2: Property size profile for the Christmas Hills catchment Up to Up to >1 to >4 to >10 to >40 to >100 Total 0.4 1 ha 4 ha 10 ha 40 ha 100 ha to 400 ha ha No./ % 5 7 55 97 46 12 5 (2%) 227 properties (2%) (3%) (43%) (20%) (5%) Total area / 0.8 4.1 145.6 558.8 799.4 558.4 906.6 % ha ha ha ha ha ha ha 9 ha Source: Nillumbik Shire Council 2010 Catchment Description A catchment is an area of land bound by hills or mountains from which all run-off water flows to the same low point. The low point may be a lake, a dam, a river or the mouth of a river where it enters the ocean. Rainwater will flow to this lowest point via creeks, rivers and stormwater systems. Together with rivers, creeks, lakes and dams, a catchment includes groundwater, stormwater, wastewater and water-related infrastructure. Catchments are connected from top to bottom, so what happens upstream in a catchment has a great influence further down the catchment. Human activities across a whole catchment, such as pollution, soil erosion and the spread of weeds, can adversely affect the quality of water and the environment at the bottom of the catchment. This is why it is important to manage a catchment as a whole rather than in parts. Christmas Hills catchment area Our catchment includes the three narrow valleys of Watsons, Reedy, and Five Mile Creeks. These are within a landscape of predominantly low hills through the central catchment that merge with long ridges of steep hills and rugged terrain on
2: Property size profile for the Christmas Hills catchment Up to 0.4 ha Up to 1 ha >1 to 4 ha >4 to 10 ha >10 to 40 ha >40 to 100 ha >100 to 400 ha Total No./ % properties 5 (2%) 7 (3%) 55 97 (43%) 46 (20%) 12 (5%) 5 (2%) 227 Total area / % 0.8 ha 4.1 ha 145.6 ha 558.8 ha 799.4 ha 558.4 ha 906.6 ha ha Source: Nillumbik Shire Council 2010 Catchment Description A catchment is an area of land bound by hills or mountains from which all run-off water flows to the same low point. The low point may be a lake, a dam, a river or the mouth of a river where it enters the ocean. Rainwater will flow to this lowest point via creeks, rivers and stormwater systems. Together with rivers, creeks, lakes and dams, a catchment includes groundwater, stormwater, wastewater and water-related infrastructure. Catchments are connected from top to bottom, so what happens upstream in a catchment has a great influence further down the catchment. Human activities across a whole catchment, such as pollution, soil erosion and the spread of weeds, can adversely affect the quality of water and the environment at the bottom of the catchment. This is why it is important to manage a catchment as a whole rather than in parts. Christmas Hills catchment area Our catchment includes the three narrow valleys of Watsons, Reedy, and Five Mile Creeks. These are within a landscape of predominantly low hills through the central catchment that merge with long ridges of steep hills and rugged terrain on 9
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