New Plan for Sydney's Water

Wednesday, 06 August 2003 10:00

An alliance of peak environment groups released details today of a comprehensive plan for a sustainable water future in Sydney. The groups claimed significant failings over the last few years had worsened the water and sewerage crisis:

-  Poor performance by Sydney Water in meeting critical water conservation and recycling targets. Less than 2% of total water used is recycled and 1999 effluent recycling targets have been abandoned. Mandated demand management targets for 2001/2 were not met, and 2004/5 and 2011/12 targets are in serious doubt.

-  A conflict of interest between maximising revenue from water sales and reducing consumption.

-  Sydney Water's strategic decision-making processes are hidden from the public and regulatory agencies such as the EPA and the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

-  Present arrangements provide few incentives for success and no effective penalties for failure.

The groups, have recommended radical reforms including:

-  Establish a total consumption target of 500GL/year (after allowing for environmental flows). Current consumption is 630GL/year.

-  Introduce permanent low-level restrictions on outdoor water use similar to those adopted by Melbourne Water to promote behavioural change and provide water for environmental flows.

-  Reduce security of supply criteria from 97% to 95%, which will increase the frequency of restrictions from 3% to 5% of the time. Consider further reduction to 90%.

-  Introduce financial penalties on Sydney Water for where bulk water purchases from the Sydney Catchment Authority are in excess of sustainable consumption targets.

-  Introduce inclining block pricing to encourage more efficient water use by customers.

-  Create a market for innovative solutions, including trading of water conservation credits, to encourage private sector involvement.

-  Harvest stormwater as an alternative supply source.

-  Re-establish strict water recycling targets for Sydney Water.

-  Restore degraded urban streams and stormwater canals to more natural systems.

-  Reform of Sydney Water's decision-making processes.

-  Reform and change of focus towards sustainability for the key pricing regulator (IPART), including an environmental expert on the tribunal.

These reforms must be embraced urgently if Sydney is to escape its growing environmental and water resource crisis, the groups said.

The proposals are based on a major new report, "Sydney's Water - Going to Waste?" by the Peak Environment Non-Government Organisations (PENGOs), the result of a 12 month project examining Sydney Water's environmental performance, to be released soon.