Sydney
Water access and use

This note provides information about the water access rights granted by jurisdictions to the users of the region's water resources and the associated allocation announcements, diversions and adjustments and forfeitures. Information about restrictions to water access rights is also included in this note. Other information is available in the Water resources and systems page and the Water rights; Operating rules and constraints section within Contextual information.

The 2012 Account acknowledges the varying jurisdictional legislative water resource management frameworks related to Australian rights to water that support water resource management in Australia. The jurisdictional legislative water resource management frameworks vary greatly between jurisdictions, sometimes making comparisons difficult. To facilitate meaningful comparison between the water accounting reports included in the 2012 Account, the Bureau has developed and applied an accounting concept to classify and report water rights within a water-asset/water-liability framework.

Surface water rights are categorised broadly into:

• water rights that may not create a water liability: 32.1 Other statutory surface water rights and 32.2 Surface water access entitlement for direct diversion, or
• water rights that may create a water liability: 32.3 Surface water access entitlement for allocation diversions.

Groundwater rights are categorised broadly into:

• water rights that may not create a water liability: 33.1 Other statutory groundwater rights and 33.2 Groundwater access entitlement for direct extraction, or
• water rights that may create a water liability: 33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction.

In the National Water Account, Other statutory water rights are defined as water rights conferred by water legislation (a water act or water sharing plan), for which there is no individual entitlement.

Table 1 and Table 2 show the water rights for the Sydney region.

Table 1 summarises the surface water rights for the Sydney region, including surface water allocations, abstractions and forfeitures and adjustments during the 2011–12 year.

Further details on surface water entitlements and their management can be found in Contextual information under Water rights and Water entitlements.

Table 1  Summarised information on surface water rights, allocations, abstractions and adjustment and forfeiture for the Sydney region during the 2011–12 year 

Water rights		Water allocation		Water abstraction/use		Forfeiture, adjustment
Account line item	Volume (ML)	Reporting line item	Volume (ML)	Reporting line item	Volume (ML)	Reporting line item	Volume (ML)
32.1 Other statutory surface water rights	32,529	Not applicable	Not applicable	17.6	32,529	Not applicable	Not applicable
32.3 Surface water access entitlement for allocated diversion	1,195,975	21.1	157,6201	17.11	32,165	13.1	125,455
		21.2	1,038,3551	17.12	440,989	13.2	597,366
		21.6	0	17.16	0	13.6	5,363
Total	1,228,504		1,195,975		505,683		728,184

1 Entitlement values were compiled by the Bureau based on information available in the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Unregulated River Water Sourcesand information received from entitlement holders.

Note that water allocations (21.2), abstraction/use (17.12) and forfeiture, adjustment (13.2) shown in Table 1 for the urban water system, do not appear in the water accounting statements because they are transactions that occurred within the region. These transactions did not impact the region's water assets and water liabilities.

More information about the items presented in Table 1 is provided in the linked line item notes.

Groundwater entitlements and rights in the Sydney region represent less than 6% of all water rights in the Sydney region. Groundwater entitlements are predominately used by irrigation, commercial, industry and domestic users, with a small volume (140 ML) of entitlements for local water utilities. It is difficult to estimate the abstraction volume as there is currently no reliable quantification method to do so. As a result, basic groundwater rights have been reported in the table below and also in the water accounting statements, but abstractions, adjustments and forfeitures have not been quantified.

For further information on groundwater rights in the Sydney region, see Water entitlements in Contextual information.

Table 2  Summarised information on groundwater rights, allocations, abstractions and forfeiture, adjustment for the Sydney region during the 2011-12 year

Water rights		Water allocation		Water abstraction/use		Forfeiture, adjustment
Reporting line item	Volume (ML)	Reporting line item	Volume (ML)	Reporting line item	Volume (ML)	Reporting line item	Volume (ML)
33.1 Other statutory groundwater rights	19,652	Not applicable	Not applicable	18.7	19,652	Not applicable	–
33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction	62,204	22.1	62,204	–	–	–	–
	140	22.2	140	–	–	–	–
Total	81,996		62,344		19,652		–

1 –  = no data available

Water restrictions in the Sydney region apply to urban holders of regulated water access entitlements (32.3 Surface water access entitlement for allocation diversion).

Water restrictions applied to the Sydney region during the 2011–12 year are shown Table 3.

 

Table 3  Water restrictions in the Sydney region in 2011–12

Spatial area	Water restrictions	Attributes of that restriction
Goulburn Mulwaree Council	Green level throughout the 2011–12 year	Defined as a per person usage of 270 litres per day, at net supply storage levels above 70% with target usage of 6 ML per day under the following guidelines: Hand-held hose with a control nozzle or bucket can be used at any time to water plants and lawns Watering systems and hose sprinklers can only be used between 6 pm and 9 am Paths, driveways and hard surfaces can be cleaned with a low volume, high-pressure machine. They cannot be cleaned using a hose. In extraordinary circumstances e.g. following a flood, a hose can be used to assist clean-up Vehicles can be washed at any time on a lawn or porous surface using a hose with a control nozzle, bucket or low volume high-pressure machine Private pools can only be filled when a water offset plan for that residence has been met, including the mandatory use of a pool cover when the pool is not in use
Lithgow City Council	Level 1 throughout the 2011–12 year	Household garden watering with sprinklers only from 6 am – 10 am and 5 pm – 9 pm during summer and 6am - 10am and 2 pm – 6 pm during winter Hand-held watering allowed Public gardens and sport grounds sprinklers before 7 am and after 3 pm Market gardens and orchards sprinklers between 6 am – 10 am and 5 pm – 9 pm Bowling greens, motels, nursing homes and schools sprinklers before 7 am and after 3 pm
Sydney Water Corporation Blue Mountains, Illawarra and Sydney	Waterwise rules throughout 2011–12 year	Watering, including with sprinklers and irrigation systems, is allowed any day before 10 am and after 4 pm to avoid the heat of the day All hand held hoses must have a trigger nozzle No hosing of hard surfaces, such as paths and driveways; washing vehicles is allowed Fire hoses may be used for firefighting activities only
Wingecarribee Shire Council	Level 1 throughout the 2011–12 year	Domestic Fixed watering systems and sprinklers to be used from 8 pm and 8 am during the months of November–March. Unrestricted use from April – October Hand-held hose use, bore water, drip irrigation systems and recycled dam water allowed at all times No watering of external hard surfaces No restrictions on swimming pools Commercial/business etc Sprinkler use to be restricted between 8 pm and 10 am. Market gardens can operate sprinklers between noon and 2 pm on days when the forecast is 30 °C and above. Hand-held hose fitted with trigger nozzle or pressure washer can be used at any time. Industrial No restrictions

No water trading took place in the Sydney region during the 2011–12 year.

Information on legislative, administrative and governing arrangements of environmental water in the Sydney region is available in the Environmental water management section in Contextual information.

Water for environmental benefit in the region is provided according to three different environmental water management scenarios: planned partly regulated surface water, planned unregulated surface water, and held environmental water.

For each scenario, the information, if available, is structured as follows:

• Environmental water determinations: the environmental objectives. These are represented by environmental water provisions defining specific water levels and flow criteria at key representative sites that the water regime provided must meet.
• Environmental water commitments: the instruments in place to achieve the environmental water determination, e.g. environmental water storage release rules, water access rules to limit abstractions, rules on diversion to wetlands and annual environmental watering plans.
• Environmental water outcomes: the water regime that were provided and the extent of the compliance with respect to the criteria set in the environmental water provisions and the environmental water commitments.
  
  

The dominant feature of environmental water management in this scenario is the ability to control or influence flow by operational releases from storage.

 

Environmental water determination

The Sydney Catchment Authority's has a Water Licences and Approvals Package which defines their water access rights and obligations including releases for environmental and other purposes, monitoring and reporting requirements in accordance with the provisions of the water sharing plan. The water licences and approvals include all dams, reservoirs and weirs for Sydney's water supply system. This includes Warragamba Dam, Tallowa Dam, Fitzroy Falls Reservoir, Wingecarribee Reservoir, Blue Mountain dams and Woronora Dam and the upper Nepean dams (Nepean, Avon, Cordeaux and Cataract dams).


Environmental water commitment

Schedule 1 of the Sydney Catchment Authority'sWater Licence and Approvals Package details environmental releases, monitoring and reporting requirements for the region.


Environmental water outcomes

Table 4 provides details of volumes released to meet environmental flow obligations specified in water management licences issued to the Sydney Catchment Authority. In addition to these obligatory flows, 83,692 ML of treated water was released from wastewater treatment plants and water recycling plants (9,176 ML of the released flow was inflows to downstream storages; see line items 9.9 and 19.5).

Table 4  Environmental flows released during the 2012 Account for the Sydney region

Storage /weir	Streams benefiting from environmental flow release	Environmental flow release (ML)
Avon	Avon River up to its confluence with the Nepean River, and the Nepean River below that up to Pheasants Nest Weir	13,491
Broughtons Pass Weir	Cataract, Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers below the weir up to the sea	28,979
Cataract	Cataract River up to Broughtons Pass Weir	22,295
Cordeaux	Cordeaux River up to its confluence with the Avon River, and the Avon and Nepean rivers below that up to Pheasants Nest Weir	10,317
Fitzroy Falls	Yarrunga Creek up to Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam)	19,162
Lake Burragorang (Warragamba Dam)	Warragamba, Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers below Lake Burragorang (Warragamba Dam) up to the sea	1,830
Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam)	Shoalhaven River below Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam) up to the sea	345,263
Nepean	Nepean River up to Pheasants Nest Weir	23,787
Pheasants Nest Weir	Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers below the weir up to the sea	52,974
Wingecarribee	Wingecarribee River up to Lake Burragorang (Warragamba Dam)	1,098
Woronora	Woronora River up to its confluence with the Georges River, and the Georges River below that up to the sea	11,580
		530,776

1 Releases from relevant storages contributed to environmental flows from downstream storages/weirs.  Releases from these downstream storages/weirs have been accounted separately in the table.

This type of environmental water management occurs in the single unregulated river in the Sydney region, the Kangaroo River, by controlling the water access regime.

 

Environmental water determination

Kangaroo River

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 at Hampden Bridge (Station 215220). Figure 1 shows the Kangaroo River Water Sharing Plan area. A proportion of each flow class is set aside for environmental needs.

Figure 1  The Kangaroo River Water Sharing Plan (WSP)

Environmental water commitment

Growth in extractions in the Kangaroo River 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.

 

Environmental water outcome

Information not available.

 

Held environmental water in the Sydney region is that which is held as banked environmental water in storages managed by the Sydney Catchment Authority. This is also discussed in line item 5.6.

Environmental water determination

Between 1 June 2005 and 3 March 2008, due to the continuing drought, environmental flow releases into the Hawkesbury–Nepean River required under the Sydney Catchment Authority's water management licence were halved as directed by the Minister for Water in New South Wales. A condition of halving the flows was that the Sydney Catchment Authority would maintain an environmental water bank in storages.  The banked water was to be released only under the direction of the Minister.

Environmental water commitment

At 1 July 2011, 5,363 ML was available for release from banked environmental water.

Environmental water outcomes

No releases were made during the 2011–12 year. With the implementation of the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Sources and also as a result of spills that occurred during flooding in March 2012 the NSW Office of Water directed that releases from Banked Environmental Water would cease from 1 July 2011 and the bank was deleted.

The water rights and use reported in this section are those in the Sydney region that are used to derive an economic benefit in the 2011–12 year.

This includes:

• Water allocation and use for urban, rural and domestic
• Water allocation and use for industry, industrial and commercial purposes (agriculture, irrigation, manufacturing, mining)
• Water allocation and use for power generation

Table 5 provides a breakdown on available information for economic benefit.

Table 5  Distribution of water related to economic benefits in the Sydney region for the 2011–12 year

Type of right	Right value (ML)	Purpose of the right	Source for information	Volume used (ML)
Unregulated water access entitlement	128,599	Individual stock and domestic and other lumped holder category	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources	12,603
Water access entitlement — Major utility (power generation)	23,000	Water provided for power generation	Delta Electricity	19,562
	6,021		Eraring Energy	Not available
Water access entitlement/arrangement - Major utility and local water utility	1,038,355 (see line item 21.2)	Release of potable water by Sydney Water Corporation for purposes including: industrial commercial municipal	Sydney Water Corporation	97,627
		Release of potable water by Shoalhaven City Council for purposes including: industrial commercial municipal	Shoalhaven City Council	5,415 (see line item 19.4)
Interbasin transfers for power generation	8,184	Water received from Fish River Supply Scheme for power generation (see line item 9.15)	NSW Office of Water	4,183 (see line item 9.11)
Groundwater entitlement — other lumped class	62,204	Other lumped holder category (aquifer licence category) in New South Wales maybe issued for a wide range of purposes, including: irrigation commercial industry (see line item 22.1)	Water Sharing Plan for Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources	Not available
Groundwater entitlement — urban class	140	Local water utility (see line item 22.2)	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources	Not available
Total				139,390

The preceeding table is not exhaustive. It is possible that a portion of water provided by utilities not shown in the table was used for economic activities. Such uses have not been separately distinguished.

Water rights directly related to social and cultural benefits identified in the Sydney region for the 2011–12 year were:

• surface water: cultural basic right
• surface water: riparian right
• surface water: stock and domestic licences
• groundwater basic right.

Cultural basic right allows abstraction of water by anyone who holds native title with respect to water, as determined under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth). In the Sydney region, the right was available to abstract water from the Kangaroo River water source. No cultural basic rights were estimated to occur in other areas of the region. The right holders can take and use water for a range of needs without holding a water access licence. This includes accessing water for personal, domestic and noncommercial communal purposes such as:

• manufacturing traditional artefacts
• hunting, fishing and gathering
• recreation
• cultural purposes
• ceremonial purposes.

The riparian right makes provisions to abstract water to meet basic household requirements (non-commercial uses in and around the house and garden) and for watering of stock. This water cannot be used for irrigating crops or garden produce that will be sold or bartered, washing down machinery sheds or intensive livestock operations.

Stock and domestic licences for surface water and groundwater basic rights allow the right holders to abstract water to meet basic requirements for household and stock purposes.

Rights related to social and cultural aspects and relevant water use in the 2011–12 year in the Sydney region are listed in Table 6.

Table 6  Distribution of water rights and use related to social and cultural rights in the Sydney region for 2011-12

Type of water right	Right value (ML)	Volume used (ML)	Source for information
Cultural basic right for the Kangaroo River subcatchment	27	27 (see line item 17.6)	Kangaroo River Water Source Water Sharing Plan (NSW Office of Water 2010b)
Surface water riparian right	32,502	32 502 (see line item 17.6)	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources (NSW Office of Water 2012a)
Stock and domestic licences	2,342	230 (9.8% of right value, see line item 17.11)	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources
Groundwater basic rights	19,652	19,652 (see line item 18.7)	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources (NSW Office of Water 2012c)
Total	54,523	52,523

Details of bulk water supply agreements applicable for water utilities operating within the Sydney region are provided in Table 7.

Table 7  Water transfer-out agreements within the Sydney region

Water provider	Water receiver	Agreed volume/supply rate	Other details
Sydney Catchment Authority	Shoalhaven City Council	As requested by Shoalhaven City Council subject to the limit stated in its Water Management Licence (WML)	Water is diverted from Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam) and Bendeela Pondage as specified in the Bulk Water Supply Agreement between two parties
	Wingecarribee Shire Council	Subject to the limit stated in the Wingecarribee Shire Council's WML (40 ML/day)	Water is diverted from Wingecarribee Reservoir as specified in the Bulk Water Supply Agreement between two parties
	Sydney Water Corporation	As agreed between Sydney Water Corporation and the Sydney Catchment Authority	Water is diverted from supplier's storages and weirs to Sydney Water Corporation's water treatment plants, excluding North Richmond