Healthy Rivers

Monitoring, research and partnerships to better protect and improve the health of our rivers and the communities they support.

River health assessments

Standardised assessments of river health sites are central to the Healthy Rivers program.

We make these assessments in strategic locations across the south-west of Western Australia.

Through the program, we collect and interpret data on rivers and their catchments, and use the knowledge gained to support development of strategies to best protect the environment.

Our assessment methods, and the network of long-term monitoring sites we've chosen, have been designed to investigate the range of known stressors to south-west systems, from the complex changes associated with changing climate affecting rivers across the entire region, to catchment-scale and localised land-use pressures.

We also conduct assessments in response to unforeseen events and emerging issues, such as pollution, algal blooms, habitat disturbance and fish kills.

Refer to our Assessments pages for more information.

The Healthy Rivers website is designed to give people access to the data we collect, the methods we use, and to promote interaction, collaboration and knowledge sharing between river users and managers.

If the information you need is not on this site, you can contact us directly or go to our Get Involved page to find people and organisations who may be able to help.

Partnerships and support

River management is a shared responsibility, requiring cooperation between landowners, land managers, catchment groups, state government agencies, and local governments.

Engaging the community in river management, and assisting other groups and agencies with natural resource management, are key objectives for the program and the department.

In addition to sharing our data, methods and knowledge, the Healthy Rivers program partners with and supports others in river management. This includes working with university experts and other state agencies and catchment managers to identify priority research, assessment and management needs.

To learn more about some of our current projects and ways you can be involved, go to our Management page.

Our commitment

The Healthy Rivers program aligns with the department's commitment to manage water resources for sustainable use and development, protect ecosystems and the environment where water resources are situated, and integrate the management of water resources and other resources.

The knowledge provided supports the Minister for Water in decisions relating to the conservation, protection, management and assessment of water resources, including waterways. In particular, it also supports the management of activities where there may be potential risk to rivers.