Sydney
Administration

All areas within the Sydney region, with the exception of the Kangaroo River Unregulated Water Source, are operating in accordance with the Water Act 1912 (New South Wales). The Kangaroo River Unregulated Water
Source is operating in accordance with the Water Management Act 2000 (New South Wales).

As the Water Act 1912 represents a different era of water management in NSW, the Act is being progressively phased out and replaced with the Water Management Act 2000 (New South Wales) with the implementation of water sharing plans in the region. Both the  Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources 2011 and the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources 2011 commenced on 1 July 2011 . During the 2011 Account reporting period, these water sharing plans were still in draft. The Water Sharing Plan for the Kangaroo River Water Source 2003 was commenced on 1 July 2004, and therefore applicable to the 2011 Account.

There are three further legislative acts directly relevant to water management activities in the Sydney region:

1. Sydney Water Catchment Management Act 1998 that established the roles and responsibilities of the Sydney Catchment Authority
2. Sydney Water Act 1994 that established the roles and responsibilities of Sydney Water
3. Energy and Utilities Administration Act 1987 that established water savings action plan initiatives.

The Water Sharing Plan for the Kangaroo River Water Source defines flow rules for water users and environmental flow provisions in accordance with the Water Management Act 2000 (New South Wales).

During the 2011 Account there were no other approved water management plans for the remainder of the region. The Greater Metropolitan Unregulated Water Sharing Plan was finalised and commenced on 1 July 2011 for a period of ten years.

Water licences issued in the past under the Water Act 1912 (New South Wales) were given an area-based entitlement enabling a licence holder to use water on the licensed area. Between 2000 and 2004, a process of volumetric conversion took place that converted these licences to a volumetric entitlement for unregulated rivers. These conversions also established limits on the annual volume extractable. The Greater Metropolitan Unregulated Water Sharing Plan will introduce categories of licenses and management rules based on share components and extraction limits with its commencement in July 2011. 

Figure A1 shows groundwater management units in the Sydney region. Further information on the management units and sources for groundwater in the Sydney region is available in the New South Wales Office of Water (NoW) website.

Figure A1. Map of groundwater management units in the Sydney region

The Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources provides rules for environmental protection, extractions, managing licence holders' water accounts and water trading in the plan area. Whilst the plan was still in draft form during the 2011 Account, the NoW were still taking steps to:

• monitor groundwater levels and quality through a network of groundwater observation bores
• take necessary actions to regulate groundwater extraction based on monitoring information
• finalising the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources and taking actions to commence it on 1 July 2011 for a period of ten years.

Further details on the Water sharing plans applicable to the Sydney region can be found on the NoW website.

During the 2011 Account reporting period, the Water Act 1912 (New South Wales) guides the management of all water resources in the Sydney region except for the environmental flow provisions in the Kangaroo River. As the Water Act 1912 has no environmental flow guidelines, environmental flow management is based on the provisions made in specific water licences. The Water Sharing Plan for the Kangaroo River Water Source outlines the environmental provisions for the Kangaroo River. 

Licences are issued by NoW and the regulating authority overseeing environmental flow management in the Sydney region is the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage.

For the areas operating under the Water Act 1912 (New South Wales), environmental flow management is based on the provisions made in the water licences. The specifics of these provisions are diverse and dependent upon where a licence is located. Specific flow rules are specified in the water licences issued to water utilities or water management authority that release water for environmental purposes.

More details about the status of current environmental water management arrangements covering the Sydney region can be found in The Australian Environmental Water Management Report (2010a).

Environmental flows specified in the 2011 Account apply to the rivers containing Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) infrastructure, the Coxs River and the Kangaroo River:

Section 3 of the water licence for Sydney Catchment Authority (2011c) (issued under Part 9 of the Water Act 1912 [New South Wales]) specifies environmental flows in the:

• Hawkesbury–Nepean Rivers excluding the Upper Coxs River
• Shoalhaven River
• Woronora River.

Specified flows include volumetric and high flow releases from the reservoirs, contingency flows, and release of banked environmental flows. More details on the Sydney Catchment Authority's environmental flow management are available on its website.

Section 4 of the water licence for Delta Electricity (2011d) (issued under Part 9 of the Water Act 1912 [New South Wales]) specifies environmental flows for the Upper Coxs River. Specified flows include volumetric flow releases from the storages and annual channel maintenance flows.

The Water Sharing Plan for the Kangaroo River Water Source states that water must be allocated for the fundamental health of the river and river dependent ecosystems, such as wetlands and floodplains, as a first priority. This is achieved by establishing flow classes at a specified flow reference point. The flow reference point is the Kangaroo River at Hampden Bridge (Station 215220). Figure A2 shows the Kangaroo River Water Sharing Plan area. A proportion of each flow class is set aside for environmental needs. Growth in extractions was restricted by establishing long-term extraction limits. New South Wales Office of Water manages the day-to-day operation of the entitlements allocated from the Kangaroo River water source.

Figure A2. Map of the Kangaroo River Water Sharing Plan (WSP) Area

Table A1 presents information on organisations responsible for water management activities within the Sydney region.

Table A1. Organisations and utilities responsible for water management activities within the Sydney region

Organisation	Responsibility	Storage reservoirs operated within the region
Delta Electricity	water supply for power generation (coal) reservoir manager infrastructure operator environmental and riparian flow manager	Lake Lyell Lake Wallace  Thomsons Creek Reservoir
Eraring Energy	water supply for power generation (hydro-power) infrastructure operator
Goulburn Mulwaree Council	retail urban utility reservoir manager infrastructure operator wastewater system operator	Pejar Dam Sooley Dam
Hawkesbury–Nepean Catchment Management Authority	natural resources management developing and implementing river health strategies
Lithgow City Council	retail urban utility reservoir manager infrastructure operator wastewater system operator	Farmers Creek No. 2 Reservoir
New South Wales Office of the Environment and Heritage (within the New South Wales Department of the Premier and Cabinet)	overseeing environmental water management advising on water quality, water pollution and treatment supporting wetland conservation and management securing water for the environment through planning mechanisms, water purchase and water-efficient infrastructure
New South Wales Office of Water	setting policy, necessary legal instruments and overseeing  mechanisms to manage water in the region
Office of the Hawkesbury–Nepean	coordinating the river management activities of New South Wales Government agencies and access for information providing opportunities for public involvement in river management
Palerang Council	retail urban utility infrastructure operator wastewater system operator
Shoalhaven City Council	retail urban utility reservoir manager infrastructure operator wastewater system operator	Bamarang Reservoir Danjera Reservoir Flat Rock Creek Reservoir
Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority	natural resources management developing and implementing river health strategies
Sydney Catchment Authority	bulk water supply reservoir manager infrastructure operator environmental and riparian flow manager catchment management, including:             –  ensuring new developments in the drinking water catchments have a neutral and beneficial effect on water quality            – grants and incentives to improve land management and wastewater management            – community education initiatives	Cataract Reservoir Cordeaux Reservoir Avon Reservoir Nepean Reservoir Lake Burragorang (Warragamba Dam) Prospect Reservoir Wingecarribee Reservoir Fitzroy Falls Reservoir Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam) Blue Mountain storage reservoirs: Medlow Reservoir, Greaves Creek Reservoir, Upper Cascade Reservoir, Middle Cascade Reservoir, Lower Cascade Reservoir
Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority	natural resources management developing and implementing river health strategies
Sydney Water Corporation	retail urban utility infrastructure operator wastewater system operator
Wingecarribee Shire Council	retail urban utility reservoir manager infrastructure operator wastewater system operator	Bundanoon Reservoir Medway Reservoir