Background

The overall aim of Watershed Torbay was to demonstrate the benefits to the environment and the community of river restoration at the catchment, rather than river reach scale, and to share these learnings nationally. In particular, the project sought to:

• develop agreed management objectives, with all stakeholders, for the catchment and receiving water bodies;
• improve understanding about the state of the catchment, sources of nutrients, and management of receiving water bodies;
• identify the ecological water requirements of waterways and wetlands;
• prepare an integrated drainage management plan for the declared drainage district;
• prepare a whole of catchment river restoration plan;
• implement restoration activities throughout the whole catchment; and
• implement a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation program.

Watershed Torbay was funded for four years, subsequently extended for a further year, by the National Rivers Consortium (see box at right), to a total of $500,000. Other partners included the Western Australian Department of Water, Water Corporation, and the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food, with a collective cash and in-kind contribution of $900,000, giving a total project value of $1.4 million. There was also a substantial in-kind contributions from members of the community and the Torbay Catchment Group, with other contributions from Green Skills Inc. and the Green Corps program.