Strategic planning outcomes
For effective, evidence-based strategic planning to occur, the department expects the following outcomes to be achieved to a reasonable standard. We’ve published guidance on each outcome to help you achieve this.
Understanding service needs
- What are customers’ needs, values, and preferences?
- What current and future demands are placed on water supply and sewerage systems?
- How will the local water utility consider and address objectives, priorities and evidence of other relevant state or regional strategic planning, including the NSW Water Strategy and regional water strategies?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Understanding water security
- What is the local water utility’s access to current and potential water supply sources?
- How will the local water utility address current and future risks around continuity and reliability of access to water supply sources?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Paleo-stochastic climatic datasets
Stochastic climate data is available for climate stations across NSW. The data’s primary use is to analyse water-related outcomes of river basins under long-term climate change.
We are progressively making these datasets available on the SEED Open Data Portal.
Further information
Understanding water quality
- How will the local water utility address current and future water quality risks in its supply systems?
- How will the local water utility meet relevant regulatory standards, such as on drinking water quality management?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Understanding environmental impacts
- How will the local water utility address current and future environmental impact risks in its sewerage systems?
- How will the local water utility meet relevant regulatory standards, such as licence requirements set by the environmental regulator?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Understanding system capacity, capability and efficiency
What is the capacity and capability of systems to deliver water (and future capacity and capability needs)?
- What is the capacity and capability of its systems to collect and treat sewerage (and future capacity and capability needs)?
- How will the local water utility consider water efficiency in its systems?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Understanding other key risks and challenges
- How will the local water utility address other key risks in its systems now and into the future?
- How will the local water utility meet relevant regulatory standards (for example, such as on dam safety)?
- How has the local water utility considered climate risks?
- How is the local water utility planning for drought?
- How is the local water utility planning and preparing for incidents, emergencies, and extreme events and ensuring continuity of service?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Understanding solutions to deliver services
- How are options for delivering services and managing risks analysed?
- How are supply and demand side options for water supply identified and evaluated?
- How are assets managed over their life cycle to ensure service levels are met?
- How are the preparedness and resilience management during extreme events considered?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Understanding resourcing needs
- What resourcing is needed to deliver services and manage risks?
- What is the life-cycle cost of managing assets?
- What technical and operational skills are needed to deliver services and manage risks?
- How does the local water utility do workforce planning?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Understanding revenue sources
- What are the revenue sources available to fund the delivery of services?
- What is the customers’ ability to pay for services?
- What is the customers’ willingness to pay for services?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Make and implement sound strategic decisions
- Based on its understanding of, and adequate consideration of, service needs, risks, and resources, how does the utility set service levels and efficient revenue requirements for providing services over an adequate forward period to capture asset lifecycle?
- How are customers engaged in decision-making and informed of choices between service levels, risks, and cost?
- How does the local water utility ensure its long-term financial sustainability, including managing unexpected financial shocks in future periods without having to introduce substantial or socially destabilising revenue or expenditure adjustments?
- How does the utility implement service levels and monitor, and report on, performance to understand if it is meeting service levels and managing risks?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Implement sound pricing and prudent financial management
- How does the utility set and structure its water supply and sewerage pricing to recover its revenue requirement, promote efficient use of water, and achieve equitable and affordable pricing and intergenerational equity?
- How does the utility implement a cost-reflective and consumption-based tariff structure, long-term stable price path and intergenerational equity?
- How does the utility set appropriate developer charges to recover the infrastructure cost of servicing growth?
- How does the utility consider payment of tax equivalents and dividends?
- How does the utility consider affordable access to essential water services for all customers?
- How does the utility ‘ring-fence’ the water supply and sewer business fund from council’s general-purpose fund?
Supplementary guidance provides more details on achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard, along with optional guidance on how to do so:
Supplementary material referred to in the guidance:
Promote integrated water cycle management
- How are urban water cycle outcomes including water security, public health, environmental and urban amenity and liveability identified, achieved and funded?
- How does the utility consider opportunities and methods to increase resource efficiency and recovery in urban water management?
- How is the local water utility supporting customers to increase water literacy and support water efficiency measures?
Supplementary guidance gives more detail on what the expectations are for achieving the outcome to a reasonable standard as well as optional guidance on how to achieve the outcome:
In our advisory and support role, the department is available to give guidance, advice, and support to local water utilities to help them understand and meet strategic planning outcomes to a reasonable standard.
Support and advice
In addition to our regulatory role, we give technical and other advice to local water utilities proactively and whenever requested by the utility. The department can assist local water utilities with developing the project from concept through to tendering and commissioning.