Rehabilitating the riverbank on the upper Wilson River

Introduction

Following the 2021 floods in the Hastings catchment, a section of the Wilson River was showing signs of active erosion and instability. One landholder property at Rollands Plains experienced channel widening with a section of the left bank retreating up to 30 metres. 

Urgent intervention was needed to protect riparian health, restore habitat and reduce the risk of further bed lowering. The remediation works were also critical to preserve the landholder’s productive farmland which had been in his family for multiple generations.  

Challenge

To restore and stabilise the riparian zone of the upper Wilson River and prevent ongoing bed degradation caused by historic gravel extraction.

Over a 5-year period, this section of the river had lost about 35,000 cubic metres of sediment, impacting downstream waterways and users. An existing in-stream rock ramp control structure had lost structural functionality contributing to upstream erosion, sediment movement and loss of riparian vegetation. Without intervention, erosion would have continued to damage productive land and degrade water quality downstream. 

Solution

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project team partnered with the Soil Conservation Service to deliver stabilisation and revegetation works focused on protecting the riverbank and improving waterway health.

Key actions included:

• installation of 6 rock groyne structures to stabilise the river position and maintain low flow  
• 325m of rock revetment to protect the bank and prevent further erosion
• bank re-profiling and battering to support natural regeneration,
• rock armouring of a flood chute to prevent sudden change in the river’s course  
• installation of a pile field to encourage gravel deposition
• revegetation of the adjacent riparian zone with 2,030 plants including lomandras, casuarinas, blackwoods, forest red gums and sandpaper figs to improve structure and diversity.

In total, more than 7,055 tonnes of rock was used for these works.

“These are really bulletproof river works, the best that we've ever done, so I'm pretty hopeful that it's going to protect a large section of the river here.”
- Tony Preen, Landholder 

Outcomes

The structural works significantly improved bank stability along the Wilson River and restored key riparian functions. By reinstating the structural stability of the rock ramp and supporting natural vegetation growth, the project reduced the risk of further erosion and sedimentation.

The revegetation work supports riparian zone stability and resilience, assists in re-establishing a biodiverse habitat, and koala and wildlife riparian corridors along this impacted section of the river.  

These outcomes help protect downstream water quality, support aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, and preserve valuable farmland in the region. 

"A small takeaway for other landholders that perhaps don't have such a major erosion issue is to fence out the riparian zone, let as much vegetation grow as possible to prevent these sorts of problems developing."
- Tony Preen, Landholder

Funding and partnerships

The Riverbank Rehabilitation Project is jointly funded by the Australian Government and NSW Government under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. The services carried out under the Riverbank Rehabilitation Project were delivered by Local Land Services in collaboration with Soil Conservation Service.