The Cooks River has a catchment area of 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi), within the metropolitan areas of Sydney enclosed by urban environments and extensive recreational areas.
Over 400,000 people live in this area and there are over 100,000 commercial and industrial premises.
The river has typical water catchment management problems characteristic of heavily urbanised areas, including: 
Removal of native vegetation and habitat destruction
Modified hydrology including increased peak run-off rates due to covering of land with hard surfaces, concrete storm water canals and re-routing of water courses
Pollution from motor vehicles, litter, sewage, illegal dumping, industrial, commercial and domestic activities
Nutrient enrichment from surrounding environment, especially due to water runoffs from recreational parks, resulting in increased algal levels
The Cooks River Alliance is a partnership between councils in the Cooks River Catchment.
It works with the local communities to restore the health of the river.
The Alliance Board is made up of one councillor from each member council.
The members of the Cooks River Alliance are: Bayside, Canterbury-Bankstown, City of Sydney, Inner West, and Strathfield.
The Alliance combines and builds resources, experience, knowledge and skills within councils and communities, to work on complex environmental challenges.
Community Representatives will have the opportunity to contribute to the direction of the Alliance, and provide local resident perspectives.

Water quality testing conducted by the Water Research Centre found quantities of pharmaceutical and industrial chemicals at levels similar to untreated sewage.
A very old and broken sewerage system has been blamed for the contaminants which included soaps, insecticides, caffeine and anticonvulsants.

A group of local Councils fund the project named Riverlife, which trains tour guides and organises interpretive walking and cycling tours of the "river" most weekends.
The Cooks River has a catchment area of 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi), within the metropolitan areas of Sydney enclosed by urban environments and extensive recreational areas. Over 400,000 people live in this area and there are over 100,000 commercial and industrial premises. The river has typical water catchment management problems characteristic of heavily urbanised areas, including: 
Removal of native vegetation and habitat destruction
Modified hydrology including increased peak run-off rates due to covering of land with hard surfaces, concrete storm water canals and re-routing of water courses
Pollution from motor vehicles, litter, sewage, illegal dumping, industrial, commercial and domestic activities
Nutrient enrichment from surrounding environment, especially due to water runoffs from recreational parks, resulting in increased algal levels
The Cooks River Alliance is a partnership between councils in the Cooks River Catchment. It works with the local communities to restore the health of the river. The Alliance Board is made up of one councillor from each member council. The members of the Cooks River Alliance are: Bayside, Canterbury-Bankstown, City of Sydney, Inner West, and Strathfield. The Alliance combines and builds resources, experience, knowledge and skills within councils and communities, to work on complex environmental challenges. Community Representatives will have the opportunity to contribute to the direction of the Alliance, and provide local resident perspectives.
Water quality testing conducted by the Water Research Centre found quantities of pharmaceutical and industrial chemicals at levels similar to untreated sewage. A very old and broken sewerage system has been blamed for the contaminants which included soaps, insecticides, caffeine and anticonvulsants.
A group of local Councils fund the project named Riverlife, which trains tour guides and organises interpretive walking and cycling tours of the "river" most weekends.
Cooks River