A NSW Government website

Fairy Creek

Our water quality monitoring program has shown Fairy Creek to have fair water quality. Find out more about the estuary and its unique features.

Fairy Creek is located south of Sydney in Wollongong New South Wales. It is classed as a creek with an intermittently closed/open entrance.

Water quality report card

As part of our water quality monitoring program we assess the water quality and ecosystem health of an estuary using a range of relevant indicators. We sample a subset of the estuaries between Wollongong and the Victorian border every 3 years. The most recent sampling in Fairy Creek was completed over the 2021–22 summer, when 2 sites were sampled on a monthly basis.

This report card represents 2 water quality indicators that we routinely measure: the amount of algae present and water clarity. Low levels of these 2 indicators equate with good water quality.

C

Algae

D

Water clarity

C

Overall grade

The report card shows the condition of the estuary was fair with:

  • algae abundance graded fair (C)
  • water clarity graded poor (D)
  • overall estuary health graded fair (C).

Grades for algae, water clarity and overall are represented as: 

  • A – excellent 
  • B – good 
  • C – fair 
  • D – poor 
  • E – very poor.

Go to estuary report cards to find out what each grade means, read our sampling, data analysis and reporting protocols, and find out how we calculate these grades.

Historical water quality grades

We have monitored water quality in Fairy Creek since 2007. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.

YearAlgaeWater clarityOverall grade
2007–08DDD
2008–09CDC
2009–10DCD
2010–11DED
2011–12CDD
2012–13CDD
2013–14BCC
2014–15DDD
2015–16CDD
2016–17CDC
2017–18EDD
2018–19DCC
2019–20CCC
2020–21CCC
Physical data

Physical characteristics

Estuary typeCreek
Latitude–34.41 (ºS)
Longitude150.9 (ºE)
Catchment area20.6 km2
Estuary area 0.1 km2
Estuary volume42.4 ML
Average depth0.4 m

Notes: km2 = square kilometres; m = metres; ML = megalitres.

Water depth and survey data 

Bathymetric and coastal topography data for this estuary are available in our data portal.

Land use

Fairy Creek receives runoff from a highly disturbed catchment. Urban and industrial areas make up 70% of the land use in the catchment and about 25% remains forested. The towns of Fairy Meadow, Mount Ousley and Balgownie, to the north of Wollongong, are in this catchment.

Get involved

National and marine parks

Other features

Community involvement

  • There are over 60 bushcare groups in the Wollongong area. Bushcare volunteers help regenerate and care for local bushland.
A view of Fairy Creek meeting the sea surrounded by Wollongong with Fairy Meadow Beach in the foreground

Aerial view of Fairy Creek estuary

Local government management

Local councils manage estuaries within their area unless the estuary is attached to a marine park.

Wollongong City Council manages the Fairy Creek estuary.

Threatened species

Estuaries provide important breeding, nursery and feeding grounds for many animals, such as fish and birds.

Read more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.