2023-24 Annual progress report on water strategy implementation

Integrated water strategies program

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.

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 strategic planning and comprises 3 state-wide strategies: NSW Water Strategy, NSW Groundwater Strategy, and NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy, together with 13 regional and 2 metropolitan strategies.

As an integrated program, state-wide and place-based strategies align to address high-level priorities with regional solutions and provide a platform for NSW water agencies to work together, with a focus to ensure decisions are based on the latest climate science and data.

This means strategy actions can be planned and coordinated to efficiently use government and community resources to achieve 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.

To-date, implementation plans have been published to provide transparency and accountability for how we will deliver on strategy actions. As the strategy program continues to review and improve its implementation approaches, we will refine our methods of delivery to adapt to new challenges and opportunities while still being committed to the objectives and priorities that have been identified. This means that some actions may not progress in the timeframes originally proposed as new information has become available or early scoping has identified a different way to address an issue that was not previously considered due to changing circumstances or priorities.

Building continuous improvement and adaptive management into our implementation approaches ensures that we are being efficient and effective in achieving outcomes.

As we continue to have full visibility of the breadth of issues and options for every region in the state, we can consider how we target effort to address priority issues in the most effective way. This will better stage and sequence projects to respond to emerging issues and risks.

The current NSW Water Strategy 2022-2024 Implementation Plan came to completion at the end of this reporting period, and an evaluation has been completed to ensure we are improving the way we undertake statewide strategic planning.

Implementation of the NSW Water Strategy will continue over the 2024-25 reporting period, with a sustained focus on delivering the outcomes of the strategy. Planning for the next stage of NSW Water Strategy implementation will continue alongside the development of the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation (WAMC) pricing proposal to IPART for the 2025-30 period.

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 – co-designed with Aboriginal/First Nations 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 have delivered in 2023-2024

Water stakeholder and community engagement policy

Engagement undertaken by the department's Water Group is informed by its Water stakeholder engagement and communication 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’s priorities and the department’s corporate goals; being 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 March 2024, the department launched a new ‘Have your say’ section on its website to make it easier for people to find out about consultations and information events.

The ‘Have your say’ page is updated regularly with opportunities to hear from and meet with our stakeholders.  The Water Engagement Roundup webinar has continued to run on a monthly basis, 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, in April 2024, a web-based water library was released that provides a range of resources about water management in NSW. This includes records of past reports, newsletters, presentations, webinars, videos, and fact sheets covering a range of topics in water management. It also features an annual list of all engagement activities, as part of our commitment to improving engagement communication and transparency.

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, supported by our Open Data Framework. Water data continues to be available through the Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data (SEED) portal, with an ongoing program of work underway to prioritise and publish our datasets. The department’s Water Group now has over 198 water datasets available through the SEED Water Hub.

Datasets of note released during the reporting period include:

• Continued release of paleo-stochastic and stochastic datasets that informed the development of the Greater Sydney Water Strategy and regional water strategies
• The NSW River Styles Spatial Dataset released in July 2023 that covers over 220,000 km of rivers and records information for each discrete section of river using the River Styles Framework

In October 2023, the Water Hub Forum also launched a Community of Practice to support collaboration and sharing of insights and ideas for water data.

Independent Water Advisory Panel 

In July 2023, the Minister for Water approved the re-appointment of the Independent Water Advisory Panel (the Panel), with an expanded terms of reference beyond metropolitan areas to have a state-wide focus, recognising the unique challenges and opportunities of water service provision in regional NSW.

The expertise of the Panel strengthens the department’s work to support water strategy implementation through insights and advice on policy and operational matters to improve the resilience and reliability of town water supply. The use of independent panels to provide impartial scientific and technical advice supports robust and considered policy development and improves community confidence in decisions made by government.

Other independent Panels have also been established, including the Connectivity Expert Panel, and Wilcannia Weir Independent Review Panel.

Independent evaluation of the NSW Water Strategy 

A process evaluation was undertaken between April-May 2024 to assess if the NSW Water Strategy is being implemented as intended and to identify opportunities for improvement.

The process evaluation explored aspects of implementation including:

• implementation approach
• impact
• collaboration and relationships
• governance
• monitoring and reporting

Data was collected through a desktop review of documents, stakeholder surveys and in-depth interviews, and case studies to identify comparable approaches to strategy implementation by other jurisdictions. Independent evaluations ensure that our strategy program is achieving intended outcomes in an efficient and effective way. Improvement opportunities will be integrated into the development and delivery of future implementation planning and delivery approaches.

Review of metering rules

To build community confidence in how the state’s water is managed, the NSW Government has been reviewing the non-urban metering framework to ensure robustness and to accelerate implementation. 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 percent 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 did not at the time of this report. There were valid reasons why metering obligations were not being met by some water users. These include:

• record breaking floods
• market barriers around access to certified meter installers and validators
• supply chain issues
• prescriptive requirements.

In collaboration with WaterNSW and the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR), the department 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.

The review was completed in August 2023 with the publication of a review recommendation report.

Contribution to water strategies

Community confidence and trust is being improved through implementation of water strategies. This includes better engagement, transitioning to an open data model, simplifying processes and reviewing metering rules. Examples within specific 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 Aboriginal peoples’ 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 2023-2024

Aboriginal Water Program

During the reporting period, the Aboriginal Water Program (AWP) continued to progress the NSW Water Strategy Priority 2, to “Recognise Aboriginal rights and values and increase access to and ownership of water for cultural and economic purposes” by collaborating and facilitating culturally appropriate and safe engagement with stakeholders across NSW.

An Aboriginal Director was appointed to lead a team of Aboriginal staff in the AWP. The program team is committed to working with Aboriginal peoples to:

• strengthen Aboriginal peoples’ 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.

Regional Aboriginal Water Committees

After an expression of interest process during July and August 2023, 12 Regional Aboriginal Water Committees (RAWCs) were formed.

They cover the areas of Border Rivers, Gwydir, Far North Coast, Hunter, Namoi, North Coast, Macquarie/Castlereagh, North-western, Lachlan, Murray, Murrumbidgee, and South Coast/Sydney.

RAWC members were onboarded in November 2023 and first meetings were held from February 2024.

The purpose of the RAWCs is to:

• empower Aboriginal communities to participate in water programs
• build new relationships across water
• ensure Aboriginal peoples’ rights and values are considered in water planning, programs and projects
• enable exchange of water knowledge in regional communities
• assist the department staff to identify key stakeholders from a local Aboriginal community to be engaged and consulted where required
• share appropriate knowledge to benefit water management
• work in partnership with the department and other water agencies to contribute to water policy review and development.

NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy and Action Plan

Drafting of the NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy and Action Plan started in late 2023.

From January to June 2024, the draft objectives and actions were reviewed by peak Aboriginal organisations and the RAWCs. This was to check they reflected the voices we heard from past engagements during 2018 to 2023.

Preparations for a public exhibition on the draft strategy also commenced in early 2024. Aboriginal peoples, communities, organisations and those with a deep interest in access to water for cultural and economic purposes for Aboriginal peoples were invited to have their say. Face-to-face workshops, online workshops and a submission form were promoted through media, stakeholder engagement and communications channels including paid advertising which started from June 2024.

Aboriginal Communities Water and Sewer Program

The NSW Government supports the operation, maintenance and upgrade of water and sewerage services at over 60 eligible Aboriginal communities through the Aboriginal Communities Water and Sewer Program (ACWSP). The program aims to improve the health and wellbeing of residents by providing safe and effective drinking water and sewerage services of an equivalent standard to a nearby non-Aboriginal community.

Highlights include:

• The program won the Australian Water Association (AWA) National Regional Infrastructure Project Innovation Award in 2023 for its integrated water supply upgrade and community engagement project at Jubullum community.
• Launch of the Water Champion Initiative in 2024. Through this initiative, ACWSP engages a community member on targeted communities to facilitate community feedback and insights about water and sewerage service.

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

Groundwater is a vital and strategic natural resource for NSW, critical for towns and villages, agriculture and other industries. Without groundwater, many towns and villages would run out of water during drought. Groundwater provides vital refuges in river pools for animals and vegetation and many of our wetlands and a wide range of other ecosystems also rely on groundwater.

What we have delivered in 2023-2024

Groundwater risks

Since the release of the NSW Groundwater Strategy in 2022, implementation has focussed on foundational work to improve our knowledge of groundwater resources and review and update our approaches to groundwater management. A review of the NSW Groundwater Policy Framework was completed that considered policy approaches to groundwater dependent ecosystems, groundwater quantities, levels and quality, and groundwater interactions with land and surface water. Improving access to groundwater for town water supplies has also been a focus, recognising the importance of groundwater, we continue to explore diversification of water sources to improve water security and resilience for cities and towns.

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 system connectivity across the Northern Basin

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 have delivered in 2023-2024

In August 2023, the Minister for Water convened the Independent Connectivity Expert Panel to review the analyses the department has undertaken and to provide an independent assessment of its adequacy. The Independent Connectivity Expert Panel released its interim report in April 2024.

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 have delivered in 2023-2024

Town Water Risk Reduction Program

The Town Water Risk Reduction Program’s (TWRRP) aim is to support Local Water Utilities (LWUs) to reduce risks in town water systems for regional NSW communities.

TWRRP Phase 1 was successfully completed in December 2022 and TWRRP Phase 2 was subsequently announced.

TWRRP Phase 2 outcomes include:

• Skills and Training - Address critical skills shortages and boost water operations training and employment opportunities in regional NSW for school leavers, Aboriginal and First Nations students and existing water operators, in partnership with Training Services NSW.
• Advanced Operational Support - Deliver a new program in partnership with NSW Health to help optimise the performance of high-risk water treatment infrastructure so that more regional towns have reliable, resilient, and safe water services.
• Enable local water utilities to accelerate responses to audits to improve local dam safety and address water quality risks, leveraging the systems and expertise of WaterNSW.

TWRRP Phase 2 results for the 2023-24 financial year include:

• Advanced Operational Support program has completed 8 technical specifications documents of online monitoring upgrades and 10 Operational Improvement Opportunities plans for high risk LWU’s.
• Skills and Training have progressed all 9 actions under the skills and training action plan and delivered a successful water industry showcase day that resulted in 4 new trainees.
• The NSW Productivity Commission is progressing its consultation and analysis on alternative funding models for LWU’s.
• 8 councils have requested 5 – yearly dam risk reviews to be conducted by WaterNSW.
• 15 high priority councils

The program has been well-received by the sector and there is a desire to see it expanded. TWRRP was described as ‘the most welcome program in the last few years’ and ‘very beneficial’ in submissions received through the Joint Select Committee Parliamentary Inquiry – Protecting Local Water utilities form Privatisation – published in March 2024.

In May 2024, Phase 2 of the Town Water Risk Reduction Program (TWRRP) was approved for extension until June 2025.

Responsible and efficient investment of funds to support Local Water Utilities

In November 2023, the Minister for Water requested a review by the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission (PEC) to identify sustainable, efficient, and equitable approaches for reforming state funding for Local Water Utilities (LWUs).

The PEC report was released in mid-2024 and contained a set of recommendations for the NSW Government to consider. The findings and recommendations were informed by 42 public submissions, and a series of roundtables and targeted consultations on the PEC’s Issue Paper.

The PEC emphasises the need to improve the targeting and predictability of NSW Government funding for LWUs, compared to the current capital/project-focused funding model. This is to ensure the sector adequately addresses the current challenges in delivering safe, secure, and affordable services, now and in the future.

The PEC recommends significant changes to how LWUs are funded and associated improvements to regulation and strategic planning. It recommends:

• Developing a LWU Funding Policy, including a Community Service Obligation (CSO) funding mechanism to support delivery of basic levels of service for LWUs that cannot recover the cost of efficiently delivering such services from revenue that can be reasonably raised from its customers (based on their ability to pay), developers or other own source revenue.
• Making improvements to regulatory standards and strategic planning requirements and coordination to facilitate the setting of efficient basic levels of service and the identification of efficient solutions to deliver them, resulting in efficient and well-targeted funding support.
• Establishing a Sector Priorities Plan, setting out the NSW Government’s funding priorities for the LWU sector over the short to medium-term (2 to 4 years) based on well-coordinated strategic planning across the LWUs, regional and state level.
• Reviewing delivery and structural models for water supply and wastewater service provision in western NSW.
• Reviewing support schemes to address customer affordability, hardship and financial emergencies, including current pensioner rebates in regional and metropolitan areas, with a view to establish targeted schemes that are fully funded by government.

The NSW Government will develop and publish a response to the PEC’s recommendations, informed by consultation with the  LWU sector.

Contribution to 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 2023-2024

Securing new funding

The program secured an additional $35.3 million to continue water efficiency programs across NSW. This includes:

• $24 million in funding over 5 years from the NSW Climate Change Fund to deliver water efficiency projects in Greater Sydney
• $11.3 million to extend leakage reduction projects and new water efficiency projects in regional areas over the next two years.

This funding injection will kickstart water efficiency initiatives that aim to save 5 billion litres of water in regional NSW over the next two years, improving long term water security and contributing towards the Greater Sydney Water Strategy’s water-saving target of 38 billion litres by 2030.

Addressing water loss

Over the reporting period, the department awarded grants to 10 priority 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.

The department partnered with the Central NSW Joint Organisation (CNSWJO) and its member councils to reduce non-revenue water loss and increase water loss maturity. Initiatives were delivered across pressure management, bulk metering, leak detection, training and data improvement.

In June 2024, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) – Water, CNSWJO and the 10 CNSWJO member councils completed the co-design pilot, helping to inform future steps in the delivery of an adaptable and replicable approach, that can be delivered more widely across regional NSW. Frontier Economics recently undertook an economic analysis of the pilot Regional Water Loss Management Hub which demonstrated excellent value for money (BCR 9.98).

The department has been working with GTS Australasia to deliver the Non-Revenue Water Data Trial. 11 LWUs participated in the trial which aimed to provide a digital dashboard to help manage NRW and network data, to leverage that data for active leakage detection and monitoring, and to simplify annual reporting processes.

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 60 councils have been engaged, 17,500 km of water mains have been surveyed and 3,000 leaks have been found. By the end of June 2024, we reached 7,130 ML/ year of water savings.

Building capacity in schools to improve water efficiency

The education system plays an instrumental role in developing informed, responsible and active citizens with strong foundations of knowledge, capabilities, and values for water.

Over the reporting period, we continued the collaboration with the Department of Education to raise the profile of water efficiency through a school incursion program. The co-designed education initiative addresses the gap in water efficiency knowledge and skills in our schools.

15 out of 24 of the Department of Education’s Environmental Education Centres provided support, tools and face to face delivery to 38 schools across the state. They also held 3-day workshops in schools in Wilcannia and delivered a series of workshops to students from remote NSW as part of the Department of Education’s Sustainability Outreach conference in Broken Hill.

As a result of the initiative, participating teachers reported significant increases in confidence in delivering water efficiency education in the classroom, 80 percent of students know how to conduct a water audit and 94 percent of schools identified strategies to improve water efficiency on campus.

Encouraging non-residential water efficiency through National Australian Built Environment Rating System

The department partnered with the National Australian Built 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 about 25 buildings, with an expected combined annual water saving of 14.8 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.

Investing in water use research

Evaporative air cooling was highlighted as a key water saving opportunity during last drought and the local water utilities raised this as a key water efficiency knowledge gap. The department funded two research projects to better understand the water use and water saving potential of evaporative air coolers (EACs).

Preliminary analysis suggests that residential evaporative air coolers can use up to 100 litres of water per hour. In 2023-24, 100 homeowners in Tamworth were onboarded for our residential EAC study. In partnership with Tamworth Regional Council, Taggle – smart meter providers and the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) - University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), meters and loggers were installed on the EACs. Water use data was collected over the 23-24 summer and was analysed by ISF. The coolers will be serviced and we’ll collect more data over the 24-25 summer period. We’re on track to conclude the following year after further analysis.

To know more about evaporative cooling water use at industrial, commercial and residential scales, we have partnered with researchers at University of New South Wales (UNSW). During the reporting period, data was collected from several resources like the Global Water Institute, LWUs, industry representatives, EAC manufacturers and research and market reports. The data analysis is underway, and the project is on track to conclude next year.

Contribution to 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 existing 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

Drought is a fundamental part of the Australian landscape and NSW has experienced 2 record breaking droughts in the first 2 decades of this century. During the 2017 - 2020 drought, many water catchments had the lowest rainfall and driest conditions in 120 years.

What we have delivered in 2023-2024

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 guide 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

Warm and dry conditions experienced in Winter and Spring of 2023 highlighted the need for drought planning and preparedness to be embedded into decision making and activated as a priority when conditions deteriorate.  Several drought preparedness activities were undertaken including measures to provide operational guidance on management and allocation of water during extreme events including:

• Release of the Lower Hunter Drought Response Plan which set out how Hunter Water and the NSW Government will work together to respond to droughts in the future. The plan covers 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 intensity, and during recovery.
• Improved accountability and clearer processes for regional drought management with a drought protocol being finalised, covering interagency roles and responsibilities for key activities in the ‘prepare’, ‘respond’ and ‘recover’ phases of drought.
• Additional decision support for operation of drought contingency measures in regulated water sources with coordinated Water Group and interagency feedback provided on WaterNSW’s drought contingency plans.
• Clear and consistent reporting of drought conditions via a finalised conditions reporting template
• Development of a single page summarising the drought information from various maps into a single message. This will include a drought dashboard or indicator (pending funding) that will support the summary on the page and be included in the media pack.
• Development of communication packs to ensure cohesive messaging across all channels for drought management for water sector agencies.

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.

Healthy waterways need holistic land and water management systems and decision-making processes.

What we have delivered in 2023-2024

The health of our surface water and groundwater systems is directly affected by the land use and land management practices in surrounding catchments. 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.

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.

Regular community updates on river operations, fish health and water quality are provided on our website.

Taking action on water quality

Water quality management in NSW has been too complex for too long. Over 30 agencies and organisations have a role to play, and over 50 legislative instruments contribute to the water quality management framework in NSW.

Good governance that is enduring, state-wide and focused on water quality outcomes is needed to help improve the health and connectivity of our rivers, floodplains and aquifer ecosystems.

To improve water quality governance, the NSW Government published the Water Quality Governance Roadmap. The delivery of the roadmap completes action 3.5.1 of the NSW Water Strategy Implementation Plan 2022-2024.

The roadmap takes the complexities of shared management across NSW into account as it lays out what is being done to better integrate the management of land, water and other natural resources for improved water quality outcomes.

The Water Quality Governance Roadmap responds to several issues raised in the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist’s independent review into the 2023 Menindee fish deaths and is highlighted in the NSW Government’s response to the review.

A key initiative highlighted in the roadmap is the new Integrated Catchment Management Work Program. The NSW Government is investing $1.7 million over 2 years in the work program to develop a reform package for a new, enhanced integrated catchment management framework and governance model. Key reform options will be confirmed in 2026.

The roadmap also paves the way for process improvements in water quality data management, fostering greater transparency and visibility. It focuses on key initiatives seeking to better coordinate monitoring efforts, ensuring that management decisions are both appropriate and timely.

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 have delivered in 2023-2024

Landholders in NSW’s coastal-draining catchments can capture and store up to 10 percent of rainfall runoff from their landholding as harvestable rights water.

Over the reporting period, the NSW Government made changes to the harvestable rights limit for coastal-draining catchments by returning the harvestable rights limit to 10 percent from 30 percent in September 2023. This change was made so work could progress on determining whether the current levels of water extraction in coastal catchments is sustainable in the long term.

It is important this work on sustainable extraction progresses before any increase to harvestable rights is considered. If the coastal harvestable rights limit was left at 30 percent, there could be unquantified negative impacts on other water users and downstream environments.

Work is progressing to review sustainable extraction 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. The NSW Government is committed to the sustainable management of water in our coastal systems.

This work will build a framework to guide and inform the sustainable management of extraction in NSW coastal unregulated and alluvial, and regulated water sharing plan areas. It will guide maximising water resource development within ecological limits, ensure equitable sharing and provide greater certainty of water access over time. If the project identifies water sources where sustainable levels of extraction are higher than current entitlement, then the department will consider options to best manage water access in these areas.

This work allows us to consider the needs of water users, Aboriginal communities, businesses, and the environment – using best available information.

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.

Work is underway, and during the reporting year phase 2 was completed. Determining a method for establishing sustainable extraction is complex work and legacy data is poor; project planning phase was a crucial step. Governance arrangements are now in place and include an Interagency Working Group for ongoing collaboration. A ranking process was applied to prioritise catchments. Phase 3 and 4 will be progressed going forward to identify potential method options, based on the review of methods completed in phase 1 and from this work, the Richmond and the Clyde sharing plan areas have been selected to pilot the method (Phase 4).

Replacement of coastal water sharing plans

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 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.

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 and 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.

Over the reporting period the department has commenced a number of actions listed in the published strategy including:

1. Improved strategic planning for local water utilities. The department has set up a strategic planning team to help local water utilities improve their long-term planning and outcomes. This is an ongoing piece of work that will be rolled out across the state where needed.
2. Improved connectivity: the department has been leading a number of programs to improve inter and intravalley connectivity across the northern basin. This includes progressing the following.
   1. Staged remediation of 10 priority barriers in the Border Rivers region
   2. New models for floodplain return flows currently underway
   3. Implement floodplain harvesting water access licences and works approvals in as well as the Improving Floodplain Connections Program in the Border Rivers.
3. Improve drought preparation and response: the department has updated extreme events guidelines in the Border Rivers region to help improve drought response.

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 included $2 million for feasibility work.

Harvestable rights allow landholders to capture and store a set volume of rainfall run-off on their properties without requiring a licence or approval.
Landholders in NSW’s coastal-draining catchments can capture and store up to 10 percent of rainfall runoff from their landholding as harvestable rights water.

Over the reporting period, the NSW Government made changes to the harvestable rights limit for coastal-draining catchments by returning the harvestable rights limit to 10 percent from 30 percent in September 2023. This change was made so work could progress on determining whether the current levels of water extraction in coastal catchments is sustainable in the long term.

It is important this work on sustainable extraction progresses before any increase to harvestable rights is considered. If the coastal harvestable rights limit was left at 30 percent, there could be unquantified negative impacts on other water users and downstream environments.

The Greater Sydney Water Strategy (GSWS) has now completed the second year of its three-year implementation plan. The Great Sydney region covers 16,000km2 to the west and south of Sydney, extending from Lithgow to Goulburn. It encompasses two major river systems, the Hawkesbury-Nepean and the Shoalhaven, as well as the Woronora River.

The department has been working with partners to implement actions across all five priority areas. Major highlights over the 2023-24 period included:

• Sydney Water’s completion of their ‘Our Water Our Voice’ customer engagement program which enabled greater understanding of customer attitudes towards water supply resilience.
• Establishment of a Metropolitan Water Climate Change Working Group.
• Activation of the Climate Change Fund to deliver key water efficiency activities under the joint Sydney Water and Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water – Water Group’s (DCCEEW– Water) Water Efficiency Plan.
• Completion of the annual update to the Greater Sydney Drought Response Plan including drought indicators monitoring and a draft interim drought asset response plan.
• The opening of Sydney Water’s Purified Recycled Water (PRW) Discovery Centre to the public and visits of over 2000 people to the plant.
• Amendment of the Water Management (General) Regulation to allow Sydney Water to apply for a Specific Purpose Access Licence to capture excess stormwater in the Mamre Road and Aerotropolis precinct.
• Delivery of the draft Water Quality Governance Roadmap by DCCEEW Water
• Development of the draft Greater Sydney Water Quality and River Health Monitoring Governance Options Report
• Development of the Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Framework
• Introduction of developer charges for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services from 1 July 2024
• Completion of the BASIX Water Review - Stage 1; a review of the water components of the NSW Building and Sustainability Index (BASIX) (Statewide Policy Review)

Read more about our annual review 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.

Over the reporting period the Department has commenced a number of actions listed in the published strategy including:

1. Improved strategic planning for local water utilities. The department has set up a strategic planning team to help local water utilities improve their strategic planning. This is an ongoing piece of work that will be rolled out across the state where needed to support councils. The department has been progressing:
   1. funding and support to Uralla Shire Council to undertake groundwater investigations. Preliminary testing bores have been completed.
   2. supporting Gwydir Shire Council to obtain higher security water licence for Warialda to improve town security during droughts. Currently in final stages of securing the licence.
2. Improve drought preparation and response: the department has updated extreme events guidelines in the Border Rivers region to help improve drought response.
3. Improved connectivity: the department has been leading a number of programs to improve inter and intravalley connectivity across the northern basin. This includes progressing the following.
   1. Progressing the ‘Improving Floodplain Connections Program, Reconnecting Watercourse Country Program, creation of a Cold-Water Pollution Strategy. These will help to improve flows across the catchment.
   2. New models for floodplain return flows currently underway.

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.

In the Hunter region, water management activities are guided by the Greater Hunter Regional Water Strategy. This strategy identifies infrastructure and policy-based solutions at a regional scale.

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.

Additionally, the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan outlines a set of actions for management of water supply and demand for the area of the Lower Hunter serviced by Hunter Water.

Over the reporting period, considerable work has progressed on the development of the Belmont Desalination Plant – a priority of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan and a major infrastructure project to improve water security and reliance in the region. Other key achievements for 2023-24 include:

• Completion of the Lower Hunter Drought Response Plan
• Hunter Water's refurbishment of Seaham Weir with low-flow gates and fish passage infrastructure to improve water quality
• Submission of Hunter Water’s Five-year Water Conservation Plan and an 8% reduction in potable water consumption over 2023-24
• Engagement and detailed investigations for the Lostock Dam to Glennies Creek Dam and Paterson River Offtake project
• Progress on investigating additional groundwater sources in the Tomago region.
• Development of an Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Framework.
• Completion of the BASIX Water Review - Stage 1; a review of the water components of the NSW Building and Sustainability Index (BASIX) (Statewide Policy Review)

Read more about our annual review of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan.

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.

The Macquarie-Castlereagh Regional Water Strategy was released in October 2023.

Over the reporting period a number of water security actions have been progressed. These include:

• Macquarie-Wambuul Water Security Project. This project undertakes a deep assessment of water needs in the central and lower Macquarie region and sets out options to build long term security. These include investigating a regional pipeline connecting Dubbo to Nyngan and other towns as well as using some of Burrendong Dam’s flood mitigation storage to increase water supply. This project is due for completion in Q1 2026.
• Drafting of an emergency response guide in the unregulated system around Bathurst and Orange. This guide is a recommendation of the regional water strategy to help improve the coordination of decision making between local and state governments in extreme events such as drought.
• Upper Macquarie Bogan unregulated Water Sharing Plan remake. This reassesses the setting for water sharing in the upper Macquarie Valley based on the learning from the last drought. A number of new settings have been put forward that will improve town water security.
• Fish River Water Supply Scheme investigation. The department worked with WaterNSW to understand the capacity of the scheme to support new users and modelled options for redistributing this water to Bathurst. In addition, two priority water monitoring gauges were installed in the upper Macquarie to improve knowledge of low flows and demand in the region.

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 were held between May and July 2024.

The strategies, along with the implementation plans, are expected to be finalised in 2025.

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.

Over the reporting period a number of water security actions have been progressed to address Tamworth’s short and long-term water security risks. These projects include:

• Final Business Case for an advanced water treatment facility in Tamworth. The Australian Government and the NSW Government co-funded $6million to investigate an advanced water treatment plant in Tamworth. This includes intervalley pipelines from the Manning Valley and Keepit Dam to Tamworth and an off-river storage close to Tamworth.
• The business cases will find long term solutions that support Tamworth to be ready for changing climate and growth. To address short term risk of drought the department is progressing investigations into increasing the amount of water set aside in Chaffey Dam for Tamworth’s town water supply.
• Tamworth Regional Council have been progressing the Tamworth Water Security Plan in collaboration with the department. This strategic plan sets out a number of actions based off of the priority actions in the Namoi Regional Water Strategy. Over the last reporting period the draft plan was put out for public consultation and is now being finalised by council.

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

A number of surface and groundwater models have been updated across the Namoi region to address knowledge gaps and improve decision making processes.

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

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.

Harvestable rights allow landholders to capture and store a set volume of rainfall run-off on their properties without requiring a licence or approval.
Landholders in NSW’s coastal-draining catchments can capture and store up to 10 percent of rainfall runoff from their landholding as harvestable rights water.

Over the reporting period, the NSW Government made changes to the harvestable rights limit for coastal-draining catchments by returning the harvestable rights limit to 10 percent from 30 percent in September 2023. This change was made so work could progress on determining whether the current levels of water extraction in coastal catchments is sustainable in the long term.

It is important this work on sustainable extraction progresses before any increase to harvestable rights is considered. If the coastal harvestable rights limit was left at 30 percent, there could be unquantified negative impacts on other water users and downstream environments.

Construction is underway to upgrade the Urunga Sewage Treatment Plant as part of an overhaul of wastewater services across Bellingen Shire’s coastal communities to ensure they’re equipped with infrastructure for the future that will deliver the best possible environmental protection. The project is funded thanks to more than $11 million from the NSW Government and over $27 million from Bellingen Shire Council against its long-term financial plan.

The NSW Government and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council (PMHC) are together investing $2.3 million to finalise plans for a new water treatment plant, larger water distribution system and major upgrade of a sewage treatment plant. The projects will overhaul the water supply network for more than 101,000 people in Port Macquarie, Wauchope and Camden Haven and improve sewage services for nearly 14,000 residents in Wauchope and Beechwood.

• 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.

During the reporting period, construction started on the new Bega-Tathra Water Treatment and Filtration Plant which is set to deliver world-class drinking water to some 8,000 South Coast locals. The new infrastructure is possible thanks to $15.2 million from the NSW Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program and $5.6 million from Bega Valley Shire Council.

The new world class Brogo-Bermagui Water Treatment Plant is now fully operational thanks to over $10 million investment from the NSW Government’s Safe and Secure Water Program and $2.6 million from Bega Valley Shire Council. The state-of-the-art facility has significantly improved water quality for residents in Brogo and surrounding towns such as Quaama, Cobargo, Bermagui and Wallaga Lake.

Harvestable rights allow landholders to capture and store a set volume of rainfall run-off on their properties without requiring a licence or approval.
Landholders in NSW’s coastal-draining catchments can capture and store up to 10 percent of rainfall runoff from their landholding as harvestable rights water.

Over the reporting period, the NSW Government made changes to the harvestable rights limit for coastal-draining catchments by returning the harvestable rights limit to 10 percent from 30 percent in September 2023. This change was made so work could progress on determining whether the current levels of water extraction in coastal catchments is sustainable in the long term.

It is important this work on sustainable extraction progresses before any increase to harvestable rights is considered. If the coastal harvestable rights limit was left at 30 percent, there could be unquantified negative impacts on other water users and downstream environments.

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 are 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:

• More than $6.5 million to trial state-of-the-art temporary fish passage technologies such as a new retrofitted tube design which allows fish to pass over weirs and river barriers to escape poor water quality events and reduce the chance of future mass fish deaths.
• $6 million to complete a detailed business case for permanently improving fish passage in the Lower Darling and Menindee Lakes system which could restore 518km of connectivity between the northern and southern Murray Darling Basin.
• Nearly $4.5 million to both design and implement a Menindee-specific mass fish death event response plan to clearly explain triggers, agency and community responsibilities in the event of an incident. This funding will also:
  • Assist the response to future mass fish deaths by providing resources that will be ready to go in the event of an incident
  • Assess and improve the capability of emergency services and functions in the region
  • Assist ongoing non-emergency communications and engagement with the community
• Nearly $3 million to install new real-time multi-parameter water quality monitoring buoys and data loggers, undertake a scientific study on the impacts of mass fish deaths on Weir 32 water quality and develop new hydrodynamic modelling to improve knowledge and understanding of the river.
• $1 million towards ongoing maintenance and operation of real-time water quality sensors and other water quality monitoring in the weir pool to allow decision makers to respond rapidly to changing conditions.
• Over $1.7 million to set up a new governance model which will coordinate integrated management of land use, water and natural resources to improve ecological outcomes.
• $600,000 for strategic planning for on-ground rehabilitation works to improve water quality, ecological and cultural outcomes, such as new fencing, trees, erosion control methods that reduce sediment entering the river and more Aboriginal access to riparian areas.
• $720,000 to provide on-the-ground resources in Menindee to support the program.
• More than $1 million to develop a new water quality monitoring framework to make our data easier to navigate and identify knowledge gaps.

Read more about what we are doing to address the mass fish deaths in Menindee