I am pleased to report that significant progress was made during the year to deliver on the Sydney Catchment Authority's (SCA) key projects under the Metropolitan Water Plan.

This includes construction on works to increase environmental flows from Tallowa Dam downstream to the Shoalhaven River and a fishlift at the dam to allow the migration of native fish. When this project is completed in 2009, Tallowa Dam will be the first dam in NSW to have both a fishlift and variable environmental flows.

Following investigations during the year to determine available groundwater resources in the Southern Highlands, Leonay and Wallacia, the Government announced that groundwater plans would be shelved in response to increased dam levels and Sydney’s water saving efforts.

New environmental flows were released this year from Avon Dam following a $9.6 million investment in new infrastructure at the dam. This is a part of the river health commitment in the Metropolitan Water Plan and sees an environmental flow from the dam that mimics natural river conditions. Works to improve environmental flow releases from all the SCA dams in the Upper Nepean are on schedule for completion by the beginning of 2010.

The good work on other Metropolitan Water Plan projects was recognised this year with the SCA and Department of Commerce winning the Premier’s Public Sector Gold Award for innovative work on the Warragamba and Nepean/Avon deep water access projects. The project also won the Infrastructure Project category at the 2007 Engineering Excellence Awards (Sydney Division).

During the year we maintained a strong focus on providing sustainable catchments prioritising and targeting catchment management initiatives. Our innovative Catchment Decision Support System ranks and maps the sources of priority pollutants across the drinking water catchments and will be invaluable in the future to help prioritise our activities across the catchments to improve water quality.

The organisation continued to work in partnerships with local councils, the catchment management authorities, other government agencies, and importantly, with the SCA’s catchment communities.

Significant progress was made in fostering these strategic relationships through the Healthy Catchments Program, which provides grants and incentives for our partners to help deliver key activities that benefit the health of the catchments and improve water quality.

The SCA has also been working with the Hawkesbury Nepean and Southern Rivers catchment management authorities to deliver the Catchment Protection Scheme.

A key example of our interagency partnership is seen with the progress made to deliver the Accelerated Sewerage Program with the Department of Water and Energy. Good progress was made in 2007-08 with construction of all projects on schedule for completion in 2010.

The SCA also continued to work with the Department of Environment and Climate Change to manage the Special Areas surrounding our water storages.

Delivering the regional plan with local councils across the catchments was another significant activity for the organisation in 2007-08. The SCA continued to develop tools and guidelines and deliver training to help local councils and government agencies assess the impact of developments and activities on water quality.

The SCA’s work in delivering this important planning instrument was recognised by the Planning Institute of Australia, which presented the SCA with an award in the category of Environment Planning or Conservation. The award acknowledges that the delivery of the regional plan represents best-practice in stakeholder engagement.

The organisation has worked hard to improve business processes and systems and this year developed the Information Management and Communication Technology Strategic Plan 2008 -2012. The use of information and communication systems is integral to the efficient and effective operation of our business. The plan supports the NSW Government’s Information and Communication ‘People First’ Plan 2006 and will see improved services and reduced operational costs.

During the reporting year both the Sydney Water Catchment Management Act and its regulations were reviewed leading to a number of improvements to the agency’s functions and powers. The SCA achieved high and full compliance with all audited conditions in its annual operating licence audit reflecting the energy and commitment of staff to the day to day operation of the business.

The organisation is delivering on its corporate plan outcomes and remains in a very positive position to continue to do so in the coming year.

I also would like to thank Ian Tanner who acted in the Chief Executive role for most of last financial year. The above highlights are a credit to his and the staff’s dedication and efforts. I look forward to working with the organisation to build on these achievements in the future.

Michael Bullen
Chief Executive