Avon River (New South Wales)

Infobox_River
river_name = Avon River


image_size =
caption = Avon River, Stratford, NSW
origin = Barrington Tops
mouth = confluence with the Manning River
basin_countries = Australia
length =
elevation =
mouth_elevation =
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The Avon River, New South Wales, Australia, has its source in the northern foothills of the Barrington Tops, and benefits in particular from melting snow in spring.

It flows through undulating countryside, through the village of Stratford, to reach the large town of Gloucester. Up to this point the Avon has collected a number of tributary streams, notably the Waukivory River, and by the time it has reached Gloucester it has become very large and wide, in a major river valley. There it merges with the Gloucester River, which has its source below Gloucester Tops (3000 feet) above the villages of Berrico and Faulkland.

This river is in the Gloucester, New South Wales Local Government Area and the Gloucester County, New South Wales.

Gloucester district, although incredibly hot in the main summer months, nevertheless has an annual rainfall averaging 50 inches. As a result, combined with the merging streams and rivers, periodic serious flooding occurs in the Avon Valley at Gloucester, sometimes cutting all transport links.

The river eventually flows into the Manning River, a major waterway which flows into the Pacific Ocean through a minor delta some miles east of Taree. [cite web|url=http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/name_search/extract?id=ujwGWy|title=Geographical Names Register Extract: Avon River|work=Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW|publisher=Geographical Names Board of New South Wales|accessdate=2008-09-26]

The Avon River is one of four rivers that belong to the Upper Nepean Scheme. This water supply project started was completed in 1888 and supplies water to the Sydney area. The Avon Dam, which is the largest dam in the scheme by capacity, began construction in 1921 and was completed in 1927.

In 2004, assessments of water sampling done in 1997 by the NSW Environment Protection Authority, revealed poor water quality, with high levels of nutrients leading to excess algae. [cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/water/publications/environmental/rivers/nrhp/catchments-nsw/mann504.html |title=Mann504 - Avon River downstream of Stratford |accessdate=2008-01-24 |author=Grant Hose and Eren Turak |date= |work=River Health in the New South Wales Lower North Coast, Hunter and Central Coast Catchments |publisher=Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts] Along the river, downstream from Stratford, bank erosion and the invasion by exotic plant species have degraded the river.

ee also

*List of rivers of Australia
*List of rivers in New South Wales (A-K)
*Rivers of New South Wales

Citations

References

* New South Wales Ordnance Survey maps. Various dates.