Wetlands are vital and provide a number of essential processes. They reduce the impact of flooding, help with the absorption of pollutants and provide habitat for much of our native flora and fauna. They assist with purifying the water and there are a number that are important for a number of recreational activities. Many of the wetlands located on the Swan Coastal Plain are culturally significant to the Aboriginal people.

There are four related wetland systems situated on the Swan Coastal Plain and Darling Scarp within the Swan Region.  These are:

• The Swan River system
• The Bennett Brook system
• The Ellen Brook system
• The Walyunga system

A total of 450 wetlands have been mapped, identified and evaluated in the City of Swan.  Some of the most well known and common wetlands in the Swan region are identified below.

• Melaleuca Management Priority Area Wetlands, Ellenbrook
• Lexia Wetlands
• Sawpit Gully, east Lexia
• Whiteman Park Wetlands (Mussel Pool)
• Twin Swamps and Martyn Reserve Wetlands (also referred to as Ellen Brook Reserve)
• Hazelmere Lakes
• Perth Airport Wetlands
• Waljarra Swamp, north Jane Brook
• Emu Swamp, Ballajura

Since European settlement in Australia, it is estimated that more than half of our wetlands have been destroyed. On the Swan Coastal Plain, there are an estimated 10,000 wetlands but this is only 30% of what was estimated to be here at the time of European settlement. Current rehabilitation projects throughout Australia cover less than 0.1% of the remaining wetlands.

There are a number of processes that are currently affecting wetlands throughout Australia. These include, but are not limited to:

• Changes in land and water use;
• Loss of native vegetation;
• Invasion by exotic weeds;
• Degradation by introduced feral animals; and,
• Increased pollution from agriculture, development and recreational use.

There are also problems with limited resources being available to complete restoration work and a general ignorance as to the environmental and social benefits wetlands provide.

The Waters and Rivers Commission, combined with the Department of Environment, is the state agency responsible for assessing and mapping wetland types.  Accordingly all wetlands within the Swan region have been designated a Wetland Management Category, as all remaining wetlands are considered valuable.

Some wetlands in the City of Swan are protected through legislation by the establishment of a policy under the Environmental Protection Act, known as the Environmental Protection (Swan Coastal Plain Lakes) Policy 1992. The aim of this policy was to declare and protect the environmental values of important wetlands through controlling activities that can degrade or destroy those environmental values. The City of Swan contains 37 wetlands protected under this policy. 

Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia                                                         The Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia  was created in 1993 through the collaborative effort of the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments. It was created to identify nationally important wetlands and provide an information base for future management and protection. The Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia lists two wetlands located within the City of Swan boundaries. These are the Ellen Brook Swamps system and the Perth Airport Woodland Swamp. It identifies the main threatening processes for each site. For Ellen Brook Swamps system these are clay extraction and the possibility that changing land use may lower the water table. At the Perth Airport Woodland Swamp, the main threatening processes identified were the excessive use of fire, weed invasion and damage caused by rabbits.