Protecting our water supply

Namadgi National Park protects Canberra's main water supply, which is vital for this region. Fires can harm our water catchment and affect the drinking water Canberrans rely on.

The 2020 fires and floods caused major erosion in Namadgi. This led to heat stress which increases sediment in our waterways. Sedimentation and erosion weaken soil stability. This results in the loss of plants and litter that protect the soil.

Since the fires, the recovery team has been working with ICON Water and other key partners to:

• control erosion from hills near important streams
• conduct stabilisation work where needed
• assess water quality
• install water filtering systems in key catchment areas
• restore habitats along rivers and banks
• control weeds along key waterways.

The ACT recovery program will continue this work to protect our drinking water for future generations.

For more information on how the bushfires impacted water quality in the Rapid Risk Assessment Report [PDF 4.9 MB].