Drought preparedness

Our understanding of drought risk has improved, and new climate data and modelling developed for long-term water strategies provides a better understanding of the current and future water risks to communities across the state, including drought. NSW is expected to become hotter and drier, with increases in extreme weather events (both flood and drought).

Understanding climatic risks enables us to work effectively across the water sector to manage water supplies and ensure that operations planning, and water management decisions properly consider likely future conditions.

In collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries, work has progressed to apply our understanding of current climate trends and their implications for key agricultural industries. Through the Department of Primary Industries’ Climate Vulnerability Assessment project, we are gaining important insights into how the climate suitability of dryland and irrigated crops may change due to climate change. This insight is crucial for guiding future adaptation research and investment. The project is also looking at how climate change is likely to influence the suitability of related pests and disease, as well as how the nature of droughts may shift under climate change.

Climate data and modelling also guides planning in our cities. We know that our major cities are highly dependent on rainfall and our recent experiences in drought has demonstrated how quickly water storages can drop. Droughts will likely become more severe and frequent, and diversifying water sources to include rainfall independent supplies is critical to increasing water security and resilience.

We also understand that the impacts of drought are far-reaching, and the department is working closely with water authorities and across government to manage impacts in a structured and proactive way.

Over the reporting period, several drought preparedness activities were undertaken including measures to provide operational guidance on management and allocation of water during extreme events including:

• Development of both the Greater Sydney Drought Response Plan which sets out how Sydney Water, WaterNSW and the NSW Government will work together to respond to droughts in the future. The plan covering both demand and supply side measures, focus on a staged drought response to enhance preparedness by defining actions and decisions that are required pre drought, as drought conditions develop and intensify, and during recovery.
• Update of the Extreme Events Policy and Incident Response Guidelines to inform water users and regional communities on what measures can be expected during drought and periods of severe water shortage, and water quality events. The policy establishes the principles by which all water resources within the NSW Murray-Darling Basin will be managed during an extreme event. The policy framework establishes a staged approach and provides a range of measures for water managers to deploy as conditions deteriorate.

Additional resilience measures underway over the reporting period include the progression of the Belmont Desalination Plant in the Lower Hunter to supply up to 30 million litres of water per day.  The desalination plant is an important rainfall-independent supply of water that will diversify the region’s water supply and extend the time for reaching critical water storage levels in severe drought.  The desalination plant is due for completion in 2027.

Investigations have also commenced to double the capacity of Sydney’s Desalination Plant to bolster drought resilience for a growing population. Currently 85% of Sydney’s water supply is rainfall dependent and this project will provide a non-rain dependent alternative. Investigations will be finalised in 2024.

The Lostock Dam to Glennies Creek Pipeline Project is also making great progress after the contract was awarded to develop the concept design and engineering for the project as part of the final business case.

The project involves connecting Lostock Dam and Glennies Creek Dam via a two-way bulk water transfer pipeline (including pumping stations and other associated infrastructure) to enhance water security and reliability within the existing system and support improved drought resilience and water connectivity in the Upper Hunter region. It also involves a proposed Paterson River pumping station near the township of Paterson and the design of an associated water treatment plant and pipeline to connect to the Hunter Water supply network in the Maitland region.

The business case for the new two-way pipeline will be completed in 2024, enabling the NSW Government to determine whether this is the most effective way to lock-in water security for the Hunter.

Through the Safe and Secure Water Program, the NSW Government provides drought grants to fund critical drought initiatives. The grants program provides support to local water utilities for technical and financial assistance in managing depleted or at-risk supplies, including help to implement emergency capital works or to cart water to towns, depending on the situation.  Funded projects have helped to maintain town water supplies and access to potable water in several major regional centres, as well as provide increased drought security for future dry periods.

There are currently 26 active projects that provide funds for infrastructure responses to emergency issues and drought preparedness. This includes $20 million for the Bathurst Stormwater Harvesting and Windburndale Pipeline projects addressing water security issues for the area.

Water security projects funded by the Drought Program and the Safe and Secure Water Program include:

• $30 million for the Groundwater Infrastructure at Dubbo project
• $5 million for the Bourke Drought Emergency Measures project
• $2 million to Bourke for the Additional Bore Capacity and Pipeline project
• $2.6 million to Murrurundi for Parkville, Wingen, Blandford and Murrurundi Water Security project
• $4 million to Tenterfield for the Groundwater Sourcing and Treatment Options Project
• $2.2 million for the Improve Bore Water Supply at Coonabarabran project.

The NSW Government and local government, in partnership with the Australian Government’s National Water Grid Authority, is delivering new pump stations and pipelines to help improve town water reliability during dry times.

Funding is also provided to identified regions across the state to develop drought resilience plans that can be implemented by local councils and their communities. The pilot program, co-funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the NSW Government, is administered by the Department of Regional NSW and aims to empower regional communities to plan and act early to reduce and respond to drought risks.

Over the reporting period, Tamworth Regional Council and Walcha Council participated in the pilot, working closely with their communities to develop strong local networks and deliver an actionable plan. The model used by the councils involved 3 main inputs including research and analysis of drought impacts, community and stakeholder engagement and a triple bottom-line assessment of drought mitigation, adaptation and response needs ensuring that actions are specific to their region.

Final drought resilience plans will be published on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website. An additional 9 regional groups made up of 24 local government areas are participating in Round 1 and have commenced resilience planning work. The program’s second round will include support for more drought-impacted regions to deliver their own regionally-tailored plans.

We have continued to undertake water conservation activities and public communications campaigns focusing on finding and fixing leaks, replacing appliances with more water efficient options and providing information on waterwise behaviours.

The department is working in collaboration with Sydney Water to develop a Water Conservation Plan. A review of ‘BASIX water’ – the water component of the NSW building sustainability Index (BASIX) is also underway and a summary of the key findings from the review will be available on our website by the end of the year.