Monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan

• Hunter Water has ongoing collaboration with government agencies, local land services, national parks, and local councils to deliver programs to manage water quality including catchment management activities such as riverbank naturalisation, stock control, weed and pest prevention, community education programs, and upgrades to wastewater treatment plants.
• As part of the Seaham Weir Pool Erosion Management project, Hunter Water installed log and rock structures in the river embankment, installed stock management fencing, and undertook weed management and seed propagation to prepare for planting during 2025/26. Hunter Water also invested in the Sustainable Agriculture program partnership with Local Land Services.
• Community environmental values and uses for all waterways in coastal NSW have been reviewed using data from a multi-pronged engagement strategy. Local and State Government, and broader stakeholder feedback was collected from 14 regional workshops attended by over 380 representatives. The updated NSW Water Quality Objectives will be released in draft form to the broader community before publication.
• To further this work and to incorporate Indigenous cultural values, the department has completed a cultural mapping exercise of Indigenous cultural values for waterways. These maps have been converted to cultural care maps that can be used to inform masterplans and prioritise actions for land use and water infrastructure delivery.
• The department is progressing an integrated catchment management work program to identify critical reforms aimed at enhancing water quality and improving river health outcomes at a catchment scale. A knowledge review to look at past approaches, review current frameworks and initiatives in NSW and other regions, and an analysis of case studies is complete.
• The department is also progressing a Water Quality Monitoring Framework for NSW. The framework will provide a high-level governance arrangement for sharing data and accelerate a technical solution (a combination of data sharing processes and platforms) to enable sharing and analysis.

• In 2024-25 Hunter Water’s leakage decreased from 79 L per service connection per day (2023-24) down to 70 L per service connection per day. Improvements have been sustained in leakage reduction since 2015/16 (104 L per service connection per day).
• Hunter Water is continuing to implement leakage reduction programs to both identify and address leaks. It is expected that the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan target of reducing leakage to 50 L per connection per day will be met by 2027, and a new target of reducing leakage down to 40 L per connection per day by 2030 has now been set.
• While analysis suggests that floating solar on Grahamstown Dam to decrease evaporation and provide renewable energy is not currently economically viable, Hunter Water continues engaging with the water industry to understand opportunities and learn from others to explore options.

• The Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set a target of achieving an overall 17% reduction in customer potable water use (combined residential and non-residential) by 2032-33. In 2024-25, an 11% reduction in water use was achieved which exceeds the interim target for the year.
• In the residential sector, the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan targets 155 litres/person/day potable usage under average climate conditions. The current estimate during average conditions is 171 litres/person/day and has been fairly stable over the last 12 months.
• In the non-residential sector, the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set a target to reduce water use to 17 gigalitres a year under average climate conditions. This is a 2 gigalitres per year reduction from 2016-18 levels. Non-residential demand in 2024-25 was 16.8 gigalitres, a decrease from 18 gigalitres in 2023-24.
• Hunter Water’s Five-year Water Conservation Plan  is updated annually. The Water Conservation Plan identifies programs to support residential and non-residential customer participation to reduce water consumption; programs to reduce Hunter Water’s own leakage, losses and potable use; and programs to substitute drinking water with recycled water. Programs support customers in finding and repairing leaks, monitoring usage, and developing water efficiency plans.
• Through 2024-25, the department progressed projects to develop a base of evidence to support changes to the Building and Sustainability Index (BASIX) for water. The department also worked with National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) and the NSW Government Architect to review the non-residential water standards in the Sustainable Buildings State and Environment Planning Policy to identify improvements to lead to long-term water savings in new buildings.
   

• The Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set a target of increasing recycled water by 1,300 million litres per year. To date, around 40% of the long-term target has been achieved, but progress is slow.
• In 2024-25, a total of 7,143 million litres of recycled water was provided to industrial and irrigation customers or used onsite by Hunter Water. Of this volume, around 6,208 million litres replaced previous drinking water use.
• The annual volume of recycled water supplied to customers was the highest in 5 years. While a wetter than average year reduced demand for recycled water from seasonal customers such as golf courses and agricultural users, demand was high from industrial customers including the Eraring Power Station and from Kooragang Water (CoNEXA), which supplies Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group.
• Hunter Water continues to investigate a number of industrial recycled water projects, including with Origin Energy and to support the growing hydrogen sector. However feedback gathered as part of Hunter Water’s Community Panel identified a preference for investment in other programs rather than significant investment in recycled water for commercial and industrial customers.  
• The department’s Recycled Water Roadmap was released in 2025 and it identifies actions, case studies and opportunities for government to facilitate the increased use of recycled water for both drinking and non-drinking purposes. 
   

• The water cycle is a key focus of Hunter Water's school and community education programs. Activities to demonstrate the active management of water throughout the water cycle are provided at school field days and community events to increase water literacy.
• Over the last few years Hunter Water have been exploring the best option to engage the community on purified recycled water as a future source of supply. A mobile education unit for use at events is under construction and nearing delivery. In addition, a community education centre is being planned for construction at Hunter Water's office.
• The department’s Recycled Water Roadmap identifies the need to take steps now so that purified recycled water is an option for future water supply. The Recycled Water Roadmap recognises that purified recycled water can provide critical rainfall independent drinking water supply and deliver environmental benefits. As an action of the roadmap, the Water Group is developing a Community Engagement Framework for Purified Recycled Water which will support water utilities to deliver engagement programs for purified recycled water projects. 
   

• In June 2024, Hunter Water completed a comprehensive risk assessment for Grahamstown Dam. The assessment found that the dam continues to operate safely under normal and flood conditions but that in the event of an earthquake there could be damage to the main embankment which could result in water being released into low lying areas. To reduce the risk in the short term, Hunter Water reduced the amount of water stored in Grahamstown Dam to 82% of its full capacity. The water level will be maintained at or below this capacity until more significant engineering upgrades can be completed at the dam. Options to upgrade the dam embankments are now being explored.
• Engagement with Central Coast Council is now underway to update the Hunter Water - Central Coast Council Transfer Pipeline Agreement to reflect the reduced storage level of Grahamstown Dam and continue to deliver mutual benefits to both regions.
• Delivery of the 30 million litres per day Belmont Desalination Plant is a key action in the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan and will provide critical rainfall independent supply to the Lower Hunter.
• Planning approval for the plant was provided in September 2024. Since that time, a contractor  has been engaged to deliver the project, works have commenced, and the construction of watermains now underway. Next steps will include offshore marine works, including building the direct ocean intake structure and tunnelling from the plant site to the ocean intake.
• Based on current timelines, it is anticipated that the Belmont Desalination Plant will be operational and supplying water by mid-2028.
• For the last several years, Hunter Water and the department have been partnering on a joint business case for the Lostock Dam to Glennies Creek Dam and Paterson River Offtake Project. The final business case is now complete however the NSW Government has decided to defer the project (both the pipeline and the pump station and water treatment plant) based on high project costs (estimated at $1.5 billion) and uncertainty about the future water demand and water security needs in the lower Hunter. The business case represents a significant body of analysis and critical groundwork which may be re-evaluated in the future as part of the review of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan or other regional water security planning.
   

• In addition to the Belmont Desalination Plant, a second desalination plant was also proposed as part of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan. Site options analysis identified land owned by Hunter Water at Stockton as the preferred site for a future drought response desalination plant. A master plan for the Stockton site has now been completed, including a high-level site layout and targeted investigations to improve understanding of delivery risks such as community acceptance, coastal inundation, and erosion hazards. Due to funding constraints, additional work to progress beyond the master planning stage has not been prioritised.
• In the event of drought, the Lower Hunter Drought Response Plan sets out supply responses, demand responses (including water restrictions), governance, communications, and pricing. 

• Aligned with the NSW Groundwater Strategy Implementation Plan, the department has investigated Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) as an alternative option for water security, which included completing work to understand the policy and legislative requirements to enable MAR in NSW. The outcome of this work is that there may be some merit in pursuing regulatory changes to enable MAR but the most effective option would be through legislative change which would have potentially significant implications that need further examination.
• Investigations are ongoing to enable water from the Tomago Secondary Aquifer (palaeochannel) to be used as a potential drought response or a managed aquifer recharge scheme. A draft pump testing plan has been prepared which will be evaluated to inform licensing for the long-term extraction of water. Water quality investigations are also ongoing to confirm if the water extracted from the aquifer meets the required health guidelines for use as a drinking water supply.
• In 2024-25, the department and Hunter Water finalised a protocol to improve clarity on water access, support risk evaluation, and establish monitoring expectations for drought triggered access to deeper parts of the Tomago aquifer. A remote sensing (aerial/satellite) program to monitor for water stress within the groundwater dependent ecosystems is now being developed to further support decision making on the use of this groundwater source.

• The department, Sydney Water and Hunter Water are working together to develop technical guidance to integrate climate change into metropolitan demand and supply planning, including approaches to using the newest climate change projection dataset, NSW and Australian Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM) 2.0. Hunter Water will use this to understand climate change impacts on water yield.
• Hunter Water are in the process of analysing the department’s paleo-informed stochastic dataset and analysing the data projections released as part of NARCliM2.0 to develop a better estimate of future water yield.

• Hunter Water developed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Framework. The framework is in line with the Hunter Water Community Engagement Strategy and has been launched alongside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Procurement frameworks. The framework will support Hunter Water in developing positive relationships with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and organisations and seeking opportunities for mutual benefit in strategic projects.
• The NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy was on public exhibition in July and August 2024. Feedback on the draft strategy was provided by Aboriginal Land Councils, Regional Aboriginal Water Committees, agencies within the NSW Government and a range of other organisations across the state. The NSW Aboriginal Water Strategy was launched in October 2025 and identifies actions related to engagement, licensing, and water planning with Aboriginal communities.

• Hunter Water was involved in the development of the Broadmeadow precinct renewal project and guidance was provided on an integrated water servicing approach, including green space, irrigation, amenity and stormwater asset options.
• The development of the Lake Macquarie recycled water scheme is proceeding and is currently in the construction phase. The project will deliver recycled water for the irrigation of sporting fields in Edgeworth.
• Hunter Water submitted their pricing proposal to IPART in September 2024 and new prices came into effect on 1 July 2025. Hunter Water undertook extensive community engagement to inform the development of the pricing proposal and to guide investment decisions. While there was some support from the community for using recycled wastewater or stormwater to conserve drinking water, there was limited support for the community to subsidise these projects on behalf of the private sector. The community was willing to spend more than the economic value of water to support water conservation and leakage reduction projects. In line with customer feedback, Hunter Water has reviewed and updated the Integrated Water Management Implementation Plan with no new projects identified.
• The department published the Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Framework in March 2025. The framework is a best practice guide to developing and delivering IWCM projects. It provides steps for organisations seeking to adopt an IWCM approach to the design, delivery and review of new projects, programs and strategic planning processes. Government, land use planners, water utilities, councils, developers, businesses and the community can use the framework to work together to better plan, manage and deliver water-resilient cities and towns across NSW. The framework is supported by an excel-based self-evaluation tool which translates the IWCM Framework's tasks into a set of evaluation criteria.
• The department has been developing a Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) Guide which should be released in early 2026. The guide will introduce WSUD principles and outcomes, recommend a process to follow, and explore the benefits and challenges. WSUD supports healthy waterways and urban biodiversity, and helps make our cities greener and cooler, by increasing vegetation and reducing the urban heat-island effect. 

• A project on better integrating land use planning and water management continues within the department and seeks to update relevant planning instruments to improve water servicing considerations in strategic planning.
• This work is informing an additional project on state-wide Integrated Catchment Management which will identify critical reforms aimed at enhancing river health outcomes, such as water quality, at a catchment scale. A knowledge review to look at past approaches, review of current frameworks and initiatives in NSW and other regions, and an analysis of case studies is complete and will inform options for reform.
• Hunter Water has engaged with Lower Hunter councils on opportunities to develop council-led Drought Resilience Plans that provide an effective implementation tool for councils that aligns with the Lower Hunter Drought Response Plan.
   

Circular economy is an underpinning concept in the Hunter Water 2024 Sustainability Strategy which identifies targets for water conservation, water leakage, biosolids reuse, diversion of solid waste from landfill, greenhouse gas emissions, and renewable energy.

• Informed by customer feedback, Hunter Water has now set carbon targets and developed a net zero roadmap. The target is to achieve an 80% net reduction of combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (against a baseline of 2020-21) and Net Zero of combined Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.
• To support achieving these goals Hunter Water is:
  • installing renewable energy systems at treatment plants and pump stations across the network
  • increasing the amount of biogas generated from biosolids and using this renewable energy source to help power treatment plants
  • working with the University of Queensland and Water Research Australia to explore ways to reduce emissions from sludge lagoons
  • reducing operational energy consumption through energy-efficient pumping and aeration systems.
• Hunter Water has also entered into a renewable energy power purchase agreement with AGL to supply its large sites with electricity. This agreement is expected to reduce Hunter Water’s operational carbon footprint (Scope 2 emissions) by 70% by 2030.