Our water quality monitoring program has shown the Evans River estuary to have fair water quality. Find out more about the estuary and its unique features.
Evans River flows into the sea at Evans Head on the North Coast of New South Wales. Classed as a barrier river estuary, its entrance has training walls that ensure the estuary remains permanently open.
Tuckombil Canal forms the upper reach of the estuary where a concrete weir marks its upper limit. This canal joins the Richmond River upstream of the weir via Rocky Mouth Creek. Despite these impacts on the upper estuary, the lower estuary is a popular destination for swimming and fishing.
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 located between the Queensland border and Taree every 3 years. The most recent sampling in the Evans River was completed over the 2018–19 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.
The report card shows the condition of the estuary was fair with:
Find out more about our estuary report cards and what each grade means. Read our sampling, data analysis and reporting protocols and find out how we calculate these grades.
We have monitored water quality in the Evans River since 2007. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.
Grades for algae, water clarity and overall are represented as:
As part of our Beachwatch program we assess swimming suitability at 2 swimming sites in Evans River using microbial indicators. Richmond Valley Council collect samples at each site weekly between October and March, and weekly throughout the year for Evans River, to calculate the suitability grade. Sampling is ongoing. Each grade reflects the most recent 100 water quality results to April 2022. Find out more about how we monitor beach water quality.
| Local government area | Swim site name | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond Valley | Evans River | Poor |
| Elm Street Bridge North (Evans River) | Good |
Estuarine, lake and lagoon water can sometimes be unsuitable for swimming, especially after rainfall when stormwater and wastewater can overflow into swimming areas. Learn more about what the grades mean and how we grade swimming sites on our beach classification webpage.
Water sampling and laboratory analysis was funded by Richmond Valley Council.
Estuary type: Barrier river
| Entrance location |
Latitude (ºS) | –29.11 |
|---|---|---|
| Longitude (ºE) | 153.44 | |
| Catchment area (km2) | 75.8 | |
| Estuary area (km2) | 2.7 | |
| Estuary volume (ML) | 2636.8 | |
| Average depth (m) | 1.1 | |
Tidal exchange volume or tidal prism data is available for this estuary. This tidal prism was measured in 2006.
| Tide state | Flow (106 m3) |
Local tidal range (m) |
Sydney Harbour
tidal range (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ebb flow | 2.38 | 1.91 | 1.67 |
| Flood flow | 2.47 | 1.75 | 1.65 |
Bathymetric and coastal topography data for this estuary are available in our data portal.
The catchment of Evans River is highly disturbed. Although three quarters of the catchment remains as forest, grazing, agricultural and urban development have resulted in significant modifications such as cleared land, and even to the river itself (i.e. a canal and weir). Forested areas occur mostly in the southern catchment and are managed in conservation areas and by private land holders.
Local councils manage estuaries within their area unless the estuary is attached to a marine park.
Richmond Valley Council manage this estuary.
The critically endangered beach stone-curlew shares the tidal sandflats in Evans River with human holidaymakers.
Read more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.