FAQs

The Strategy guides the Orara River Rehabilitation Project which works with both private and public landholders to improve aquatic health through riparian rehabilitation within the Orara catchment. The Project area covers 48% of all waterways in the Coffs Harbour LGA and includes the drinking water catchment for the community. The draft strategy is to replace the previous strategy that expired in 2023. 

The Strategy applies to the land alongside the Orara River, Urumbilum River, Bucca Bucca Creek, Nana Creek, Coldwater Creek and their tributaries within the Coffs Harbour LGA. This area includes around 48% of the region’s waterways and the catchment that supplies the community’s drinking water. 

The project focuses on restoring riverbanks and riparian areas (the land adjoining rivers, creeks and wetlands) to improve water quality, aquatic health, and habitat across the Orara catchment. It includes practical actions like weed control, revegetation, fencing to exclude livestock, erosion control, monitoring, and community education—delivered in partnership with landholders and local organisations.

The Orara River supplies the Coffs Harbour region with drinking water, is popular for swimmers, kayakers and fishers, and contains several endangered species, including the eastern freshwater cod, which is only found in the Orara catchment, so clean river water and good habitat both in the river and on the riverbanks is essential for our health and for biodiversity. 

Private landholders can get involved by joining a local Landcare group or contacting the Biodiversity Project Officer at the City. Participation typically includes an initial site visit by project staff and contractors to determine what actions will be required and creating a site plan with the landholder. Depending on the site, the plan may include actions such as weed control with assistance from the project’s bush regenerators, planting if required, determining the area to be set aside for rehabilitation (a minimum of 10 metres from the riverbank), landholders contributing around one day of labour per month to maintain the works, installing and maintaining fencing (when funded), and committing to ongoing maintenance for five years.

The project is funded through a combination of the City’s Environmental Levy, external grants, and community contributions. The Environmental Levy provides consistent funding, which helps attract additional financial support. The Orara Valley Rivercare Groups Management Committee oversees the project, with the City employing a Project Officer under a formal agreement.

Sites are chosen based on factors like riverbank condition, available space for rehabilitation, potential for natural regeneration, connections to other sites, landholder commitment, and how practical the works are to deliver. Annual site inspections help guide priorities and staging.

Monitoring includes initial site assessments, photo points over time, water quality testing, and studies of aquatic life such as macroinvertebrates. Regular reporting is completed, along with a more detailed assessment of river condition approximately every 10 years. 

Priority weeds include Tropical Soda Apple, Cat’s Claw Creeper, Madeira Vine, Lantana, Camphor Laurel and privets. Flooding can spread these species quickly. Other challenges include climate change, pest animals – particularly feral deer, fire, removal of in-stream woody debris, and plant diseases.

Although the project's primary focus is riparian rehabilitation, when funding is available the project partners with growers, North Coast Local Land Services and universities to help manage nutrient-rich wastewater. This may include advice and support to improve on-farm management, and guiding what mitigation measures will best prevent nutrient-rich wastewater entering the waterways. 

You can join a local Orara Valley Landcare group or contact the City of Coffs Harbour for more information. The full Strategy and Operational Plan outline how the project works, including site selection and participation details. See the Project's webpage at Orara River Rehabilitation Project | City of Coffs Harbour