Our water quality monitoring program has shown the Wooli Wooli River estuary to have good water quality. Find out more about the estuary and its unique features.
The Wooli Wooli River flows through Yuraygir National Park and enters the sea near the township of Wooli on the north coast of New South Wales.
The entrance to Wooli Wooli River estuary has trained walls to ensure the estuary remains open to the sea. It is classed a medium-sized barrier river estuary.
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 located between the Queensland border and Taree every 3 years. The most recent sampling in Wooli Wooli River was completed over the 2021–22 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.
The report card shows the condition of the estuary was good with:
Find out more about our estuary report cards and what each grade means. Read our sampling, data analysis and reporting protocols and find out how we calculate these grades.
We have monitored water quality in Wooli Wooli River since 2009. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.
Grades for algae, water clarity and overall are represented as:
Estuary type: Barrier river
| Entrance location |
Latitude (ºS) | –29.89 |
|---|---|---|
| Longitude (ºE) | 153.7 | |
| Catchment area (km2) | 180 | |
| Estuary area (km2) | 3.7 | |
| Estuary volume (ML) | 2611 | |
| Average depth (m) | 0.8 | |
Tidal exchange volume or tidal prism data is available for this estuary. This tidal prism was measured in 2003.
| Tide state | Flow (106 m3) |
Local tidal range (m) |
Sydney Harbour
tidal range (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ebb flow | 1.57 |
1.48 |
1.61 |
| Flood flow | 1.69 |
1.44 |
1.5 |
Bathymetric and coastal topography data for this estuary are available in our data portal.
The catchment of the Wooli Wooli River has relatively low disturbance. Over 98% of the catchment area is forest within Yuraygir National Park and adjacent Forestry Corporation land. A small fraction of the upper catchment has been cleared for rural residences. The township of Wooli is adjacent to the lower estuary.
The NSW Food Authority website lists the current status of oyster/shellfish harvest areas.
Local councils manage estuaries within their area unless the estuary is attached to a marine park. Clarence Valley Council manage this estuary, which is part of the Solitary Islands Marine Park.
The region near the Wooli Wooli River provides a stronghold for a population of endangered coastal emus whose range continues to contract.
The endangered swamp foxglove is a herb that exists in the Wooli Wooli River catchment. Coastal saltmarsh, an endangered ecological community, is relatively abundant along the Wooli Wooli River.
Read more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.