Sydney: Water management
- Water entitlements, licences, allocations, and sharing are administered through two water sharing plans—one for surface water and one for groundwater—under the Water Management Act 2000.
- Water sharing plans define how water is shared between the various needs, in order to protect the environmental health and long-term sustainability of water sources.
For further geographic information about the region scroll down this page or click on the links below:
Surface water and groundwater management
Water legislation
- Water management in New South Wales is governed primarily by the Water Management Act 2000, though some provisions of the Water Act 1912 remain in place.
- There are three other legislative instruments related to water management in the Sydney region: the Sydney Water Catchment Management Act 1998 and Sydney Water Act 1994, which govern the roles and responsibilities of WaterNSW and Sydney Water, respectively; and the Energy and Utilities Administration Act 1987, which governs water savings initiatives.
Water management plans
- The NSW Department of Industry is responsible for managing surface water and groundwater resources in the State through the preparation of water sharing plans. Water management plans are current over a 10-year period, after which the water sharing plans are reviewed and revised or reinstated as appropriate.
- Surface water resources in the region are managed under the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources 2011, which commenced on 1 July 2011. It was amended on 1 July 2016 to include the Kangaroo River Management Zone, replacing the former Water Sharing Plan for the Kangaroo River Water Source 2003.
- Under the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated River Water Sources 2011, there are six water source areas: Shoalhaven River, Illawarra Rivers, Upper Nepean and Upstream Warragamba, Hawkesbury and Lower Nepean Rivers, Southern Sydney Rivers, and Northern Sydney Rivers.
Figure R7 Water source areas for Sydney region
- Groundwater resources in the region are managed under the Water Sharing Plan for the Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater Sources, which commenced on 1 July 2011.
Figure R8 Groundwater management units within the Sydney region
- Groundwater is a minor water source in the region, and is mainly used for irrigation or industrial purposes.
- There are 13 groundwater management areas within the region and these areas are grouped into fractured rock, porous rock, and coastal sands, tertiary sands and alluvial.
- Entitlements held by urban utilities are available from three groundwater management areas: Goulburn Fractured Rock, Sydney Basin–Nepean Sandstone and Sydney Basin–Richmond Sandstone.
Environmental water management
- The Water Management Act 2000 makes provision for the environmental health of the region's water resources through two mechanisms: planned environmental water and adaptive environmental water.
Planned environmental water
- Planned environmental water is prescribed under the rules of a water sharing plan.
- For unregulated rivers, these rules may include requiring visible flows or specified flow levels before extraction of water, and/or setting daily limits on extraction.
- Rules for groundwater can include reserving storage components or a proportion of the natural recharge for aquifers, and/or setting distance limits between new bores and groundwater dependent ecosystems.
Adaptive environmental water
- Adaptive environmental water allows licensed water to be committed for environmental purposes; these provisions are specified in the licences issued to water utilities or water management authorities.
- The regulating authority overseeing environmental flow management in the Sydney region is the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage.
Cultural water management
- The Aboriginal Water Initative (NSW Office of Water 2013) was established in 2012 to improve Aboriginal involvement and representation in water planning and management within NSW.
- Through this programme, the NSW Department of Industry monitors the success of water sharing plans in meeting requirements under the Water Management Act 2000.
- These requirements include recognising spiritual, social, customary and economic values of water to Aboriginal people, and establishing flow rules to protect Aboriginal cultural values dependent on water.
- The provision of water for native title rights, economic development of Aboriginal communities, and cultural purposes including specific Aboriginal water access licences, is also a requirement under the Act.
Organisations responsible for water management
Figure R9 Boundaries of Sydney Water Corporation and WaterNSW within the Sydney region
- WaterNSW is the bulk water supplier and diverts water to the major utility, Sydney Water Corporation.
- WaterNSW also supplies water to other local utilities (Goulburn Mulwaree Council, Shoalhaven City Council and Wingecarribee Shire Council) and retail customers in the region.
- Several other organisations also divert surface water from water sources based on their water access entitlements.
Organisation | Responsibility | Storages operated within the region |
EnergyAustralia |
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Origin Energy |
| n/a |
Goulburn Mulwaree Council |
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Hawkesbury–Nepean Catchment Management Authority |
| n/a |
Lithgow City Council |
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NSW Office of the Environment and Heritage1 |
| n/a |
NSW Department of Industry1 |
| n/a |
Queanbeyan–Palerang Regional Council |
| n/a |
Shoalhaven City Council |
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WaterNSW |
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Local Land Services |
| n/a |
Sydney Water Corporation |
| n/a |
Wingecarribee Shire Council |
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1 From 1 July 2019, these government departments merged to form the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment