Frequently asked questions
How does the Metropolitan Water Plan affect the health of the rivers of the Sydney Region?
The health of the rivers of the Sydney region is a priority. The Metropolitan Water Plan recognises that the volumes of water sourced from rivers and aquifers to meet the needs of communities and industry must be balanced against the need to reserve water to meet environmental needs.
The NSW Government is developing water sharing plans for the river systems and groundwater systems of the greater Sydney region. These water sharing plans define how this naturally occurring freshwater will be shared between the environment, agriculture, industry and urban consumers. Water sharing plans dedicate water to meet the environmental needs of river ecosystems and aquifer systems. This environmental water will be given formal, legal protection.
In addition, the plan complements many practical actions to protect drinking water quality, improve catchment health and achieve other objectives. These actions are being undertaken by the Catchment Management Authorities and Sydney Catchment Authority, councils and landholders. For example, extensive work is being undertaken to re-plant river banks.
How will Sydney’s water consumption be managed under the water sharing plans?
The water sharing plans will provide the statutory mechanism for allocating water to users such as Sydney’s population and irrigators, and for protecting the water allocated to the environment. The water sharing plans will specify annual limits on water diversions for Sydney’s drinking water supply.
They are being developed because Sydney’s naturally occurring freshwater must be shared between the environment, agriculture, industry and urban consumers. Water sharing plans establish rules that define how this sharing occurs. The rules will also give more certainty to licensed water users about the conditions under which they can extract water from rivers and aquifers, and ensure that the environment is protected.
The Metropolitan Water Plan remains the mechanism to manage Sydney’s water supplies, including water consumption, and will ensure that Sydney’s water needs are met in times of drought, and for the long term.
How were the new rules for environmental flows from Tallowa Dam developed?
The environmental flows for Tallowa Dam were developed through a consultative process that balanced the needs of the environment, stakeholders and the community.
In 2004, the Hawkesbury Nepean River Management Forum (made up of scientists, government and community members) recommended that the Government implement new rules for environmental flow releases at Tallowa Dam, subject to detailed ecological, economic, social and engineering assessments. These assessments also needed to take account of the role of Tallowa Dam in providing water supplies for Sydney, Nowra and towns in the Southern Highlands.
NSW Government agencies, external scientists and other specialists worked in consultation with the Shoalhaven Community Reference Group, Shoalhaven City Council, Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, Aboriginal communities, industry groups and community members to undertake these technical investigations and to make a balanced decision on the new flow rules for Tallowa Dam. The investigations and consultation confirmed that the Forum’s recommended flow rules, along with the modifications to Tallowa Dam, would achieve environmental improvements for the Shoalhaven River.
The Government has agreed that a monitoring program will be implemented, with reports to be made publicly available, to measure the river system before and after introduction of the new environmental flow releases and to see if the changes expected by the scientists do occur. The flow release rules can be altered to take account of these findings. This is another example of the Metropolitan Water Plan's adaptive management approach.
What’s next?
The next major initiatives to protect rivers, catchments and groundwater include:
- Continue the interim environmental flow releases from Warragamba, Cataract, Cordeaux, Nepean, Woronora and Tallowa Dams.
- Continue to configure Cataract, Cordeaux and Nepean Dams and downstream weirs to allow new environmental flow releases to be made and to pass down the river.
- Start the new environmental flow releases from Avon Dam when water restrictions in Sydney are eased.
- Start the new environmental flow releases from Cataract, Cordeaux and Nepean Dams, and downstream weirs, by 2009.
- Modify Tallowa Dam to allow fish passage and to improve the quality of water releases.
- Start the new environmental flow releases from Tallowa Dam when all water restrictions in Sydney are lifted.
- Continue support for on-ground catchment actions and the broad-scale Hawkesbury-Nepean monitoring program.
- Finalise the draft water sharing plans for surface water and groundwater, incorporating the outcomes of community consultation.
- Develop a plan for managing nutrient inputs to the lower Hawkesbury-Nepean.
- Continue work on the final environmental flow regimes for Warragamba Dam.