Parramatta River Catchment Group

What Parramatta River Catchment Group does

The Parramatta River Catchment Group (PRCG) is an Australian non-profit catchment management organisation, founded in conjunction with the 2014 launch of its flagship "Our Living River" initiative, with a stated mission to make the Parramatta River swimmable again by 2025. PRCG coordinates the restoration of the Parramatta River catchment by bringing together 10 financial member councils (Blacktown, Burwood, City of Canada Bay, City of Canterbury Bankstown, City of Parramatta, City of Ryde, Cumberland, Hunter's Hill, Inner West, Strathfield) and NSW Government agencies under formal Memoranda of Understanding, alongside community groups, universities, and volunteers. It is a small organisation of 7 employees based in Petersham, NSW, governed under New South Wales law, and operates under the consumer-facing brand "Our Living River" at ourlivingriver.com.au.

PRCG's core deliverables are public-facing environmental programs rather than commercial products. Its strategic centrepiece is the Parramatta River Masterplan ("DUBA, BUDU, BARRA: Ten Steps to a Living River", released October 2018), a 10-step framework to restore swimmability. Operational programs include Riverfest (annual community festival held each September from World Clean Up Day to World Rivers Day), Get the Site Right (a decade-old sediment-pollution education and compliance initiative now in its 10th year), the Riverkeeper volunteer network, citizen science projects, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) projects with councils, and the Litter Prevention Roadmap. Tangible outputs include new swim sites such as Bedlam Bay at Gladesville and Putney Beach, an interactive catchment map, and ongoing Parramatta River Recreational Water Quality Reports with real-time forecasting.

The organisation's revenue model is non-commercial: it is funded through recurring member council contributions and NSW Government agency grants under MOUs, supplemented by university and allied-group partnerships (notably UNSW Landscape Architecture Program). All programs, publications, events, and educational resources are provided free to the public, and there is no disclosed pricing model or fee-for-service offering. PRCG distributes its work through its own website, social channels, monthly newsletters, and the communications channels (websites, events calendars) of its member councils.

Name

Parramatta River Catchment Group

Legal name

Parramatta River Catchment Group

Website

https://ourlivingriver.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Parramatta River Catchment Group is a non-profit coordinating 10 NSW councils and state agencies to restore the Parramatta River, delivering community programs (Riverfest, Get the Site Right, Riverkeeper Network, citizen science), the Parramatta River Masterplan, and new swim sites such as Bedlam Bay and Putney Beach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Resources & Watershed Protection (BPAGAGAK), Regulatory Compliance Monitoring & Reporting (SDWA/CWA/NPDES, permits, audits) (EUANAJAA)

Keywords

• Catchment management
• Waterway restoration
• Environmental advocacy
• River conservation
• Community engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Petersham

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Member Council Contributions: Financial Member Councils (Blacktown City Council, City of Canada Bay, City of Parramatta, City of Ryde, Cumberland Council, Hunter's Hill Council, Inner West Council, Strathfield Council, and others) and NSW Government Agencies provide financial contributions to fund PRCG's operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding.
2. Grants and Government Funding: PRCG receives funding and grants from NSW Government agencies as part of its catchment management and waterway restoration activities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Parramatta River Catchment Group (PRCG) is a non-profit catchment management organisation coordinating 10 member councils to restore the Parramatta River. It delivers community programs, pollution-prevention initiatives, water-quality monitoring, and recreation-access projects aimed at making the river swimmable, with flagship efforts including Riverfest, the Riverkeeper Network, Get the Site Right, and the Litter Prevention Roadmap.

Product overview

The Parramatta River Catchment Group (PRCG) operates the 'Our Living River' initiative, a community-focused environmental program rather than a commercial software product. The offering consists of public-facing programs and resources: the Parramatta River Masterplan (a strategic roadmap for making the river swimmable by 2025), the Interactive Map (an online mapping tool for swimming sites and recreational activities), Riverfest (annual community celebration event), Get the Site Right program (sediment pollution prevention), Litter Prevention Roadmap, Water Sensitive Urban Design initiatives, the Riverkeeper Program (volunteer network), and Citizen Science Projects. The organization also publishes annual reports, newsletters, and the masterplan document. There is no commercial product suite or SaaS platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Our Living River Initiative

Quantifiable outcome

• Litter Prevention Roadmap completed identifying priority litter items and hotspots for action across the catchment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Blacktown City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding. Collaborates on Parramatta River restoration projects within the Blacktown local government area.
• City of Canada BaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding. Active partner in Parramatta River restoration efforts within the Canada Bay area.
• City of ParramattacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding. Key partner for river restoration in the Parramatta CBD and surrounds.
• City of RydecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding. Collaborates on waterway projects within the Ryde local government area.
• Inner West CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding. Hosts the Riverkeeper Network contact and collaborates on projects such as the Mort Bay swim site development with UNSW.
• Hunter's Hill CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding. Hosts the Bedlam Bay swim site at Gladesville.
• Burwood CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding.
• City of Canterbury BankstowncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding.
• Cumberland CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding.
• Strathfield CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinancial member council providing funding for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding.
• NSW Government AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSW Government agencies provide financial support for PRCG operational costs under a Memorandum of Understanding, contributing to statewide waterway governance and restoration objectives.
• University of New South Wales (UNSW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRCG partners with UNSW Landscape Architecture Program on a project exploring sites undergoing change across Sydney, including urban river swimming locations. UNSW first-year students develop concept designs for proposed swim sites such as Mort Bay at Birchgrove.
• Cooks River AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRCG joined Cooks River Alliance and over 150 water advocates at the Sydney Rivers Community Forum, exploring shared challenges facing Sydney's waterways including fragmented governance and stormwater management. Led discussions on NSW Water Review findings.
• Georges RiverkeeperminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRCG partnered with Georges Riverkeeper at the Sydney Rivers Community Forum alongside Cooks River Alliance to discuss shared challenges facing Sydney waterways and the need for stronger collaboration.
• Nature Conservation Council NSWminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRCG participated in the Sydney Rivers Community Forum hosted by the Nature Conservation Council NSW at Customs House, bringing together over 150 water advocates.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• WaterNSW: NSW state-owned bulk water supplier and river operator managing dams, weirs, and water releases. Operates upstream infrastructure affecting the Parramatta River catchment where PRCG works.
• Sydney Water: State-owned water and wastewater utility serving Greater Sydney. A large, established incumbent whose stormwater, wastewater, and water-quality responsibilities overlap with PRCG's catchment objectives across the same geography.
• Sydney Harbour Federation Trust: Commonwealth body managing significant Sydney Harbour foreshore lands. Shares broader Sydney waterway stewardship goals and engages with restoration, although operating under a different governance model and remit.

Direct peers

• Total Environment Centre: NSW environmental NGO working on urban sustainability, water, and liveability issues in Greater Sydney. Operates a similar non-profit, advocacy-and-program delivery model targeting the same Sydney metropolitan audience.
• Georges Riverkeeper: Coalition focused on the health of the Georges River in Sydney, sharing PRCG's multi-council, MoU-style governance and community education model. Confirmed as a PRCG partner at the Sydney Rivers Community Forum.
• Inland Rivers Network: NSW-based nonprofit advocating for the health of inland rivers and catchment protection. Comparable nonprofit advocacy-and-coordination model, though regional rather than metropolitan in focus.
• Cooks River Alliance: Sydney-based coalition of councils and community groups coordinating restoration of the Cooks River catchment. Operates the same catchment-management NGO model as PRCG and is explicitly listed as a partner at the Sydney Rivers Community Forum.

Others

• Nature Conservation Council NSW: Peak NSW environmental NGO that convenes the Sydney Rivers Community Forum where PRCG collaborates. Not a catchment-specific body but adjacent ecosystem player whose advocacy amplifies PRCG's policy asks.

Regional players

• Keep Australia Beautiful (NSW): Australian nonprofit delivering litter-prevention, education, and environmental programs including river and catchment clean-ups. Overlaps with PRCG's 'Get the Site Right' and Litter Prevention Roadmap programs nationally.
• Riverkeeper (US): International reference model for the 'riverkeeper' concept explicitly mirrored in PRCG's Riverkeeper Network. Comparable nonprofit, volunteer-driven waterway advocacy model in a different geography (New York State's Hudson River).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCotlhGQYCfPv26xMRbPE8wQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/ourlivingriver
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parramatta-river-catchment-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/ourlivingriver

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Parramatta River Catchment Group