A NSW Government website

Pambula River

Our water quality monitoring program has shown the Pambula River estuary to have excellent water quality. Find out more about the estuary and its unique features.

Pambula River is located on the far south coast of New South. This estuary is classed as a barrier river and flows into the southern end of Merimbula Bay at Pambula Beach.

The estuary supports a range of recreational and commercial uses yet retains a range of near-pristine habitats, including nationally recognised wetlands.

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 the Pambula River was completed over the 2017–18 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.

B

Algae

A

Water clarity

A

Overall grade

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

  • algae abundance graded (B)
  • water clarity graded (A)
  • overall estuary health graded (A).

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 Pambula River since 2008. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.

YearAlgaeWater clarityOverall grade
2008–09AAA
2017–18BAA
Physical data

Physical characteristics

Estuary typeBarrier river
Latitude (ºS)–36.95
Longitude (ºE)149.92
Catchment area (km2)296.5
Estuary area (km2)4.7
Estuary volume (ML)9773.7
Average depth (m)2.2

Tidal prism

Tidal prism data is available for this estuary. This tidal prism was measured in 1979. 

Tide stateFlow 
(ML)
Local tidal 
range (m)
Sydney Harbour 
tidal range (m)
Ebb flow2,5100.911.35
Flood flow3,4101.161.58

Notes: km2 = square kilometres; m = metres; m3 = cubic 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 Pambula River is slightly disturbed. Grazing and urban areas constitute less than 20% of the catchment, including the township of Pambula, and 80% remains forested, including areas within South East Forests National Park and Ben Boyd National Park.

Get involved

National and marine parks

Citizen science projects

  • The Far South Coast Conservation Management Network supports the local community to better manage native biodiversity. The network organises citizen science projects, provides information for private landowners, manages a local plant database, and coordinates events.

Community involvement

Seafood harvest area status

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

Aerial view of Pambual River, featuring a winding river flowing through dense greenery and emptying into the ocean. The creek meanders from the top right corner to the bottom center of the image, where it meets a beach that stretches along the right side. The surrounding landscape is a dark green forest area. The water appears dark, contrasting with the pale sand along the shoreline.

Aerial view of Pambula River estuary.

Local government management

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

Bega Valley Shire Council manages this estuary. More information about can be found on the council’s Estuary management webpage.

Threatened species

This catchment supports 3 critically endangered species of the Zieria genus, which are shrubs or small trees. This includes the shapely zieria, which is only known to exist in the Pambula River catchment in New South Wales.

Find out more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.