Scotts Creek is one of the most degraded watercourses within the Willoughby Council area. It runs from the Chatswood CBD and industrial area to the beautiful Sugarloaf Bay. The high number of point sources entering the bushland and the physical characteristics of Scotts Creek means that the whole of the creek is receiving polluted urban runoff.
Currently Willoughby Council is working on the regeneration of bushland adjacent to Scotts Creek. The works include removal and control of noxious weeds, revegetation and follow-up monitoring.
At Muston Park, the concrete channel that once was part of Scotts Creek was turned into a natural watercourse. The channel was relined with sandstone and weirs were created in order to slow down the water allowing sediment to settle out. Extensive planting has been also carried out on the banks and in the water.
Further work to clean up the creek including rubbish traps and education of shoppers is under way. The project under Stormwater Trust funding ‘Provision of Litter Control System for the Chatswood CBD and residential areas in the Scotts Creek Catchment’ intended to capture gross pollutants flowing from the busy Chatswood CBD and residential areas. It is done by placing rubbish traps in several strategically chosen pits in the CBD and one large trap in the Scotts Creek stormwater channel, which drains the main part of the catchment. Signage and information about the trap location and effectiveness are ways of reinforcing the education message at the source. There will be plaques placed on the footpath next to pits with traps in them alerting shoppers to their presence and the amount of rubbish being captured.