The Cooks River catchment is a major watershed within Sydney, draining some 103 km2 and is home to 560,265 people (ABS, 2020). As such, Cooks River is a key catchment in terms of floodplain risk management within New South Wales. The Cooks River catchment extends across multiple Local Government Areas (LGAs) and is of interest to several other state government agencies and community groups.

This project is the Cooks River Catchment Flood Study Stage 1 and is the first stage of a catchment-wide Flood Study for the Cooks River catchment. Stage 1 aims to consolidate an extensive range of datasets, including existing models from Flood Studies and Floodplain Risk Management Studies and Plans. Many of these studies have been supported by the NSW Floodplain Risk Management Program, whilst some have been separately undertaken. The outcome of Stage 1 is a framework to support the development of an integrated and regional floodplain risk management plan in the catchment and to define the basis of future modelling and catchment-wide consideration of flood risk.