Deep Water in the Dams
With lower rainfall reducing Sydney's dam levels, the NSW Government is making better use of the existing system of dams and water infrastructure.
At the bottom of our dams is a body of water known as ‘deep storage’, which has previously been inaccessible for water supply. New pipes and pumps have been built to reach deeper into Warragamba and Nepean Dams, so that water deep in the dams can be accessed.
This provides about six months additional supply during drought and increases the amount of water that can be safely taken out of our dams each year by an extra 40 billion litres.
The Sydney Catchment Authority has implemented this engineering project, which provides a relatively cost-effective and feasible means of increasing water supply. The deep water pumps are already commissioned at Nepean/Avon dams securing the water supply for 270,000 residents in the Illawarra, and the new pumping station at Warragamba is ready to start pumping if its dam level falls to around 19 per cent.
To find out more visit the Sydney Catchment Authority website or view Chapter 7 of the Plan.
Accessing deep water in our dams has increased the amount of water available by an extra 40 billion litres a year.