Sydney
Water access and use

This note provides information about the water access rights granted by the jurisdiction to the users of the region's water resources and the associated allocation announcements, diversions, adjustments, and forfeitures.

The 2013 Account acknowledges that the legislative water resource management frameworks relating to Australian water rights vary greatly across jurisdictions, sometimes making comparisons difficult. To facilitate meaningful comparisons between the water accounting reports included in the 2013 Account, the Bureau of Meteorology has developed and applied an accounting concept to classify and report water entitlements within a water asset/water liability framework.

According to that framework, water rights for the Sydney region for the 2012–13 year have been classified as shown in tables 1 and 2.

Table 1 summarises the surface water rights for the Sydney region, including surface water allocations, abstractions, and forfeitures and adjustments during the 2012–13 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 adjustments and forfeitures for the Sydney region during the 2012–13 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	1,200,050	21.1	159,4621	17.11	37,046	13.1	122,416
		21.2	1,040,5881	17.12	542,715	13.2	497,873
		21.6	0	17.16	0	13.6	0
32.4 Other surface water rights	13,612	9.15	11,834	9.11	6,879	17.17	4,955
		11.15	1,778	11.9	596	19.14	1,182
Total	1,246,191		1,213,662		619,765		626,426

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

Note that water allocations (line item 21.2 Surface water allocation announcements – urban water system), abstraction/use (line item 17.12 Entitled diversion of allocated surface water to urban water system) and forfeiture, adjustment (line item 13.2 Adjustment and forfeiture of surface water allocation – urban water system) shown in italics in Table 1 relate to surface water entitlements to the urban water system. These line items appear in the Surface water section of the 'Water resources and systems' note; however, they do not appear in the water accounting statements because they are transactions that occurred within the region. These transactions did not impact on 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 5% of all water rights in the Sydney region. Groundwater entitlements are predominately used by irrigation, commercial, industrial, and domestic users, with a small volume (1 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, and 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 adjustments and forfeitures for the Sydney region during the 2012–13 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	n/a	n/a		–	n/a	–
33.3 Groundwater access entitlement for allocation extraction	44,259	–	44,259	–	–	–	–
	1	–	1	–	–	–	–
Total	63,912		44,260		–		–

–  = 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 2012–13 year are shown Table 3.

 

Table 3  Water restrictions in the Sydney region during the 2012–13 year

Spatial area	Water restrictions	Attributes of that restriction
Goulburn Mulwaree Council	Green level throughout the 2012–13 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 5 pm and 10 am. Paths, driveways and hard surfaces can be cleaned with a low volume, high-pressure machine. They cannot be cleaned using a hose except 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 2012–13 year	Household garden watering with sprinklers only from 6–10 am and 5–9 pm during summer and 6–10am and 2–6 pm during winter. Hand-held watering allowed. Market gardens and orchards sprinklers before 7–10 am and 5–9 pm and after 3 pm. Nurseries and commercial flower gardens from 6–10 am and 5–9 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 the 2012–13 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. Cleaning is to be carried out by a hose fitted with a trigger nozzle. Buckets or watering cans can be used to water lawns and gardens at any time. No hosing of hard surfaces, such as paths and driveways; washing vehicles is allowed. Fire hoses may be used for firefighting activities only. More information is available at the Sydney Water Corporation website.
Wingecarribee Shire Council	Water wise policy throughout the 2012–13 year	Domestic Fixed watering systems and sprinklers to be used before 10 am and after 4 pm. Hand-held hose use, bore water, drip irrigation systems and recycled dam water allowed at all times. All hand-held hoses must have a trigger nozzle and watering using hand held hoses should be avoided between 10 am and 4 pm. No watering of external hard surfaces. Washing vehicles is permitted however wash on your lawn where possible.

No water trading took place in the Sydney region during the 2012–13 year as the provisions for trade are not yet in place.

Environmental Water Provision in the Sydney region comes under the following environmental water management scenarios:

• planned partly regulated surface water
• planned unregulated surface water
• held environmental water.

The Water Management Act 2000(New South Wales [NSW]) makes provisions for the environmental health of the Sydney region's rivers and groundwater systems, which are implemented as rules in water sharing plans and conditions of water access licences. Further 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'.

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 provision

The Sydney Catchment Authority manages a large part of Sydney's water supply network. They have a Water Licence 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 apply to all storages and weirs within Sydney's water supply system (see Table 4 below).

Schedule 1 of the Sydney Catchment Authority's Water 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, 68,523 ML of treated water was released from wastewater treatment plants and water recycling plants (5,589 ML of the released flow was inflows to downstream storages; see line items 9.9 Discharge from urban water system and 19.5 Urban water discharge to surface water).

Table 4  Environmental flows released during the the 2012–13 year within 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	10,986
Broughtons Pass Weir	Cataract, Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers below the weir up to the sea	3,028
Cataract	Cataract River up to Broughtons Pass Weir	13,606
Cordeaux	Cordeaux River up to its confluence with the Avon River, and the Avon and Nepean rivers below that up to Pheasants Nest Weir	6,812
Fitzroy Falls	Yarrunga Creek up to Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam)	11,975
Lake Burragorang (Warragamba Dam)	Warragamba, Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers below Lake Burragorang (Warragamba Dam) up to the sea	0
Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam)	Shoalhaven River below Lake Yarrunga (Tallowa Dam) up to the sea	251,341
Nepean	Nepean River up to Pheasants Nest Weir	13,453
Pheasants Nest Weir	Nepean and Hawkesbury rivers below the weir up to the sea	3,471
Wingecarribee	Wingecarribee River up to Lake Burragorang (Warragamba Dam)	1,095
Woronora	Woronora River up to its confluence with the Georges River, and the Georges River below that up to the sea	5,787
Total		321,5541

¹  Releases from relevant storages contributed to environmental flows from downstream storages/weirs. Releases from these downstream storages have been accounted for 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 provision

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). Growth in extractions in the Kangaroo River was restricted by establishing long-term extraction limits. The New South Wales Office of Water manages the day-to-day operation of the entitlements allocated from the Kangaroo River water source. 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 area

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 Other surface water liability.

Environmental water provisions

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 outcomes

The environmental water bank was deleted during the 2011–12 year due to spills during flooding in March 2012 and also the implementation of the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Sources. No releases were made during the 2012–13 year and no further banked environmental flow releases will be made under this agreement.

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 2012–13 year.

This includes:

• water allocation and use for urban, rural and domestic purposes
• water allocation and use for industry, industrial, and commercial purposes (e.g., agriculture, irrigation, manufacturing, and 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 during the 2012–13 year

Type of right	Right value (ML)	Purpose of the right	Source for information	Volume used (ML)
Unregulated water access entitlement	125,507 (see line item 21.1 Surface water allocation announcements)	Individual stock and domestic and other lumped holder category	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources	18,775
Water access entitlement—Major utility (power generation)	23,000	Water provided for power generation	Delta Electricity	18,271
	6,021		Eraring Energy	n/a
Water access entitlement/arrangement—Major utility and local water utility	1,040,588 (see line item 21.2 Surface water allocation announcements – urban water system)	Potable and non-potable water provided to customers for commercial, industrial and municipal use (see 19.4 Delivery to urban water system users for breakdowns)	Goulburn Mulwaree Council	830
			Sydney Water Corporation	99,839
			Shoalhaven City Council	4,510
			Wingecarribee Shire Council	537
Interbasin transfers for power generation	8,184 (see line item 9.15 Increase of inter-region claim on water)	Water received by Delta Electricity from Fish River Water Supply Scheme for power generation (see line item 9.11 Delivery of water under inter-region agreement)	New South Wales Office of Water	5,865
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 and industry	Water Sharing Plan for Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources	n/a
Groundwater entitlement—urban class	1	Local water utility	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources	n/a
Total				148,627

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 2012–13 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 non-commercial 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 2012–13 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

Type of water right	Right value (ML)	Volume used (ML)	Source for information
Cultural basic right for the Kangaroo River subcatchment	27	27 (see 17.6 Diversions – other statutory rights)	Water Sharing Plan for the Kangaroo River Water Source
Surface water riparian right	32,502	32 502 (see 17.6 Diversions – other statutory rights)	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources
Stock and domestic licences	1,670	240 (see 17.11 Surface water allocation diversion)	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources
Groundwater basic rights	19,652	Not available	Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources
Total	53,851	32,769

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	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