A substantial area was devoted to salt crystallisation pans until 2014, with plans to redevelop the site for housing.

[5] It is named for the Dry Creek, a stream and drain which flows through the suburb and into Swan Alley, a tidal distributary of Barker Inlet, Gulf St Vincent.

[2] It was the site of the soapworks of W. H. Burford & Sons from 1923 (adjacent to the Dry Creek railway station, and formerly used for smelting ore from Broken Hill)[6] and a pioneering "garden suburb" for its employees, designed by W. J. Earle (who also laid out Cadbury's model town at Claremont, Tasmania).

They form part of the storm water management system for the City of Salisbury and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and are connected to numerous drains that run across the Adelaide Plains including the eponymous Dry Creek, as well as being the outflow point for storm water pipes.

The wetlands form a fauna and flora haven with one of the southernmost mangrove habitats in the world, extensive reed and samphire beds and a large bird and fish population.