Monitoring, evaluation and review of the plan

• Catchment management is vital to managing water quality and will require sustained investment and commitment into the future, as well as collaboration across government and communities.
• Hunter Water has set a strategic objective to halt degradation in drinking water catchment water quality to manage drinking water quality risk. Hunter Water is collaborating with the local community, stakeholders and local councils to contribute to this objective. In the future there may be opportunities through planning pathways and regulations to better manage some catchment risks.
• The department has been reviewing community environmental values and uses for all waterways in coastal NSW by engaging with communities and stakeholders to understand how they value their waterways. The feedback from this stakeholder engagement will be used to revise the NSW Water Quality Objectives.
• Review and analysis of current water quality management and monitoring arrangements as part of NSW Water Strategy implementation has progressed by the department, with options to improve water quality governance currently being explored. This work will continue in 2023/24.

• In 2022-23 Hunter Water’s leakage increased from 69 L per service connection per day (2021-22) to 83 L per service connection per day due to some significant main break events.
• In 2023-24, Hunter Water will roll out expanded programs for district metered areas and active leak detection and will continue to offer the Essential Plumbing Assistance Program. These initiatives are expected to improve leakage performance and the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan target of 50 litres per connection per day is considered achievable by 2025

• The Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set out a target of an overall 17% reduction in customer potable water use (combined residential and non-residential) by 2032-33. Actual total customer potable water use in 2022-23 was around 10% lower than predicted and Hunter Water is on track to meet to meet the long-term target.
• In the residential sector, the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan targets 155 litres/person/day potable usage by 2032-33. This remains the long-term target, though there was a small increase in usage from 2021-22 to 2022-23. Current usage is around 174 litres/person/day. Hot and dry weather conditions may result in higher water consumption. In response Hunter Water is ramping up the water conservation program.
• In the non-residential sector, major initiatives to manage water use through 2022-23 included data logger programs for schools, hospitals, businesses and councils, and support for large and major users to develop water efficiency management plans. It is estimated that the implementation of water efficiency management plans saved around 422 million litres of water in 2022-23.
• The department released the NSW Water Efficiency Framework and guidelines in 2022. These have been developed to provide clear steps to the design, delivery and review water efficiency programs and to support government, utilities, councils and businesses in implementing initiatives. Hunter Water’s water efficiency program performed well against the framework and was rolled out as part of the Love Water program through 2022-23.
• The department completed the first stage of a review of ‘BASIX water’ (Building and Sustainability Index for water). BASIX applies to all residential dwellings in NSW and sets out planning requirements to drive more efficient homes. The review collected evidence to assess how effective and appropriate BASIX water is and considered opportunities and barriers for BASIX water in supporting the achievement of the state’s water and land planning goals into the future. Recommendations from the review will guide work over the coming years.

• The Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set a target of increasing recycled water by 1.3 gigalitres per year and a number of schemes are being explored to reach this target.  Recycled water used by the Kooragang Industrial Water Scheme increased slightly in 2022-23 and industrial customers are likely to offer the best opportunities for the future.
• As an action under the NSW Water Strategy, the department is developing a Recycled Water Roadmap. The roadmap is expected to identify actions, cases studies and opportunities for Government to facilitate the increased use of recycled water for both drinking and non-drinking purposes.

• Hunter Water maintains an ‘always on’ approach to community engagement and education and offers a range of resources to support customers in learning more about water and to participate in decision-making. A comprehensive engagement program is currently underway and is an opportunity for Hunter Water to have detailed conversations with customers to gain insights on a variety of important issues including investments, service levels and programs.
• In 2023-24, Hunter Water will explore options for a purified recycled water education facility or small demonstration plant to support engagement with the community. This will be informed by Sydney Water’s Purified Recycled Water Demonstration Plant and Discovery Centre which opened in 2023.

• Delivery of a 30 million litres per day desalination plant at Belmont is a key action in the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan. The desalination plant will supply an important source of rainfall independent supply to the Lower Hunter. Preliminary design of the plant progressed in 2022-23 and is final design is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
• Based on current timelines it is anticipated that the plant could be operational and  supply water by late 2027, which is only slightly behind estimates in the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan. As work has progressed the level of complexity and overall construction costs have increased. The implications of this will be closely considered and will be a key area of work for 2023-24 as planning and funding approvals are progressed.
• Hunter Water and the department have been partnering on a joint business case for the Lostock Dam – Glennies Creek Dam and Paterson River Offtake project. The partner agencies have undertaken a range of activities over 2022-23 at key sites across the project area to help identify the potentially affected communities, landholders and other stakeholders, the potential infrastructure and route options for the project and to assess water demand and possible hydrological effects.
• The main aspects of Hunter Water’s portion of the proposed scheme were determined in late 2022 and include a new water treatment plant south of Paterson, providing drinking water directly into Hunter Water’s potable network in the Maitland area via transfer infrastructure.
• Landholders, First Nations people, water users and industry have been engaged on the project, with further engagement occurring in 2023-24.

• In addition to the Belmont desalination plant, a second desalination plant was proposed as part of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan to be triggered in response to drought.  Options for a location are now being evaluated based on land availability, ocean access, connecting infrastructure and environmental factors, with a decision and more detailed investigations likely in 2023/24.
• Hunter Water engaged with its customers on water restrictions during the development of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan and the current restrictions regime will be included in Hunter Water’s Drought Response Plan.

• The department published the NSW Groundwater Strategy in 2022. It identifies the main challenges confronting the state’s groundwater resources and the modern-day issues driving the need for our groundwater management approach to evolve and deliver long-term groundwater sustainability for NSW. The strategy includes the expansion of a policy framework which may support the delivery of future groundwater options in the Lower Hunter such as managed aquifer recharge. The strategy is available from NSW Groundwater Strategy | Water
• To provide improved clarity on water access, support risk evaluation, and establish monitoring expectations for drought triggered access to deeper parts of the Tomago aquifer the department are developing a protocol to guide discretionary access.
• Hunter Water investigated a potential site for managed aquifer recharge beneath the Tomago aquifer which showed some potential. Further investigations will continue in 2023-24, including pursuing opportunities to collaborate on research opportunities with the department and university partners.

• The department has recently developed a palaeo–stochastic climate dataset for the Hunter region. This data will inform modelling approaches that can be applied for future major reviews of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan.

• Hunter Water has engaged an Aboriginal consultancy to assist in its Aboriginal Engagement Plan and will aim to align this with its Reconciliation Action Plan and broader engagement strategy in 2023-24.
• The department’s Aboriginal Water Strategy is currently being developed and more detailed co-design will occur in 2023-24.

• In 2022-23, Hunter Water consulted with local councils, government agencies and other stakeholders to identify priorities and opportunities for integrated water cycle management. Further engagement with customers over the next year will inform investments in integrated water management, including better understanding customer needs and preferences for service delivery and level of support for specific projects, including initiatives for urban greening and liveability.
• The ongoing implementation of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan will continue to develop actions for integrated water cycle management and to explore the roles of NSW Government, local councils and water utilities in delivering these projects and broader liveability outcomes.

• The department reviewed Sydney Water’s Aerotropolis and Mamre Road Integrated Water Cycle Management approach in 2022/23. The review identified key features of integrated water cycle management which will form the basis of a statewide Framework that can be used by Government agencies, utilities, developers and planners to inform integrated water cycle management strategies and approaches.
• As part of the NSW Water Strategy, the department is undertaking a project to better integrate land use planning and water management. The project aims to understand links and gaps between land use planning and water management frameworks; ensure that policy, legislation, regulation and advisory functions pertaining to development impacting water catchments are fit for purpose; and to support an environment whereby key land use decisions are supported by water information.

• The Hunter Water Sustainability Strategy was launched in 2022 and includes a resource consumption and waste focus area and a circular economy objective with measures covering greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy use, effluent reuse, and biosolids reuse.
• Increasing resource recovery is a horizon 2 (3-5 year) action, but since the implementation of the LHWSP, Hunter Water has developed guidelines and protocols for interactions with third parties that will assist in the assessment of future circular economy opportunities.

In 2022/23, Hunter Water completed a Net Zero roadmap and established corporate targets for greenhouse gas emissions. This roadmap is the starting point for further work and will be informed by future expansion of the asset base (such as the Belmont Desalination Plant) as well as customer feedback on emissions targets and level of investment.