Engaging communities

The community feels strongly about the importance of their role in securing Sydney’s water supply. This is demonstrated by the Community Planning Principle: ensure government and community take joint responsibility for water management. This is one of several Community Planning Principles developed by the community in the lead up to the 2010 Metropolitan Water Plan.

The Water for Life Education and Engagement program is an integrated part of water planning for Sydney. It supports, engages and encourages the greater Sydney community to play their part and to use water wisely.

Water for Life focuses on the following key areas:

community consultation to provide opportunities for the community to provide input to the decision-making process and engage them in water management planning
socio-economic research - choice modelling - to explore people’s preferences about how we manage water through a drought involving a survey of several hundred people throughout the region
social marketing campaigns and a website to reach the wider Sydney community, encouraging them to keep up their wise water use and informing them about the range of initiatives being carried out by the Government
a coordinated capacity building program providing professional learning opportunities for resources and tools to promote and integrate engagement and education.