A NSW Government website

Callala Creek

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

Callala Creek is an estuarine creek with an intermittently closed entrance. The creek flows into Jervis Bay on the south coast of New South Wales and the estuary is part of the Jervis Bay Marine Park. 

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 Callala Creek was completed over the 2011–12 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

D

Overall grade

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

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

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.

Physical data

Physical characteristics

Estuary typeCreek
Latitude–35.01 (ºS)
Longitude150.72 (ºE)
Catchment area19.8 km2
Estuary area 0.006 km2
Estuary volume0.9 ML
Average depth0.1 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 

The catchment of Callala Creek is moderately disturbed. About 15% of the catchment is used for urban development associated with Callala Beach, and the rest of the catchment is forested.

Get involved

National and marine parks

Citizen science projects

  • The Budawang Coast Nature Map is an online data platform the community can use to record and identify biodiversity. Data collected is used to map the distribution of native plant and animal species from Moruya up almost to Kiama.

Community involvement

A view of Callala Creek meeting the sea surrounded by tree-lined sand dunes and Callala Beach in the foreground

Aerial view of Callala Creek

Seafood harvest area status

The NSW Food Authority website lists the current status of oyster/shellfish harvest areas.

Local government management

Local councils manage estuaries within their area unless the estuary is attached to a marine park. Callala Creek estuary is managed by Shoalhaven City Council and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development as part of the Jervis Bay Marine Park.

Threatened species

The catchment of the Callala Creek estuary provides critical habitat for the endangered eastern quoll. A conservation program involves translocating this threatened species from Tasmania to this area.

Read more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.