of vegetation along the banks, including native plants and grasses. These can help absorb excess water, slow its flow and hold the soil in place. This reduces erosion and flooding downstream.
• If it's not suitable to add plants around your creek, consider getting a specialist to do works to support stability. This could include options like scour protection or engineered bed or bank stabilisation. Remember, before doing any works, check with Council's Duty Planner about what approvals you might need.
• Avoid removing large trees and shrubs. Their root systems play an important role in anchoring the soil.
• Regularly inspect and maintain your creek's banks, particularly after heavy rainfall. This can help you address any signs of erosion promptly.
• Consider working with your neighbours on stabilisation work, planting and bush regeneration where possible.
• Seek expert advice if you can, or if you're not sure what the best approach is for your creek.

Remember, even if you take steps to improve creek bank stability, natural forces like heavy rainfall can still cause erosion.

Landowners or occupiers are responsible for controlling weeds in creeks on their property, extending to the middle line of any adjacent creek. Failing to control weeds may result in fines.

However, it's important to understand that some weeds can stabilise the ground and it's not necessary to remove all weeds from your watercourse. Having some plants can help absorb excess water, support wildlife and prevent erosion.

If you do need to remove weeds in or near a creek, this should be a carefully planned process. You should contact a Bush Regenerator for advice about removing, managing or reducing weeds.

You can also find more information about weeds, weed management and legal requirements on these pages:

• Council's Weeds page
• NSW Department of Primary Industries' Weeds page.

Council takes cases of unauthorised works seriously.

Enforcement actions may include issuing Penalty Notices, Notices, or Orders to restore the area, and potentially the commencement of legal proceedings.

If you want to dispute your responsibility for a creek, you can seek legal advice from a solicitor who specialises in property law or environmental law.

A copy of the Deposited Plan and/or a survey of your land may also help with this process.

Understanding these terms is important for managing your property.

You can check our online maps for information about creeks and riparian paths. Follow the steps below:

1. Go to Council's online maps
2. Enter your property address in the search bar
3. Use the map layers feature to highlight watercourses and riparian zones
4. Look for any creeks or riparian paths that intersect with or border your property boundaries.

For more detailed instructions, you can also download our Guide to Finding Your Property on IntraMaps PDF, 3975.42 KB or watch the video below.

Creeks will naturally change their course over time, and it's important to think about how this might affect your land.

Erosion and creek bank instability are often caused by natural processes, but human actions can make these worse.

You can take steps, maintain your creek and get expert advice to make the creek bank more stable and reduce the risk of erosion.

If you have significant erosion problems, it's essential to seek help from qualified professionals. Start by consulting with a civil or stormwater engineer who can give you tailored advice for your situation.

Consider engaging a professional bush restoration company to develop a vegetation management plan for your unique situation.  The Australian Association of Bush Regenerators has a directory of professionals with skills in creek and erosion management.

You, or your professional bush regenerator, should also refer to the Riparian Land Management PDF, 359.11 KB chapter of the Wollongong Development Control Plan.

As a first step, you should talk with your neighbour about what's happening. They may not even be aware of the problem.

If you can't contact your neighbour, or if you can't fix the issue by talking with them, you can contact the Community Justice Centre (CJC). The CJC can arrange mediation between neighbours, which can often solve problems without the need for legal action.

In most cases, Council doesn't get involved in disputes between neighbours about creeks. We may investigate under specific circumstances only. This could include when changes to the creek line have caused or are likely to cause physical damage to land or buildings, or if the creek line has been redirected by a man-made structure.

In some cases, a range of grants and payments may be available to people affected by severe weather and flooding. Check the NSW Government website for details of any current support programs.

You can also see Council's Support After an Emergency page for information about recovery from floods and weather events.

If you want to remove trees, build structures, or do bank stabilisation or other works near a creek, you will usually need approval from Council and / or other government agencies.

Works or activities carried out on waterways or adjoining riparian land in NSW are governed by the Water Management Act 2000 and associated Regulations.

Minor maintenance activities like removing rubbish or weeds may not need approval. However, even for minor activities, you should always be careful not to cause erosion or other damage.

What you can do, and how you can do it, could also depend on whether there is a legal easement on your land.

Please contact Council’s Development Duty Officer for advice before doing any work on your land.

No. You should not do this, even if your creek rarely holds water.

Blocking a creek with rocks, concrete or any other material can disrupt the natural flow of water, leading to flooding and erosion.

Concreting the channel can speed up the flow of water, adding to flooding and erosion further downstream. These changes can also remove valuable aquatic habitat.

Before making changes to a creek or land next to a creek, check what approvals are needed. You can contact Council's duty planner to confirm what approvals you'll need.

You will also need to think about how any changes might impact other properties. Property owners may be held liable for actions that redirect stormwater onto neighbouring properties or which interfere with natural water flow paths.

You may not need approval for minor maintenance work in non-sensitive areas around creeks. However, it's essential that any work is done with care to protect the creek's ecology.

We recommend that you use a qualified bush regenerator for removing priority weeds. You can search online or check the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators website for a directory of professionals with skills in creek and erosion management.

You should also use an experienced arborist for any tree management work. These can be found by searching online.

You can talk with Council's Development Duty Officer to get advice about rules and restrictions for your land, approvals for work around creeks, and other development-related activities.

Use the button below to make a request, and we'll get back to you.

If you want to do work or development within certain areas that include habitats of threatened species, ecological communities or key fish habitats, you may need approval from Council and other regulatory bodies.

Some of the activities in these areas that might need additional approvals are shown below.

Before you start, talk with Council's Development Duty Officer to confirm what approvals you'll need, and which rules apply in your case.

You can also visit the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) website or contact the DPI for more information about work in fish habitat areas.

Landcare Illawarra is a community-based organisation that helps residents get involved in a broad range of environmental activities. Their activities include workshops, access to native plants, help with project planning, volunteer insurance, grant support, and collaborative projects with local councils and organisations.

Visit the Landcare Illawarra website to learn more and find local groups.

NSW Local Land Services provides a range of information and programs focused on waterways, conservation and management.

Visit their Waterways page to learn more.

NSW Land Registry Services create and maintain land title records on behalf of the NSW Government.

You can use their online portal to find out if the watercourse on your property is within an easement for drainage. To do this, check the Deposited Plan and Section 88B instrument (if applicable) through their services.

Guides for planting near creeks

General plant information

Rain gardens can help the environment by capturing and filtering water, preventing contamination.

These landscaped areas are cost-effective, look good, and importantly help safeguard groundwater in developed regions.

Chapter E23: Riparian Land Management PDF, 359.11 KB is the part of Wollongong's Development Control Plan that explains the minimum requirements for development on riparian lands.

It aims to minimise any negative impact of development on these sensitive areas. This includes development on land in or next to mapped watercourses, and development which involves watercourse crossings.

Chapter E22: Soil Erosion and Sediment Control PDF, 1478.23 KB is part of Wollongong's Development Control Plan.

It explains steps that must be taken to control erosion, such as using sediment barriers, vegetative cover, and proper site management techniques. This is important to minimise environmental disturbance and water contamination.

Visit our Trees on Your Property page if you're thinking about pruning or removing trees along your creek line. This page explains the rules for trees, and how to apply for a permit before you do any work.

You can also read the following documents for more information:

• Managing Trees in Wollongong - A Customer Guide  PDF, 1008.02 KB
• Wollongong Development Control Plan Chapter E17: Preservation and Management of Trees and Vegetation PDF, 399.27 KB

Identifying and managing weeds is an important part of creek care. Use these links to learn more:

• NSW Local Land Services Weed Identification and Management
• NSW Department of Primary Industries Weeds information
• Council's Weeds page.