Sitting on the banks of the Richmond River in Ballina it’s easy to forget the challenges this vital waterway is facing.
Fishos hunting for a feed turn occasionally to watch small boats and jet-ski riders cruising by, and further downstream kids and dogs splash in the shallows.
But these idyllic summertime images bely the reality – that this is a river that desperately needs our help.
This was starkly illustrated in a recent presentation to the 2025 NSW Coastal Conference, by Rous Flood Mitigation Manager Chrisy Clay.
Ms Clay looked beyond policy, projects, and timelines, and instead reflected on what it has meant to live and work on the Richmond River floodplain for more than a quarter of a century.
Her keynote address, ‘26 years on the Richmond River floodplain: the grief, hope and urgency of now…’, was shaped by long experience and hard lessons.
It traced the deep and ongoing water quality challenges facing the Richmond River estuary – challenges tied to floodplain drainage, acid sulfate soils, and deoxygenation from blackwater, and the major fish kills that have marked the river’s recent history.
‘Major deoxygenation, or blackwater events, have had a significant impact on the health of the Richmond River estuary, often resulting in estuary-wide fish kills,’ Ms Clay said.
‘These events, combined with the ongoing cycle of poor water quality delivered from upstream and from parts of the floodplain drainage network, continue to affect the estuary’s ecology and resilience.
Drained wetlands
‘Blackwater and acid sulfate soil acidity are strongly associated with the artificial drainage of the lowest-lying sections of the floodplain. These were once near-permanent wetlands but were historically drained to support agriculture and settlement, decisions presumably made without knowledge of the unintended impact.’
Research over many years has shown that addressing these issues at scale would require changes to drainage in those low-lying areas so they can function more like wetlands again, Ms Clay said
In practice, this would mean different land uses in some areas.
However, these lands are privately owned and zoned for agriculture, and there is currently no comprehensive program that provides the financial support, incentives, or mechanisms needed to enable voluntary, landscape-scale change.
No government response
In March 2025, following a major blackwater event and fish kill, Rous County Council and Ballina Shire Council jointly proposed Operation Recovery in a letter to the NSW government.
The concept outlined a coordinated, well-resourced program designed to support landholders while improving water quality over the long term.
But so far there has been virtually no action on the part of the NSW government, though there is strong interest from the community and other key stakeholders.
‘Alongside initiatives like Operation Recovery, supporting agriculture in areas that don’t produce acid from acid sulfate soils or blackwater, through sustainable practices and streamlined practical regulations around drainage, is an important part of the solution,’ Ms Clay said.
‘The greatest challenge in improving the health of the Richmond River estuary is how to address legacy land use decisions and enable change at the scale needed, while supporting landowners and communities. Solutions will need to combine good science, strong partnerships, and incentives that make voluntary change realistic and attractive for those farming and managing land across the floodplain.’
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