Working from a map of one's region, and (if necessary) a larger scale map of the flows from one's region to the ocean, identify:

1. the receiving water bodies, and
2. the major land uses / land using groups.

• NSW DEC (ex-EPA) Catchment Maps
  Maps of most NSW catchments can be found at NSW DEC (ex-EPA) Catchment Maps. There are maps for all catchments for which the (then) NSW EPA set interim environmental objectives, via community consultation processes.
• Healthy Rivers Commission catchment maps
  Some additional catchments were the subject of Healthy Rivers Commission enquiries. Maps (with less detail than those on the DEC website) are on the front page for each enquiry. Other maps are in the Inquiry reports which can be viewed on the site.

Catchment maps can also be found in:

• The Australian Natural Resources Atlas (via Water links)

[Note: the data listed here is selected for catchment managers in New South Wales, Australia.]

Receiving water bodies include:

• wetlands
• creeks and rivers
• lakes
• estuaries
• barrier
• river mouth (etc).

Many receiving water bodies (particularly the larger ones) can be identified using the catchment maps.

• NSW DEC (ex-EPA) Catchment Maps
  Maps of most NSW catchments can be found at NSW DEC (ex-EPA) Catchment Maps. There are maps for all catchments for which the (then) NSW EPA set interim environmental objectives, via community consultation processes.
• Healthy Rivers Commission catchment maps
  Some additional catchments were the subject of Healthy Rivers Commission enquiries. Maps (with less detail than those on the DEC website) are on the front page for each enquiry. Other maps are in the Inquiry reports which can be viewed on the site.

Catchment maps can also be found in:

• The Australian Natural Resources Atlas (via Water links)

More detailed information on some locations is available at the following sources:

• OzEstuaries
  Data on Australian estuaries. Helpful when you are exploring the condition of coastal receiving water bodies.
• Australian Wetlands Database
  RAMSAR wetland sites and other nationally important wetlands.

Your local State of the Environment Report may well have additional information. See Local State of the Environment Reports (NSW).

Major land uses / land using groups include:

• kinds of urban land use:
  • residential
  • commercial
  • industrial
    
• kinds of agricultural land use:
  • grazing agriculture
  • intensive agriculture
    
• other major land uses:
  • State Forests
  • National Parks
  • mining

• PlanConnect from iPlan
  This is the finest resolution land use mapping available online for New South Wales. The maps can be searched down to property level. In this context the key data that they provide is zoning information. (Click the legend on the left hand side to get the colour coding for the zonings.)

Other helpful data sources:

• Australian natural resources atlas
  This atlas provides coarse resolution information on land uses in Australia as at 1996 / 1997. For larger catchments this provides some guidance. Its focus is agricultural land uses.
• Catchment Maps (as above)
  These maps from the NSW DEC identify national parks and land which is forested.
• Local State of the Environment Reports from New South Wales
  Local Councils in New South Wales are required to prepare local State of the Environment Reports. many of these are available online. (Here they are listed via a tailored Google search.)
• New South Wales Natural Resources Atlas
  Online mapping of diverse environmental data. (Included within CANRI.)