2022-23 Annual progress report on water strategy implementation

Long-term strategic planning for water management is critical to a successful climate adaptation response in NSW. To date, the NSW Government has developed a comprehensive, integrated water strategy program designed to improve the security, reliability, quality, and resilience of water resources across the state.

Over the last 12 months, significant progress has been made to ensure that water resources in NSW are supported by evidence-based, strategic, and integrated management approaches to deliver on our water management strategy actions.

Strategy development and implementation play a crucial role in shaping the future of water management and service delivery. The water strategies program provides a framework for integrated strategy-led planning and comprises 3 state-wide strategies: the NSW Water Strategy, the NSW Groundwater Strategy and the Aboriginal Water Strategy, along with 13 regional and 2 metropolitan strategies.

The strategy program sets the long-term strategic direction for the NSW water sector and provides a platform for NSW water agencies to work together. This strategic focus ensures decisions are based on the latest climate science data.

As an integrated program, the state-wide strategies work in tandem with place-based strategies to align high-level priorities and local solutions. This means strategy actions can be planned and coordinated to efficiently use government and community resources to achieve the intended outcomes. Integration also allows the implementation of state-wide strategies to be informed by the evidence and examples that are emerging through our work with communities at the regional level.

Theme and region reporting

This integrated annual progress report combines information from the water strategy program and focuses on specific themes. The 2022 - 2023 progress report themes are listed below:

• Community confidence and trust
  Building community confidence and capacity through engagement, transparency, and accountability.
• Water for Aboriginal communities
  Recognising First Nations/Aboriginal Peoples’ rights, values and increasing access to and ownership of water for cultural and economic purposes.
• Sustainable groundwater
  Enhanced, state-wide focus on sustainable groundwater management.
• System connectivity
  Improving river flows across connected water catchments.
• Water security and resilience
  Reducing urban water security risks and supporting resilient cities and towns.
• Doing more with less
  Water efficiency and leakage reduction – doing more with less.
• Drought preparedness
  Preparing for drought and managing risk.
• Healthy rivers
  Taking a holistic approach to land and water management.
• Coastal waterways
  Sustainable coastal waterways in a changing climate.

See more on this below.

This annual report includes an update on how the strategies at the region-level are being actioned.

Integrated water strategies diagram

The diagram below shows the integration of the planning and reporting process for each of the following documents.

• NSW Water Strategy – sets the objectives and outcomes for water management in NSW and was developed in parallel with regional and metropolitan strategies.
• NSW Groundwater Strategy – provides the state-wide approach to sustainable groundwater management across NSW.
• NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy – developed with Aboriginal people to identify a program of measures to deliver on First Nation’s water rights and interests in water management (under development).
• Regional water strategies – a suite of catchment-based strategies identifying future challenges along with a package of locally based solutions to address challenges for each region.
• Metropolitan strategies – setting out long term priorities for Greater Sydney and the Lower Hunter regions to ensure sustainable and resilient water for now and into the future.
• Annual Reports on Water Strategy Implementation – provides an overview of strategy implementation achievements for the reporting period and is integral to our commitment for transparency and accountability to our stakeholders (this report).

State-wide strategies work in tandem with place-based strategies ensuring the alignment of overall high-level priorities and local solutions.

Status of water strategy development

Building community confidence and capacity through engagement, transparency, and accountability

The department is committed to effective and genuine engagement with stakeholders and the broader community and recognises that engagement leads to better public policy outcomes, improved service delivery and enhanced customer satisfaction.

We continue to improve how we consult on water-related projects, reforms and strategies by re-orientating around the customer to make information about water sharing and management easy to find and understand.

What we delivered in 2022-2023

Water stakeholder and community engagement policy

The department has reviewed and updated its water stakeholder and community engagement policy. The purpose of the policy is to embed a transparent and consistent approach for the department to engage with stakeholders by identifying strategic principles to underpin engagement activities. The policy statement principles are:

• Purposeful: Engagement activities are to deliver on the NSW Government priorities and the department’s corporate goals and be undertaken with a clear understanding of what we want to achieve.
• Inclusive: The department will identify and enable the participation of all relevant stakeholders.
• Timely: The department will provide sufficient time for meaningful consultation, outline timeframes up front and conduct engagement activities in an efficient manner.
• Transparent: The department will explain the engagement process, provide information to enable meaningful participation and set clear expectations around how participants’ input will inform outcomes. To ensure transparency consultation plans and schedules of stakeholder engagement activities will be published on relevant department websites.
• Respectful: Engagement activities will acknowledge the needs, experience, perspective and expertise of participants.

In line with the policy principles, the department launched a new ‘Have your say’ section on the website to make it easier for people to find out about consultations and information events. The ‘Have your say’ page is updated with opportunities to hear from and meet with our stakeholders.  This webpage is supported by the monthly Water Engagement Roundup webinar providing updates on current consultation and engagement activities and discussions on key water topics.  Participation in the webinar is open to all interested stakeholders.

Additionally, the water libraries section on the website provides various resources about water management in NSW. This includes reports, newsletters, presentations, webinars, videos, and fact sheets covering a range of topics in water management. It also features an annual list of all past engagement activities.

Feedback from engagement activities, such as the engagement for regional water strategies, review of domestic and stock basic landholder rights, listening tours for floodplain management planning, metering information sessions to support a review of non-urban water metering policy, and key stakeholder updates for water infrastructure projects, continue to inform water strategy and policy directions.

During the reporting period, over 60 face-to-face public engagement activities were conducted across the state. Additionally, 10 What We Heard Reports summarising feedback received from these consultations were published. Regular and ongoing discussions were held with landholders and Aboriginal communities to develop water infrastructure projects. Insights from these engagement activities were gathered from a range of stakeholders, including water users, Aboriginal groups, environmental groups, water sector agencies, interested groups, and members of the general community.

Open data framework

The department is dedicated to increasing transparency in the water sector by making our data, models, information products and publications open to the public. We believe all water data in NSW, gathered from both public and private sources, should be considered ‘open data’ by default.

Supporting the open data framework are information guidelines setting out principles for how we will implement ‘open by default’ data. Implementation of the open data framework and release of data is managed by a Publication, Disclosure and Open Data Committee, ensuring that data is released appropriately. There is a target to achieve a quarterly growth rate of 5% in the number of newly released open datasets. Performance against the target is monitored by the committee and reviewed annually.

A range of data sets and systems are available on the website including environmental data, modelling, and monitoring information.

Environmental data is made available through the Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data (SEED) portal.  The department’s Water Group currently has over 100 datasets available through SEED, with the most recent being the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme - Historical Assets. For many years, this database of historical files contains records such as flood heights, surveys and detailed engineering drawings. These documents provide insights about how often flood occur and their impacts on transport and property assets. This dataset will help inform planning and policy decisions for land and water management in the Hunter Valley region.

Also, now available through SEED are:

• the regional water strategy spatial data sets that show new climate data and modelling to provide a more accurate picture of extreme climate events
• a new river condition Index that includes information that monitors the environmental health of rivers and river flows to provide assurance of the effectiveness of water management policies.

Simplifying processes

The NSW Government recognises the importance of simplifying processes to ensure that customer interactions with the government are hassle free. This includes simplifying the process to obtain or manage water licences and approvals by bringing these functions together in one place. Centralising this process reduces the number of involved agencies, making the system more accessible and user-friendly. Ongoing reforms are underway to improve the water licencing system, ensuring streamlined and efficient processes for both customers and the water sector.

The department has a customer enquiries line that operates using a ‘no wrong door’ principle. The team manage multi-faceted issues requiring coordination across agencies, making it easier for customers to access information.

Review of metering rules

To build community confidence in how the state’s water is managed, the NSW Government is reviewing the non-urban metering framework to ensure robustness and to check progress made.

The framework commenced in 2018 to measure and meter non-urban water take. Over the last 5 years, it has been rolled out in different stages.

While there is overwhelming support for non-urban metering, reporting data indicated a slow uptake of metering, a need to remove barriers to implementation and the need to strengthen compliance. More than 90% of large water users with surface water pumps larger than 500 mm have accurate, tamper-proof meters in place. However, thousands of smaller water users do not. There are valid reasons why metering obligations are not being met by some water users. Record breaking floods, market barriers around access to certified meter installers and validators, supply chain issues created by the pandemic and prescriptive requirements, have created obstacles.

In response to the slow progress, the department, in collaboration with WaterNSW and the Natural Resources Access Regulator, has brought forward a review of the framework to identify what is and isn’t working and how the rules can be improved to make it quicker and easier for water users to comply. Consultation on proposed options that remove barriers to compliance has been announced with consultation activities occurring in 2023.

Increasing recreation opportunities at Prospect Reservoir

To support a resilient liveable Western Sydney, the NSW Government has committed to opening Prospect Reservoir for recreational activities. The department has developed a discussion paper outlining recreational possibilities and consultation on options was undertaken. Feedback from the consultation will inform the development of a feasibility study.

Contribution to water strategies

Better engagement, transitioning to an open data model, simplifying processes, reviewing metering rules and providing opportunities to have your say on Prospect Reservoir contribute to implementing the following water strategies:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • Improve engagement, collaboration and understanding
  • Increase the amount of and quality of publicly available information about water in NSW
  • Enhance modelling capabilities and make more data and models openly available
• NSW Groundwater Strategy
  • Expand and target our groundwater data collection
  • Better share and integrate groundwater information
• Regional water strategies
  • Improve public access to climate information and water availability forecasts
  • Publish guidance on accessing groundwater for high priority needs
• Greater Sydney Water Strategy
  • Enhance community confidence through engagement transparency

Recognition of First Nations/Aboriginal people’s rights and values and increasing access to and ownership of water for cultural and economic purposes.

Healthy waterways are critical to the culture and wellbeing of Aboriginal communities across NSW. Water provides food, kinship, connection, creation, stories, song lines and healing.

To better recognise Aboriginal water rights and interests, the NSW Government is improving water management practices to give greater access to and ownership of water to communities.

What we have delivered in 2022-2023

Aboriginal Water Program

During the reporting period, a dedicated Aboriginal Water Program was established to facilitate culturally appropriate and safe engagement. Run by Aboriginal staff located around NSW, the Aboriginal Water Program is committed to working with First Nations/Aboriginal people to:

• strengthen First Nations/Aboriginal people’s role in water planning and management
• improve ownership of and access to water
• improve shared water knowledge
• maintain and preserve water-related cultural sites and landscapes.

Together with Aboriginal stakeholders, an Aboriginal Water Strategy is being developed. This builds on previous consultation with Aboriginal communities, Traditional Owners and representative organisations including NSW Aboriginal peak bodies. From 2018 – 2023, over 75 workshops were held, and the following 6 principles were adopted:

• Culture - acknowledge the central role of water in Aboriginal culture, and its inter-dependencies with economic, social and environmental outcomes.
• Health and well-being - acknowledge that water (quality and quantity) is critical to sustaining healthy communities, which underpins the ability to live on and care for Country.
• Caring for Country - improve and enable access to Country to maintain healthy waterways.
• Meaningful engagement - embed culturally appropriate Aboriginal engagement, participation, partnerships and communication processes into water management and government decision-making.
• Economic benefit - seek opportunities to use existing water and access to additional water to generate employment and business ventures.
• Shared cultural and environmental benefits - seek opportunities to use water allocated for environmental and consumptive purposes to deliver Aboriginal outcomes and benefits where synergies exist.

Timeline adjustments have been made for the development of the Aboriginal Water Strategy with an extended consultation timeline that provides more time for engagement with Aboriginal communities. This revised approach will ensure that engagement with Aboriginal communities is meaningful.

Regional Aboriginal Water Committees

The department has established Regional Aboriginal Water Committees as a platform for Aboriginal people to continue to contribute to water management and planning. An expression of interest process was undertaken, and 12 committees have been established across the state with the first meetings scheduled for November and December 2023. The committees will operate until 30 June 2025 and include women, men, Elders and young people.

Water conference for Aboriginal women

In May 2023, the department held the first water conference for Aboriginal women in NSW. Over 115 Aboriginal women came together to share their perspectives on water management and their shared desire for women to have a voice in decision-making to ensure cultural and heritage issues are addressed, and to improve water management practices for everyone.

Cultural Watering Plans project

The department has committed to increasing Aboriginal ownership of and access to water for cultural and economic purposes. As part of this, a Cultural Watering Plans project is being piloted to help identify opportunities for greater Aboriginal access and ownership of water and to provide cultural information and data to improve water policy.

Working collaboratively with Aboriginal people and community groups, each Cultural Watering Plan will outline the community’s cultural watering objectives, ways in which the water could be accessed, and any obstacles to achieving the desired outcomes.

Over the reporting period, an expression of interest process for participation in the Cultural Water Plan project was undertaken. Many applications were received, of which 6 were selected.  Development of all 6 Cultural Watering Plans has commenced. The pilot plans are located across the state covering coastal, northern, southern, and western regions, across a range of water sources including regulated and unregulated surface water and groundwater.

Development of these plans is driven by local communities. When complete, the plans will be owned by local communities and the department will receive summary reports to understand issues and opportunities. A review will be undertaken when all pilot project plans and reports are received to assess how similar approaches can be adopted across the state.

Aboriginal Communities Water and Sewer Program

The NSW Government supports the capital upgrade and operation, maintenance and monitoring of water and sewerage systems in 63 eligible Aboriginal communities through the Aboriginal Communities Water and Sewer Program. The program aims to improve the health and wellbeing of residents by providing safe and effective drinking water and sewerage services.

Recently completed projects undertaken with our stakeholders include:

• A $3 million upgrade to Namatjira’s raw water supply ensuring the community has a reliable water supply for all outdoor purposes. In collaboration with Dareton Local Aboriginal Land Council, Wentworth Shire Council, NSW Public Works and contractors, the upgrades have increased the community’s water capacity by over 18%.
  
  The new water supply tanks have been painted to celebrate the region’s cultural connection to land and water. The tank murals depict a vision of Maura/Barkindji people fishing and living along the banks of the Murray River.
• A new river intake was constructed for Jubullum to provide cleaner and safer drinking water for the Aboriginal community. The upgrade replaced a failing infiltration system with an ultrafiltration plant. This project won the infrastructure project innovation award at the NSW Australian Water Association Awards in March 2023.
• A new chlorine dosing system at Summervale in collaboration with Summervale Local Aboriginal Land Council, Walcha Sire Council and contractors. The project boosted residual chlorine levels ensuring the community receives quality water that meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

These projects add to the previously completed upgrades of the treatment plant and Clarence riverbank stabilisation work at Malabugilmah.

Contribution to water strategies

The Aboriginal Water program and progressive roll out of activities contribute to implementing the following water strategies:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • Strengthen the role of First Nations/Aboriginal People in water planning and management
  • Develop a state-wide Aboriginal water strategy
  • Provide Aboriginal ownership of and access to water for cultural and economic purposes
  • Work with First Nations/Aboriginal People to improved shared water knowledge
  • Work with First Nations/Aboriginal People to maintain and preserve water-related cultural sites and landscapes
• NSW Groundwater Strategy
  • Support Aboriginal people’s rights, values and uses of groundwater
• Regional water strategies
  • Foster ongoing collaboration with local Aboriginal people in water management
  • Support place-based initiatives to deliver cultural outcomes for Aboriginal people
• Greater Sydney Water Strategy
  • Recognise and protect Aboriginal water rights, interests and access to water

An enhanced, state-wide focus on sustainable groundwater management

What we delivered in 2022-2023

NSW Groundwater Strategy

Our knowledge of groundwater and the ecosystems it supports continues to grow and our notion of achieving sustainability is evolving. Community perceptions of what constitutes fair access to groundwater are also evolving, particularly concerning access for Aboriginal people. However, our groundwater resources are vulnerable. A more variable climate is affecting rainfall patterns, decreasing surface water flows and reducing groundwater recharge and availability. These risks are heightened as population growth, land use practices and increased demand from communities and industries place a strain on our groundwater resources. Apparent gaps in our knowledge and data about the resource and its quality make managing these risks challenging.

Without better management, ecosystems, regional towns and cities, communities and valuable economic activities that depend on groundwater are threatened.

To respond to these challenges, the NSW Groundwater Strategy has been developed through a comprehensive, evidence-based whole of government process, supported by stakeholder engagement and technical input of an external advisory panel over a 3-year period.

The draft NSW Groundwater Strategy was exhibited in July 2022 for a 6-week consultation window. Over 529 stakeholders participated in engagement sessions, with 59 formals submissions received.

The final NSW Groundwater Strategy was released in December 2022. An Implementation Plan has been developed and will be published by the end of 2023.

Implementation of the Strategy has progressed, with two companion guides that provide relevant background information on our groundwater resources and how we manage them released:

• Guide to Groundwater Resources in NSW
• Guide to Groundwater Management in NSW

The NSW Groundwater Strategy relates to place-based strategies. Currently there are 44 actions listed in finalised regional water strategies that specifically identify regional groundwater issues.  This will increase as more regional water strategies are finalised.

Reducing groundwater risks

Groundwater is at risk from climate change, and it is projected that groundwater recharge will decrease by 15% on average across the state by 2060. Future groundwater management responses will continue to be informed by evidence-based processes and the department has recently partnered with the CSIRO to study potential climate change impacts on groundwater. The research project used new climate and river flow simulations to provide an overall picture of how climate change could impact groundwater resources in NSW. This work has been published by the CSIRO in Impact of climate change on groundwater in NSW.

A review of the NSW groundwater policy framework has commenced and will consider policy approaches to groundwater dependent ecosystems, groundwater quantities, levels and quality, and groundwater interactions with land and surface water. Review outcomes will inform further actions.

Building on evidence-based processes, a further review is also underway on sustainable groundwater extraction limits to examine our approach to setting long term average annual extraction limits in priority areas, and to consider resource sustainability and socio-economic factors in a changing climate.

Research program

Groundwater is at risk from climate change, and it is projected that groundwater recharge will decrease by 15% on average across the state by 2060. Future groundwater management responses will continue to be informed by evidence-based processes and the department has recently partnered with the CSIRO to study potential climate change impacts on groundwater. The research project used new climate and river flow simulations to provide an overall picture of how climate change could impact groundwater resources in NSW. This work has been published by the CSIRO in Impact of climate change on groundwater in NSW.

A review of the NSW groundwater policy framework has commenced and will consider policy approaches to groundwater dependent ecosystems, groundwater quantities, levels and quality, and groundwater interactions with land and surface water. Review outcomes will inform further actions.

Building on evidence-based processes, a further review is also underway on sustainable groundwater extraction limits to examine our approach to setting long term average annual extraction limits in priority areas, and to consider resource sustainability and socio-economic factors in a changing climate.

Research program

Throughout 2024, the department will collaborate with our research partners to establish long-term science programs. These programs aim to continually improve our knowledge of groundwater dependent ecosystems, groundwater quality and flows, impacts of climate change on groundwater resources and to identify potential sources of potable water in some regions. Improved understanding of groundwater processes will inform future groundwater management decisions.

We are also partnering with OneBasin CRC to progress water banking (also called Managed Aquifer Recharge) in NSW.

Contribution to water strategies

Development and progressive implementation of the NSW Groundwater Strategy contributes to implementing the following water strategies:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • An enhanced state-wide focus on sustainable groundwater management
  • Pilot new technologies to increase our water options
  • Collaborate to harness new research, innovation and technology
• NSW Groundwater Strategy
  • All strategy outcomes
• Regional water strategies
  • Publish guidance on accessing groundwater for high priority needs
  • Protect priority aquatic and groundwater dependent ecosystems
  • Protect ecosystems that depend on groundwater
  • Protect ecosystems that depend on coastal groundwater
  • Establish sustainable extraction limits for surface water and groundwater sources
  • Characterise and plan for climate change and land use impacts on coastal groundwater sources
  • Support towns to understand if groundwater can provide a reliable water supply when surface water availability is limited
  • Use groundwater more efficiently, innovatively and sustainability

Improving river flows across connected water catchments

Water catchments are connected, and the Barwon-Darling River receives most of its inflows from upstream catchments. This means water in any region is influenced by the climate, water management and extraction in those catchments. An adequate level of connectivity, or water flowing between river valleys is critical to sharing water fairly and supporting the environmental health across NSW.

The flows in the Barwon-Darling sustain the communities, environments and industries along the length of the river from Mungindi in the North to Wentworth in the South and into the Murray River.

What we delivered in 2022-2023

Progressing actions to improve water flowing across connected systems, or improving connectivity is a priority action being progressed from the strategies.

This work is prioritised in the Western Regional Water Strategy and within Northern Basin regional water strategies. Key actions in this reporting period have included:

• publishing draft critical dry triggers that could guide restrictions on access for low priority licence holders in the northern basin and Barwon-Darling at critical times
• setting up an independent Connectivity Expert Panel to review the analysis of flow targets undertaken by the department to improve connectivity and to provide an independent assessment of its adequacy. The advice from the panel will be used to inform water sharing plan changes. Panel members represent natural resources and First Nations organisations as well as science, education, economics, and engineering groups and include:
  • Ms Amy Dula - Chair
    Director of Programs, Natural Resources Commission
  • Professor Phil Duncan
    First Nations representative, Galambany Professional Fellow, Acting CEO, EPIC CRC
  • Professor Fran Sheldon
    Head of School, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University
  • Dr Mark Southwell
    Principal River Scientist, 2rog Consulting
  • Dr Phil Townsend
    Senior Economic Analyst
  • Mr Cameron Smith
    Principal Water Engineer, Cleah Consulting.

The scope of the panel’s review is outlined in the Connectivity Expert Panel Terms of Reference.

NSW has sought agreement from other Basin States to change the management of Menindee Lakes by recognising releases of operational water down the Great Darling Anabranch. This has the potential to save water in lakes Wetherell and Pamamaroo and provide for a higher drought reserve.

While changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement are yet to be formally considered, a trial release of operational water from Lake Cawndilla to the Murray River via the Great Darling Anabranch has commenced.  The trial will monitor impacts on active storage levels of Menindee Lakes.

Contribution to water strategies

Improving system connectivity contributes to the following strategy outcomes:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • Work with communities to better understand and improve system connectivity
• Regional water strategies
  • Investigate ways to improve connectivity with the Barwon-Darling River on a multi-valley scale
  • Publish critical dry condition triggers and seek to implement them in water sharing plans
  • Finalise the review of the North-West Flow Plan to identify the best way to support algal suppression and fish migration
  • Further investigate ways to provide replenishment flows from the northern tributaries during dry periods
  • Progress investigations into changing the management of Menindee Lakes

Reducing urban water security risks and supporting resilient cities and towns

Addressing water security risks across the state is critical and the NSW Government is working in partnership with local water utilities to strategically manage risks and to develop and implement long term solutions to ensure resilient cities and towns.

What we delivered in 2022-2023

Town Water Risk Reduction program

Phase 1 of the Town Water Risk Reduction Program was completed. This phase of the program included activities to improve the regulatory and support framework for local water utilities, improve access to skills and training, encourage greater collaboration, facilitate greater state government support, and investigate alternative funding models.

An evaluation of phase 1 was undertaken and a report containing program insights and key findings to inform a future work program has been released. Key achievements of phase 1 include the following:

• Development of a new Regulatory and Assurance Framework in close collaboration and partnership between the department and more than 200 people from various organisation across the water sector. The co-design process used to develop the new framework helped build sector support and paved the way for ongoing collaboration. This framework empowers and enables local water utilities to address risks and strategic challenges effectively and efficiently, based on locally developed plans and management systems.
• Partnerships with Training Services NSW, as well as with the training and local water utility sectors, to address challenges related to the supply and demand of skills in the sector. The goal is to increase the skills of existing operators and attract more operators into the water industry. In December 2022, the department released the Water operations skills and training action plan to address a critical shortage of trained water operators in NSW and establish a sustainable water operations training market in the state.  Under this action plan, the NSW Government has made funding available for up to 900 fee-free training places in water operations. Between July 2022 and June 2023, the program funded:
  • 48 traineeships
  • 231 Certificate III qualifications
  • 9 Diploma qualifications
  • 20 part-qualifications for specific skillsets

Accredited training delivery has previously been limited by a lack of registered training organisations. Partnerships across government have resulted in the doubling of the number of registered training organisations able to deliver fee-free water operations training from 2 to 4. This has made expert water trainers from South Australia and Queensland available to NSW water utilities. This change will see previously unavailable Certificate IV training delivered in 2023 - 2024, with 60 students ready to be enrolled in this program.

• Development of information and resources for councillors to raise awareness of the risks in water management.

Phase 2 of Town Water Risk Reduction Program is underway with several initiatives to address issues such as safety and security of water delivery and treatment systems in NSW. The government has invested $10 million over 2 years to accelerate local water utilities response to the findings of the Dams Safety NSW audits and respond to raw water quality risks, by leveraging the capabilities of WaterNSW.

The Advanced Operational Support Program is underway and is providing expert in-plant support to 12 local water utilities with high-risk treatment plants in regional NSW. With a primary purpose to reduce drinking water quality risks through optimising plant operations and enhanced monitoring, the delivery of safe drinking water will be assured. The department is delivering the program in partnership with NSW Health and local water utilities and will run until 2024. Program outcomes will inform future opportunities for the government to support and collaborate with the sector to reduce risks.

Other programs include:

• continuation of the skills and training program including water careers days to prompt interest in a water sector career as an additional way of tackling skills shortages
• reviewing gaps in current regulations and minimum performance standards for local water utilities and consider policy, regulatory and legislative changes to address identified gaps
• supporting incident and emergency planning and response
• reviewing funding arrangements for local water utilities – this includes an independent review by the Productivity Commission of water and sewerage charges for local water utilities across the state and their capacity to deliver services that are sustainable and financially viable.

The NSW Government is also funding additional measures to reduce town water security risks including:

• improvements to critical water supply infrastructure for Wilcannia, Eurobodalla and Cobar, as part of a total $222.4 million commitment with the Australian Government
• $6.0 million for planning to improve water security for Tamworth and identify practical solutions
• $13.6 million over 4 years to improve the quality of drinking water by funding the replacement of critical infrastructure at the water treatment plant in Yass
• $35.4 million to deliver long-term water planning initiatives that will help support the resilience of regional communities to climate change and improve our understanding of how to better integrate climate change into decision making.

Safe and Secure Water program

Key risks to regional water safety and security is also being addressed through the Safe and Secure Water Program. The $1 billion co-funded regional infrastructure program provides funding for water security, water quality and environmental infrastructure solutions across the state ensuring that regional towns have sustainable water and wastewater services.

During the reporting period, 31 Safe and Secure Water Program funding deeds were executed for projects addressing environmental, water security and water quality issues. Funding toward 5 construction projects was confirmed alongside 26 projects delivering strategic planning and project development up to a construction-ready phase. Some of the projects funded for construction include:

• the upgrade and augmentation of Dunedoo and Coolah Sewage Treatment Plants at Warrumbungle Shire Council to address environmental risks
• the Willawarrin and Sherwood Water Treatment Works at Kempsey Shire Council to address water quality risks
• the Parkes Peak Hill Water Supply Scheme at Parkes Shire Council to address water security risks.

During the reporting period, 27 projects funded by the Safe and Secure Water Program were completed, including 3 construction projects. Other projects include scoping studies and business cases bringing projects closer to construction ready. Completed projects have provided:

• new Infrastructure to support water security in Cobar and Manilla
• new infrastructure in Bundarra and Bombala to improve sewerage services, public health and environment.

At the completion of the reporting period, the Safe and Secure Water Program has achieved 59 completed projects with 121 projects in delivery and a further 93 potential projects being negotiated.

Responsible and efficient investment of funds

Changes in approach to strategy delivery is needed to respond to emerging issues and new information and to ensure responsible and efficient investment of public funds for water resource management.  The government’s recent decisions not to proceed with dam infrastructure projects, based on findings from economic and environmental investigations, demonstrate the effectiveness of evidence-based decision making and the value of robust infrastructure development processes.

Contribution to water strategies

Reducing urban water security risk and supporting resilient cities contribute to implementing the following water strategies:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • Work collaboratively with local water utilities to reduce risks to town water supplies
  • Deliver a new Town Water Risk Reduction Program
  • Continue to deliver the Safe and Secure Water Program
  • Continue to work with suppliers of drinking water to effectively manage drinking water quality and safety
• NSW Groundwater Strategy
  • Through sustainable groundwater use, water resilience for urban populations is improved
• Regional water strategies
  • Improve water security for towns, industries and communities
• Greater Sydney Water Strategy
  • Our water systems are sustainable for the long term and resilient to extreme events
• Lower Hunter Water Security Plan
  • Improving the resilience of the system

Water efficiency and leakage reduction - doing more with less

Efficient use of water contributes to the sustainability of long-term supplies, builds resilience to drought and improves the readiness to respond to future extremes in weather.  Conservation practices are important to manage ongoing water needs of NSW communities, and investments in water system efficiency and conservation maximise the value of water resources.

What we have delivered in 2022-2023

Water Efficiency Program

Addressing network leakage and water loss is a key priority of the Water Efficiency Program and over the reporting period the department awarded grants to 13 local water utilities to implement approaches to reduce non-revenue water in regional NSW. The projects are co-funded with local water utilities and focus on capacity building, water pressure management leakage control, metering and non-revenue water management.

Through the active leak detection program, the department has engaged specialist leak detectors to work closely with local water utilities across regional NSW. To date, over 50 council areas have participated with more than 11,850 km of local water utility water mains surveyed for leaks. Around 65% of detected water main leaks have been repaired by local water utilities saving 7550 ML of water.

Addressing water loss

The department has partnered with the Central NSW Joint Organisation and its member councils to reduce non-revenue water loss and increase water loss maturity. As well as delivering key projects that focus on pressure management, bulk metering and leak reduction, the partnership is co-designing a regional water loss management approach that can be replicated elsewhere. The approach will combine local expertise with expert know-how to sustainably reduce water supply network leakage.

Building capacity in schools to improve water efficiency

In collaboration with the Department of Education, work is underway to raise the profile of water efficiency of government buildings through a co-designed trial to address the gap in water efficiency knowledge and education. During the reporting year, phase 1 of the trial was delivered. This phase included the upskilling of environmental Educators to deliver water efficiency education in 30 schools across the state.

Phase 2 of the program is currently underway for 2023 - 2024 with the aim of embedding the program into the Department of Education’s sustainability initiatives to achieve a long-term commitment to water efficiency education. Ten Environmental Education Centres will collaborate and refine the program to mentor teachers and students across 40 schools to build the necessary skills in water audits, developing water saving actions plans and initiating water saving projects within their schools.

In November 2022, the department also published a suite of primary school water efficiency teaching resources including lesson plans, presentations and worksheets. A printed sample of these resources, along with educational games for the class, was sent to 1300 regional primary schools.

NABERS

The department is also partnering with the National Australian Build Environment Rating System (NABERS) to help customers measure and manage their water. During the reporting period, the Water Starters Initiative delivered first-time water ratings to 70 buildings, with an expected combined annual water saving of 41.5 ML/y. As part of this initiative, NABERS developed a free online training course to assist assessors, and anyone with an interest in sustainability, to learn practical techniques for improving their ability to influence and motivate others to implement sustainability initiatives such as water efficiency.

Water use research

The department is funding research to better understand the water use and water saving potential of evaporative air coolers. Highlighted as a key opportunity during the last drought, local water utilities raised this as a key water efficiency knowledge gap. Preliminary analysis suggests that evaporative air coolers can use up to 100 litres of water per hour.

The research findings will be applicable across much of the state and valuable to reduce water use during the critical peak, hot, dry seasons and during droughts.

The project plan was finalised in 2022 - 2023 in partnership with Institute for Sustainable Futures – University of Technology Sydney, Taggle – Smart meter providers, and Tamworth Regional Council.

NSW Water Efficiency Framework

Strategic projects undertaken during the reporting period include publishing the NSW Water Efficiency Framework and self-assessment tool in October 2022. The framework is a best-practice guide to developing and delivering water efficiency. It provides clear steps to design, deliver and review water efficiency programs. Government, water utilities, councils and large businesses will find guidance on implementing water efficiency initiatives no matter what their level of maturity.

Contribution to water strategies

Improving water efficiency and reducing water leakage contribute to implementing the following water strategies:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • A new state-wide Water Efficiency Framework and Program
• Regional water strategies
  • Do more with less
  • Ensure water resource development and use is sustainable and equitable
  • Sustainable water resources for new and exiting water users
• Greater Sydney Water Strategy actions
  • A concentrated focus on water conservation and efficiency
• Lower Hunter Water Security Plan
  • Making the most of what we’ve got

Preparing for drought and managing risk

What we delivered in 2022-2023

Climate data and modelling

Our understanding of drought risk has improved, and new climate data and modelling developed for long-term water strategies provides a better understanding of the current and future water risks to communities across the state, including drought. NSW is expected to become hotter and drier, with increases in extreme weather events (both flood and drought).

Understanding climatic risks enables us to work effectively across the water sector to manage water supplies and ensure that operations planning, and water management decisions properly consider likely future conditions.

In collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries, work has progressed to apply our understanding of current climate trends and their implications for key agricultural industries. Through the Department of Primary Industries’ Climate Vulnerability Assessment project, we are gaining important insights into how the climate suitability of dryland and irrigated crops may change due to climate change. This insight is crucial for guiding future adaptation research and investment. The project is also looking at how climate change is likely to influence the suitability of related pests and disease, as well as how the nature of droughts may shift under climate change.

Climate data and modelling also guides planning in our cities. We know that our major cities are highly dependent on rainfall and our recent experiences in drought has demonstrated how quickly water storages can drop. Droughts will likely become more severe and frequent, and diversifying water sources to include rainfall independent supplies is critical to increasing water security and resilience.

We also understand that the impacts of drought are far-reaching, and the department is working closely with water authorities and across government to manage impacts in a structured and proactive way.

Drought preparedness activities

Over the reporting period, several drought preparedness activities were undertaken including measures to provide operational guidance on management and allocation of water during extreme events including:

• Development of both the Greater Sydney Drought Response Plan which sets out how Sydney Water, WaterNSW and the NSW Government will work together to respond to droughts in the future. The plan covering both demand and supply side measures, focus on a staged drought response to enhance preparedness by defining actions and decisions that are required pre drought, as drought conditions develop and intensify, and during recovery.
• Update of the Extreme Events Policy and Incident Response Guidelines to inform water users and regional communities on what measures can be expected during drought and periods of severe water shortage, and water quality events. The policy establishes the principles by which all water resources within the NSW Murray-Darling Basin will be managed during an extreme event. The policy framework establishes a staged approach and provides a range of measures for water managers to deploy as conditions deteriorate.

Additional resilience measures underway over the reporting period include the progression of the Belmont Desalination Plant in the Lower Hunter to supply up to 30 million litres of water per day.  The desalination plant is an important rainfall-independent supply of water that will diversify the region’s water supply and extend the time for reaching critical water storage levels in severe drought.  The desalination plant is due for completion in 2027.

Investigations have also commenced to double the capacity of Sydney’s Desalination Plant to bolster drought resilience for a growing population. Currently 85% of Sydney’s water supply is rainfall dependent and this project will provide a non-rain dependent alternative. Investigations will be finalised in 2024.

The Lostock Dam to Glennies Creek Pipeline Project is also making great progress after the contract was awarded to develop the concept design and engineering for the project as part of the final business case.

The project involves connecting Lostock Dam and Glennies Creek Dam via a two-way bulk water transfer pipeline (including pumping stations and other associated infrastructure) to enhance water security and reliability within the existing system and support improved drought resilience and water connectivity in the Upper Hunter region. It also involves a proposed Paterson River pumping station near the township of Paterson and the design of an associated water treatment plant and pipeline to connect to the Hunter Water supply network in the Maitland region.

The business case for the new two-way pipeline will be completed in 2024, enabling the NSW Government to determine whether this is the most effective way to lock-in water security for the Hunter.

Grants for drought initiatives

Through the Safe and Secure Water Program, the NSW Government provides drought grants to fund critical drought initiatives. The grants program provides support to local water utilities for technical and financial assistance in managing depleted or at-risk supplies, including help to implement emergency capital works or to cart water to towns, depending on the situation.  Funded projects have helped to maintain town water supplies and access to potable water in several major regional centres, as well as provide increased drought security for future dry periods.

There are currently 26 active projects that provide funds for infrastructure responses to emergency issues and drought preparedness. This includes $20 million for the Bathurst Stormwater Harvesting and Winburndale Pipeline projects addressing water security issues for the area.

Water security projects funded by the Drought Program and the Safe and Secure Water Program include:

• $30 million for the Groundwater Infrastructure at Dubbo project
• $5 million for the Bourke Drought Emergency Measures project
• $2 million to Bourke for the Additional Bore Capacity and Pipeline project
• $2.6 million to Murrurundi for Parkville, Wingen, Blandford and Murrurundi Water Security project
• $4 million to Tenterfield for the Groundwater Sourcing and Treatment Options Project
• $2.2 million for the Improve Bore Water Supply at Coonabarabran project.

The NSW Government and local government, in partnership with the Australian Government’s National Water Grid Authority, is delivering new pump stations and pipelines to help improve town water reliability during dry times.

Funding is also provided to identified regions across the state to develop drought resilience plans that can be implemented by local councils and their communities. The pilot program, co-funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the NSW Government, is administered by the Department of Regional NSW and aims to empower regional communities to plan and act early to reduce and respond to drought risks.

Over the reporting period, Tamworth Regional Council and Walcha Council participated in the pilot, working closely with their communities to develop strong local networks and deliver an actionable plan. The model used by the councils involved 3 main inputs including research and analysis of drought impacts, community and stakeholder engagement and a triple bottom-line assessment of drought mitigation, adaptation and response needs ensuring that actions are specific to their region.

Final drought resilience plans will be published on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website. An additional 9 regional groups made up of 24 local government areas are participating in Round 1 and have commenced resilience planning work. The program’s second round will include support for more drought-impacted regions to deliver their own regionally-tailored plans.

Water conservation

We have continued to undertake water conservation activities and public communications campaigns focusing on finding and fixing leaks, replacing appliances with more water efficient options and providing information on waterwise behaviours.

The department is working in collaboration with Sydney Water to develop a Water Conservation Plan. A review of ‘BASIX water’ – the water component of the NSW building sustainability Index (BASIX) is also underway and a summary of the key findings from the review will be available on our website by the end of the year.

Contribution to water strategies

Drought resilience and preparedness contribute to implementing the following water strategies:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • Improve drought planning, preparation and resilience
  • New actions to improve and apply our understanding of climate variability and change
  • Review water allocation and water sharing in response to new climate information
  • Increase resilience to changes in climate and water availability in Greater Sydney and the Lower Hunter
• Regional water strategies
  • Provide clarity and certainty for water users, landholders and environmental water managers during drought operations
  • Identify important areas that serve as refuge during severe drought
  • Plan for climate change and land use impacts on coastal groundwater sources
  • Provide better information about water access, availability and climate risks
  • Improve public access to climate information and water availability forecasts
  • Support farm climate adaptation and water efficiency measures
  • Make the region more resilient to climate variability
  • Prepare for future climatic extremes
• Greater Sydney Water Strategy actions
  • Our water systems are sustainable for the long term and resilient to extreme events
• Lower Hunter Water Security Plan
  • Improving the resilience of the system

Taking a holistic approach to land and water management

What we delivered in 2022-2023

Land management practices impact riverine health and a decline in catchment and river health threatens ecosystems and negatively impacts on Aboriginal people’s connection to Country as well as water quality for towns and communities. The responsibility for managing water quality is shared between state and local agencies and the department is working collaboratively with our land and water sector partners on catchment scale decision-making, planning and project delivery.

NSW water quality and river flow objectives

With an increased focus on water quality a review is underway to update the NSW water quality and river flow objectives. The objectives are the agreed environmental values for fresh and estuarine surface waters outlining community values for rivers, creeks, estuaries and lakes. They outline community value in terms of water quality and include indicators to help assess if current conditions support those values.

During the reporting period, the Environment and Heritage Group collected data on water quality and environmental values to update the objectives. Consultation on the draft objectives took place between July and September 2022 with over 900 individual comments received. The draft objectives are being revised ahead of wider public consultation in 2024.

Working collaboratively to restore river health

Over the reporting period, the new government released the Far North Coast Regional Water Strategy reaffirming commitment to evidence-based catchment scale planning. For the Far North Coast region, priority is given to riverbank condition and river health and the department is working with other levels of government to ensure holistic governance. A Northern Rivers Watershed Initiative has been established through the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation of Councils to improve water security and catchment health. The initiative will ensure a joined-up approach to catchment management modelling and natural flood mitigation to improve riverine health and reduce flood risk.

The department will also continue to work with Local Land Services to implement the Riverbank Rehabilitation Project at critical sites across the state and provide guidance to landholders on best practice management to support the regeneration and protection of waterways and estuaries.

A further initiative to minimise the impacts of livestock on riparian areas to improve water quality and native fish habitat is the NSW Fencing Northern Basin Riverbanks Program. The program led by Local Land Services, provided landholders along priority reaches in the northern Murray-Darling basin with funding assistance to undertaken on-ground projects. In total, landholders signed up to construct 260 kilometres of fencing to protect around 13,000 hectares of riparian land and undertake around 2,000 hectares of weed and erosion control works.

Monitoring and managing fish deaths

An independent review into the 2023 fish deaths in the Darling-Baaka River at Menindee was undertaken by the Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer (OCSE). The review found that the event was symptomatic of broader degradation of ecosystem health and consequential long-term pressure on the Darling-Baaka River system.

In response to the OCSE review, the NSW Government has released a document detailing action it will undertake to reduce the risk of more fish deaths %asset_summary_588438%.

Regular community updates on river operations, fish health and water quality are provided on the Menindee webpage.

Contribution to water strategies

Holistic land and water management contribute to implementing the following water strategies:

• NSW Water Strategy
  • Take landscape scale action to improve river and catchment health
  • Better integrate land use planning and water management
• Regional water strategies
  • Support whole-of-catchment governance
  • Undertake broadscale, long-term catchment management and better integrating land use and water management
  • Rehabilitate regionally significant riparian, wetland and floodplain reaches
• NSW Groundwater Strategy
  • Better integrate groundwater management with other land and water management processes
• Greater Sydney Water Strategy actions
  • Maintain and improve ecosystem health

Sustainable coastal waterways in a changing climate.

The NSW Government is committed to improving water management in coastal catchments in the context of a growing population and climate change. Sustainable water management in coastal catchments is being reviewed to ensure that water extraction limits can sustain ecological processes and maximise economic and community benefits for the future.

What we delivered in 2022-2023

Coastal harvestable rights

Harvestable rights allow landholders to capture and store a set volume of rainfall run-off on their properties without a need for a licence or certain approvals. It is important to understand what a sustainable level of water capture in coastal catchments is to ensure effective water management and drought resilience.

Over the reporting period the NSW Government made changes to coastal harvestable rights limits by reducing the amount of rainfall run-off that can be harvested to 10 percent. Further work to improve our understanding of water requirements will be undertaken to ensure we make robust water management decisions on sustainable extraction limits. This change in approach will ensure we have the most up to date information to guide the allocation of water in coastal catchments.

Work will progress in the coming years to review sustainable extraction limits in coastal catchments that include assessing climate change risks, so the needs of the environment and the community can be met into the future.

Sustainable extraction in coastal catchments

Understanding sustainable levels of water extraction in coastal catchments will inform robust water management decisions and the NSW Government is committed to setting sustainable extraction levels.

This work is being prioritised on a risk basis, and where data is already available. It will guide maximising water resource development within ecological limits, ensure equitable sharing, provide greater certainty of water access over time, and identify if and where additional water access could be made available.

Importantly, doing this work now also allows us to consider the needs of water users, Aboriginal communities, businesses, and the environment – making sure that water is shared equitably and in a way that doesn’t disadvantage others.

The Natural Resources Commission (NRC) has been calling for a review of coastal extraction limits and the introduction of numeric and sustainable extraction limits in coastal catchments since 2018. Sustainable levels of extraction have also been recommended in coastal regional water strategies.

Determining a method for establishing sustainable extraction is complex work and legacy data is poor.

Work is underway and during the reporting year phase 1 was completed. This included a review of methods implemented by other jurisdictions to limit extraction and a stocktake of existing environmental water requirements in coastal NSW.

A second phase of work is in progress and involves developing detailed project plans (including integrating new coastal modelling and climate data), governance (including interagency working group), a community engagement program and setting up a dedicated team to undertake the work.

Over the coming years a preferred method for determining sustainable extraction levels will be identified along with an implementation program to roll out across coastal areas.

Seven coastal unregulated, regulated and groundwater water sharing plans were replaced and commenced 1 July 2023, including Bega and Brogo, Murrah-Wallaga, Towamba , Greater Metropolitan Region Unregulated Rivers, Greater Metropolitan Region Groundwater, Tweed and Richmond.

In the Bega area, the water sharing plan now specifically maximises the opportunities for licensed on-farm storage, extraction from high flows and trading while maintaining the requirement to protect the water source and its dependent ecosystems in accordance with the Water Management Act 2000.  This inclusion follows community consultation regarding previous limitations for on-farm water storage.

Support following flooding

The NSW Government is also supporting local councils in the Northern Rivers following recent flooding events and is working closely with the NSW Reconstruction Authority to fix flood impacted water and sewerage infrastructure across the region.

Contribution to water strategies

Ensuring sustainable coastal waterways contribute to implementing the following water strategies:

• Regional water strategies
  • Identify environmental water needs to support healthy coastal waterways
  • Establish sustainable extraction limits for surface water and groundwater sources
  • Reduce the take of low flows
  • Address catchment-based impacts of increased harvestable rights limits

Border Rivers is in northern inland NSW, located at the headwaters of the Murray Darling Basin it relies heavily on surface water for town water supply, cultural and environmental needs, agriculture and industry.

The final Border Rivers Regional Water Strategy and supporting implementation plan were released in November 2022 following significant consultation.

As part of the NSW Fencing Northern Basin Riverbanks Program, initiatives were implemented to reduce the negative effects of livestock on riverbanks. These projects aimed to enhance water quality and create a better habitat for native fish.

• Read more about what we are doing to promote healthy rivers above

Floodplain harvesting and water sharing licence rules for the Border Rivers region commenced during the reporting period as part of the floodplain management program.

In most valleys in northern NSW, revised modelling shows that floodplain harvesting has grown above the legal limits described in NSW water sharing plans and the Australian Government’s Basin Plan. This growth in floodplain harvesting is reducing the volume of water that remains on floodplains and re-enters rivers and creeks.

The new regulatory framework will manage floodplain harvesting through licencing and water supply works approvals and has been informed by hydrological modelling. The modelling is independently peer reviewed and modelling information is available on our Floodplain management webpages for transparency. In addition to the Border Rivers region, the department has completed the process for reviewing and determining floodplain harvesting access licences in the Gwydir, Barwon-Darling, Macquarie and Namoi floodplains.

To complement the floodplain harvesting regulations, the department is partnering with the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR), WaterNSW and other NSW agencies to bring unapproved flood works that impede natural flows into compliance. This compliance program contributes to a healthier natural environment and was initiated in the Border Rivers region in 2022.

Improving connecting flows across the region also contributes to improving connectivity on a multi-valley scale.

• Read more about what we are doing to support system connectivity above

We are also collaborating with the NSW Geological Survey to understand if groundwater can provide a reliable water supply for Tenterfield when surface water availability is limited. This involves investigating rocks in the New England Fold Belt by analysing patterns of fracturing and comparing against previously drilled water bores. In future years, we will expand this analysis using field and airborne information.

• Read more about what we are doing to enhance our focus on sustainable groundwater management above

The Far North Coast region stretches from Evans Head in the south to the Queensland border. Water plays a significant role in the landscape, which features many interconnected rivers, creeks, groundwater aquifers, wetlands and estuaries.

During the reporting period, a second round of public consultation on the draft Far North Coast Regional Water Strategy was undertaken focussing on additional economic and environmental analyses. We also consulted with local councils to progress the modelling of strategy options.

The Far North Coast Regional Water Strategy was finalised in July 2023 and implementation has begun. The NSW Government is supporting councils to investigate options that could increase water supply in the region including bores, a new dam, desalination and new storage options. The 2023 – 2024 Budget announcement includes $2 million for feasibility work.

Flooding is a major concern in the region and in early 2022, parts of the region experienced devastating floods. Important river recovery work is underway and joint commonwealth and state funding targeting riparian land that was damaged by flooding has been announced.

• Read more about what we are doing to support healthy rivers and what we are doing to manage coastal waterways above

The Water Sharing Plan for Richmond River Area Unregulated, Regulated and Alluvial Water Sources 2023 was finalised during the reporting period and is now in operation.

The department continues to work with Sydney Water and WaterNSW to implement the Greater Sydney Water Strategy with the implementation program on track. Key achievements and progress over the reporting period included:

• developing a 5-year water conservation and efficiency plan for Greater Sydney. The plan, developed by the department and Sydney Water, aligns with targets in the Greater Sydney Water Strategy
• amending operating rules for Sydney Desalination Plant to support flexible fulltime operation and to optimise contributions to water supply security and drought management
• completing the purified recycled water demonstration plant and discovery centre by Sydney Water
• updating the Greater Sydney Drought Response Plan and making it publicly available on the department’s website
• progressing various initiatives including integrated water cycle management, water efficiency and recycled water to inform broader outcomes of the Greater Sydney Water Strategy.

In the next year, the department's focus on implementation will include opening the purified recycled water demonstration plant and discovery centre to the public. We’ll also continue our efforts in integrated water cycle management, water quality and river health monitoring. Additionally, we’ll be moving forward with plans to expand the Sydney Desalination Plant to produce an additional 15% more water.

• Read more about what we are doing to prepare for drought and manage risk above

Long-term planning and investment to ensure resilient and reliable water and wastewater services for Sydney in response to population growth and climate risk will be a continued focus to support the outcomes of the Greater Sydney Water Strategy.

The Gwydir region is bounded by the Border Rivers region to the north, the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range to the east, the Namoi catchment to the south and the Barwon River to the west.

The final Gwydir Regional Water Strategy and supporting implementation plan were released in November 2022 following significant consultation.

We are currently assessing how climate changes might affect crops in the Gwydir Valley. During the reporting period, we conducted assessments to understand the climate vulnerability of various farming sectors, including across broadacre cropping, extensive livestock, horticulture and viticulture. These assessments will help industries understand how they may need to adjust under a more variable climate.

Implementation of the multi-year Northern Basin Connectivity Project has commenced. This project will investigate ways to improve connectivity across the Barwon-Darling on a multi-valley scale and is a major project for all northern Basin regional water strategies. Floodplain access licences have been determined in the Gwydir region and work has commenced through the Improving Floodplains Connections Program to remove unapproved floodplain structures.

• Read more about what we are doing to support system connectivity above

We are collaborating with Uralla Shire Council to determine if groundwater can serve as a backup supply to meet the town's long-term water needs. We drilled several test bores and decided to convert 2 of them into production bores and we’ll be testing them next year to ensure they can provide enough high-quality water.

Progress is also underway to support town water security for Warialda with Gwydir Shire Council applying for a higher security water licence.

• Read more about what we are doing to enhance our focus on sustainable groundwater management above

The Greater Hunter region covers the area to the east of the Great Dividing Range in NSW, from the Manning River catchment in the north to the Mangrove Creek and Mooney Mooney Creek systems in the south. It contains several water sources that are interconnected by water pipelines that allow water to be transferred between valleys.

In the Hunter region, water management activities are guided by the Greater Hunter Regional Water Strategy. This strategy identifies infrastructure and policy-based solutions. Additionally, the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan outlines a set of actions for management of water supply and demand for the lower Hunter.

Implementation of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan is on track. Work has progressed for 2 major water supply augmentations - planning for a desalination plant at Belmont (led by Hunter Water) and development of a final business case for the Lostock Dam to Glennies Creek Dam pipeline project and Paterson River offtake (Hunter Water and the department’s Water Group).

Progress has been made in integrated water cycle management, water efficiency and recycled water. This work will help shape the broader implementation of initiatives aimed at achieving the goals of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan.

In the next year, Hunter Water is set to complete the Water Conservation Plan as well as the Drought Response Plan. Key milestones for the Belmont desalination plant and Lostock to Glennies Creek pipeline scheme are on schedule to be achieved by the end of 2023/24.

• Read more about what we are doing to prepare for drought and manage risk above

The Lachlan region lies west of the Great Dividing Range in central NSW.

The draft Lachlan Regional Water Strategy has been developed and considers water supply, reliability and security in flood and drought. Progressive feedback on the strategy has been sought through 2 public exhibition periods from 2020 to 2022. Due to extensive and ongoing flooding in the region, the strategy finalisation was delayed. To ensure stakeholders and community could provide feedback on proposed actions, a further round of consultation occurred between September and November 2023.

During the reporting year, the NSW Government decided not to progress with the Wyangala Dam Wall Raising project. This decision followed findings from the business case and an extensive independent review by Infrastructure NSW. The NSW Government acknowledges that the Lachlan region requires a multi-faceted approach to protect against uncertainties and balance the competing needs of our environment, towns, and the economy. The draft Lachlan Regional Water Strategy has put forward a shortlist of proposed actions to help support the region in relation to water security and flood mitigation. This is to make sure the region is well-prepared to manage a more variable climate over the coming decades. This includes planning to deliver new infrastructure across the Central Tablelands to boast drought resilience.

• Read more about what we are doing to reduce urban water security risk and support resilient cities and towns above

During the reporting period, we toured the Lachlan and surrounding regions to build understanding of floodplain impacts.  The Floodplain management listening project called for photos, drone footage and historical data from previous flooding events to underpin floodplain management plans.  Consultations have been undertaken across towns in the region.

The draft Lachlan Regional Water Strategy proposes to enhance the existing support provided by various State agencies to local councils with respect to flood risk management planning, through ongoing direct support and improved coordination.

The water sharing plan for the Lachlan region is due for replacement and the department announced that it has provided a 2-year timeframe extension to allow more time to collect detailed data, complete analysis and hear from stakeholders.

The Macquarie-Castlereagh region, in central west NSW, stretches from the western fringes of the Great Dividing Range to the floodplains of the Barwon River.

During the reporting period a second round of public consultation on the draft Macquarie-Castlereagh Regional Water Strategy was undertaken focussing on region specific challenges and shortlisted actions. The final Macquarie-Castlereagh Regional Water Strategy and supporting implementation plan were released in October 2023.

Work is underway to develop common principles and guidance around the ‘enduring supply approach’. This will support water security assessments and more comprehensive drought planning. Guidance is anticipated to cover evaluating minimum community needs, assessing current supply reliability, analysing supply options, and modelling storage depletion in long and severe drought. The information will provide guidance for local water utilities.

• Read more about what we are doing to prepare for drought and manage risk above

Projects to mitigate the impacts to native fish communities is progressing with funding provided through the NSW Diversion Screening Strategy. Fish diversion screens were designed and fitted to 7 pumps managed by the Trangie Nevertire Irrigation Scheme. Established as a trial, the fish screens demonstrated immediate benefits by minimising the number of fish and other debris such as sticks, leaves and gumnuts that get caught in irrigation pumps.

Funding for an additional 30 sites in the Macquarie Valley is being prioritised.

The NSW Murray and Murrumbidgee regions are interconnected. The NSW Murray region runs along the southern border of NSW from the Snowy River valley on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range to the far west. While the Murrumbidgee region lies west of the Great Dividing Range in southern NSW.  Water management arrangements across both catchments are uniquely linked and a significant work program is being delivered.

The draft Murray Regional Water Strategy and draft Murrumbidgee Regional Water Strategy and longlist of options were released in April 2022 for a first round of public consultation. Feedback provided during the consultation period informed key water challenges for the regions and helped progress the further development of both regional water strategies.

During the reporting period, a discussion paper on revised regional challenges for the NSW Murray and Murrumbidgee regions and a baseline hydrological modelling results report were also released. Planned consultation on both documents was deferred due to the impacts of extensive flooding in the region. These consultations are expected to be held in 2024.

There will be another round of public exhibition for the regional water strategies in 2024. the strategies, along with the implementation plans, are expected to be finalised in 2024.

Planning is underway for the remake of 2 water sharing plans in the NSW Murray region including the Murray and Lower Murray Unregulated Water Sharing Plans. The replacement of the Murrumbidgee Water Sharing Plan has been extended by an additional 2 years to allow more time to collect and analyse information and to hear from stakeholders.

Across the region, important projects related to Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism and water recovery projects have progressed during the reporting period. Many infrastructure projects are now in the detailed design and preconstruction phases. The projects aim to improve water supply by updating ageing infrastructure, investing in new local infrastructure to improve connectivity of waterways, and undertaking infrastructure projects that improve the delivery of environmental water in the Yanga and Murray National Parks.

During the reporting period, a scoping report that proposes to replace existing weirs with water regulators in the Billabong Creek was made available on the NSW Government’s Major Project website. Meanwhile the tender processes for select work packages at Tuppal Creek have progressed.

The Reconnecting River Country Program expanded its engagement with stakeholders during the reporting year with the establishment of reference groups. The program focusses on removing physical barriers that impact the delivery of water for the environment in the southern-connected Murray Darling Basin. Following an expression of interest process, 3 private landholder reference groups were established to provide feedback and advice to the government on the programs proposed flow options.

The Namoi region is in northern NSW, where the landscape changes from hills and mountains in the east to flat alluvial plains to the west.

The final Namoi Regional Water Strategy and supporting implementation plan were released in June 2023.

Water security actions are being progressed including planning for long-term water supply augmentation for Tamworth as its population grows. The Australian Government and the NSW Government have committed $6 million to progress investigations for Tamworth’s advanced water treatment plant. Additionally, the NSW Government has committed $3 million in funding to progress a strategic business case for infrastructure options such as pipelines. The department is also progressing options to consider temporary changes to Chaffey Reserve to support Tamworth’s water security in the next drought.

• Read more about what we are doing to reduce urban water security risk and support resilient cities and towns above

The Water Sharing Plan for the Peel Regulation River Water Source was updated after the previous Water Sharing Plan for the area expired. The revised plan responds to accreditation requirements and has been made simpler to improve clarity.

Throughout the reporting period, Tamworth Regional and Walcha councils developed drought resilience plans that set out regional-level actions to respond to drought risks. The plans include research and analysis of drought impacts, community and stakeholder engagement, and an assessment of drought mitigation, adaptation and response needs.

• Read more about what we are doing to prepare for drought and manage risk above

Funding was provided to Liverpool Plains Shire Council and Narrabri Shire Council for water efficiency projects. Liverpool Plains Shire Council received funding for the bulk meter replacement and installation pilot project and have commissioned 5 bulk meters throughout their network.  Co-funded by the department and the council, the meters will track bulk water enabling accurate identification and measurement.

Narrabri Shire Council received co-funding for leakage reduction infrastructure projects for active leak control, meter installation and customer meter accuracy testing.

The North Coast region is located between the New England Tablelands and coast - from Port Macquarie in the south to Yamba in the north. Its varied landscape transitions from rugged gorges and undulating foothills and floodplains to lagoons, wetlands, estuaries and beaches.

The North Coast Regional Water Strategy and supporting documents were finalised in November 2022 and implementation has begun. Strategy actions focus on delivering on the water rights of Aboriginal people, enhancing town and on-farm water efficiency, using water more effectively, restoring aquatic and floodplain habitats, and developing alternative water supplies.

With severe dry season warnings, water security is being prioritised. The NSW Government has provided funding for drought resilient strategy actions. This includes $1 million to construct a new well and 11 monitoring bores in Bellingen, and $240,000 to kickstart planning for upgrades to the Bellingen and Dorrigo water treatment plants.

• Read more about what we are doing to prepare for drought and manage risk above

Other initiatives in the strategy are being progressed in collaboration with local councils and stakeholders to improve water management in coastal catchments.

• Read more about what we are doing to manage coastal waterways above

The South Coast region is a coastal strip stretching from Jervis Bay in the north to the border with Victoria and west to the Southern Tablelands.

The South Coast Regional Water Strategy and supporting documents were finalised in November 2022 and implementation has begun.

Water security actions are being progressed including ways we can cut red tape for new licensed on-farm storages, to streamline approvals, as well as working with landholders to safeguard water supply in the lower Tuross which is vulnerable to saltwater intrusion.

Public consultation on the water sharing plans in the Bega, Murrah and Towamba catchment areas was undertaken during the reporting period.  Following stakeholder feedback, the new plans aim to provide for increased opportunities for licensed on-farm storage, extraction during high flows, and increased trading opportunities while still providing for environmental safeguards and the long-term protection of water sources.

• Read more about what we are doing to manage coastal waterways above

The Western region covers about one-third of the state, spanning from the Queensland border in the north to Wentworth in the south, and the South Australian border to the west. The far west is vast, flat, and low-lying, with extreme weather conditions and dispersed populations.

The final Western Regional Water Strategy and supporting implementation plan was released in December 2022.

The data, initiatives and relationships established as part of developing the Western Regional Water Strategy is helping the department progress broader connectivity initiatives.

Through the Northern Basin Connectivity Project, analysis of data has commenced to inform potential changes to water sharing plan flow targets to improve flows across the connected catchments of the northern NSW Murray Darling Basin to help meet critical downstream human and environmental needs.

Connectivity actions are guided by an independent Connectivity Expert Panel which has been established to provide independent expert advice on rule changes.

• Read more about what we are doing to support system connectivity above

Following the fish death event along the Darling-Baaka River near Menindee in 2023, the NSW Government is implementing actions to lower the risk of more fish deaths. The Chief Scientist’s report on the mass fish deaths in the Darling-Baaka River and the NSW Government response outlines the actions to be taken. Actions underway include:

• Installing remote sensing technology including a real-time telemetered buoy at Menindee to monitor water quality issues in weir pools to identify deteriorating conditions and the risk of fish deaths. By the end of 2023, 2 more would have been installed. .
• Continuing to adjust water releases from Lake Pamamaroo to keep an oxygenated flow through the Weir 32 weir pool to support native fish, this includes pulsed releases which are proving effective in maintaining water quality.
• Undertaking fish surveys to estimate the volume (biomass or equivalent metric) of fish in the Menindee town weir pool to inform fish relocation and carp removal.
• Undertaking temporary fish passage investigations and progressing planning for permanent fish passages with a $2 million contribution from the Australian Government.
• Trialling cutting edge technology to put oxygen into the water.
• Creating a role to employ staff based in the Far West to better connect with the community on water quality and water management issues and incorporate local knowledge.

Emergency response protocols will be developed for when a water quality emergency is triggered. The Environmental Protections Authority (EPA) will develop an interim response plan by the end of 2023.