Metropolitan Water Plan to secure Sydney's water supplies to 2025 - Minister Phil Costa MP - 2 September 2010

The Keneally Government today released the updated 2010 Metropolitan Water Plan, which will secure Sydney’s water supplies until at least 2025.

NSW Minister for Water Phil Costa said the updated plan built on the success of the 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan, which was developed during the worst drought in 100 years.

“Over the past four years, we have built a robust water supply for the people and environment of Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains,” Minister Costa said.

“The NSW Government’s significant and targeted investment in dams, recycling, desalination and water efficiency secured Sydney’s water supply in the face of severe drought, and has ensured our water supplies will remain secure well into the future.

“The 2010 Metropolitan Water Plan was developed in consultation with the community and builds on this solid foundation, ensuring we will have enough water to meet the needs of our growing city and our rivers for at least the next 15 years.

“And we’ve also identified measures that can be readily implemented in the future if we need them to manage a severe drought, and to supply our increasing population in the long term.”

Key investments under the 2006 Metropolitan Water Plan included:

  • $119 million invested in accessing deep water storage from Sydney’s dams, increasing the amount of water we can take out of our dams each year by about 40 billion litres and providing Sydney with six months’ additional supply in extreme drought
  • $39 million invested in upgrading dams and weirs throughout the Hawkesbury-Nepean River system to allow new environmental flows that will better mimic natural river flows and allow for fish passage, helping restore river health and protect native flora
  • $100 million a year invested in reducing leaks and breaks in Sydney Water’s pipe networks, reducing leaks and breaks by 40 per cent and saving 30 billion litres of water a year
  • more than $255 million invested in recycled water projects over the last four years including the continued expansion of Australia’s largest residential recycled water scheme at Rouse Hill, upsizing one of Australia’s largest industrial recycled water schemes in Wollongong and building Australia’s largest environmental recycled water scheme at St Marys, which will boost water recycling to more than 50 billion litres a year
  • developed the Water Industry Competition Act 2006 to encourage private sector investment, particularly in new recycled water schemes
  • $1.805 billion invested in the award-winning wind-powered desalination plant to provide up to 15 per cent of Sydney’s water needs
  • provided almost one million residential rebates and offers to increase water efficiency.

“The 2006 plan was reviewed by an Independent Review Panel of non-government experts including Professor Chris Davis, Dr Ronnie Harding, Blair Nancarrow, and Professor John Langford,” Minister Costa said.

"The water supply for Australia’s largest city is too important to gamble with, which is why we have drawn on this wealth of experience to develop a new plan that is flexible and adaptable, and builds on the success of the previous plan.

“This plan will allow us to meet the challenges of climate and rainfall variability, drought and population growth over the coming years, ensuring our water supply is never in danger of running out.”

Key elements of the 2010 Metropolitan Water Plan include:

  • Continue investment in maintaining and upgrading Sydney’s network of dams, which store more than 2,600 billion litres of water, to ensure they can continue to supply the majority of Sydney’s drinking water.
  • Continue investment in wastewater recycling, including major schemes at Hoxton Park, Rouse Hill and Rosehill-Camellia, to boost recycled water volumes to 70 billion litres of water a year by 2015, or 12 per cent of our water needs.
  • Continue cutting red tape and encouraging private investment in stormwater harvesting and sewer mining to further boost water recycling.
  • Operate the award-winning wind-powered desalination plant at full capacity to supply Sydney Water’s area of operations when total dam storage level is below 70 per cent and continue to do so until total storage reaches 80 per cent.
  • Continue investment in water efficiency programs, including rebates and business programs, and trial new water efficient technology such as smart metering to save 145 billion litres of water a year by 2015, or 24 per cent of Sydney’s water needs.
  • Maintain Water Wise Rules and education programs to reinforce water efficient behaviours over the long term and continue saving 19 billion litres of water a year.
  • Continue investing in Sydney’s world-class active leak detection and repair program to sustain reduced rates of leaks and breaks.
  • Complete detailed analysis of environmental flow requirements to develop an new environmental flow regime from Warragamba Dam to the Hawkesbury-Nepean River.

“The Metropolitan Water Plan is the Keneally Government’s plan to build a better future for NSW families by securing the drinking supplies for greater Sydney,” Minister Costa said.

“This plan ensures we continue to secure our ‘Water 4 Life’ through a winning formula of dams, desalination, recycling, and water efficiency.”

The Metropolitan Water Plan is available online at www.waterforlife.nsw.gov.au.