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Cattle defecation into rivers and overgrazing of riparian zones, are major concerns for drinking water catchment managers. Behaviour modification has been proposed instead of fencing for managing impacts, but reported success varies. Our study aimed to resolve whether provision of off-stream water and shade on real working farms could reduce the likelihood of cattle entering watercourses feeding Sydney, Australia's primary water supply, Lake Burragorang (34° S, 150° E). Cattle herds (1.4 and 11 Animal Units ha⁻¹) at two sites were fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars (n = 12). Cattle movements were tracked following installation of industry-recommended off-stream water and shade (twelve 2 week duration control + treatment experiments). Some statistically significant differences in movement (Mann–Whitney U Prob. < 0.0001) were observed, as judged by comparisons of riparian, water trough …