2023-2024 Progress report region snapshots

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

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

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

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

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

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

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