Wise management of our precious water resource remains a major challenge in the 21st Century. In spite of numerous programs in place for protecting national rivers, our waterways are still in a continuous battle with discharge of pollutants and other human activities at varying levels. How aware are we of these effects? Who should be involved in the better management of our rivers? What do we mean by a healthy river? What practical actions can we take to improve the health of our rivers? These questions will remain unanswered until we find holistic management tools and approaches to protect our rivers.
My name is Uthpala Pinto, a PhD candidate at the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury Campus. The title of my thesis is ‘Development of a River Health Assessment Framework and Toolkit – A Case Study of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River System’. My research aims to understand some of the common problems related to the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and develop a practical framework and toolkit to assess river health.
As a part of my PhD project, I am conducting a community survey to understand people’s views about river health and experiences related to the management of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and its tributaries. I am seeking your help to participate in this ‘River Health Survey’. The survey will take about 10 -15 minutes of your time and contains some simple questions relating to different aspects of river health.
To complete the survey please click here.