Monitoring, evaluation and reporting on the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan

Key achievements for 2023-24

Considerable work was progressed in 2023-24, with key achievements including, but not limited to:

business case development and approvals for Hunter Water’s Belmont Desalination Plant to provide important rainfall independent water supply to the Lower Hunter
completion of the Lower Hunter Drought Response Plan
refurbishment of Seaham Weir with low-flow gates and fish passage infrastructure to improve water quality
submission of Hunter Water’s Five-year Water Conservation Plan and an 8% reduction in potable water consumption over 2023-24
completion of the Stage 1 review of the water components of the Building and Sustainability Index (BASIX) by the Water Group
engagement and detailed investigations for the Lostock Dam to Glennies Creek Dam and Paterson River Offtake project
progress on investigating additional groundwater sources in the Tomago region.

Annual monitoring, evaluation and reporting process

Annual monitoring, evaluation and reporting is an essential process to ensure that the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan (the Plan) is being implemented as intended. It provides transparency and accountability for delivering the Plan and supports adaptive management.

The monitoring, evaluation and review process includes:

actions monitoring and evaluation – focusses on assessing progress of the implementation actions against milestones and targets
outcomes evaluation – assesses progress towards delivering outcomes

The department is responsible for leading the annual review process and collaborates closely with Hunter Water and other delivery partners for data and information.

This annual review covers the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. It highlights the key achievements of the year and identifies where there may be future challenges or opportunities, recognising the need for adaptation in an increasingly complex environment. Over time more comprehensive evaluation of trends and outcomes will be possible.

Since the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan was launched in April 2022, the department and Hunter Water have made significant progress in implementing actions to achieve the priorities and outcomes set out in the plan.

The Lower Hunter Water Security Plan identifies 35 actions to be delivered across the 4 priorities. Actions with delivery timelines for Horizon 1 (1-2 years) are now complete with actions for Horizon 2 (3-5 years) now under way. Core actions such as water conservation, catchment management, and water sharing with the Central Coast are considered ongoing.

Key themes:

Maintained safe drinking water through a multi-barrier approach.

Key themes:

Reduced leakage and losses
Reduced demand for potable water
Increased use of recycled water
Increased water literacy in the community, including around purified recycled water for drinking and urban water cycle.

Key themes:

Increased system resilience through more diverse and rainfall-independent supply
Improved preparedness for drought
Improved understanding of opportunities to use groundwater more innovatively and sustainably
Improved supply system modelling to support future planning.

Key themes:

Increased opportunities for Aboriginal communities to contribute to water planning and management and have access to water for cultural or economic purposes
Increased ability of the water system to enable liveability
Improved integration of land-use and water management
Increased resource recovery within the water cycle
Reduced greenhouse gas emissions contributing to a net zero future.

35 Implementation Actions

Of the 35 actions in the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan, the majority are now complete or in progress. Those remaining are either underway with a revised delivery date or are considered ongoing.

Summary graph of progress — Lower Hunter Water Security Plan delivery 2023-24

Priority 1 – safe drinking water

Safe drinking water is our highest priority. We will continue to provide high-quality drinking water for the health and wellbeing of our community and the future prosperity of the region.

Outcome 1: maintained safe drinking water through a multi barrier approach

Hunter Water has ongoing collaboration with government agencies, local land services, national parks, and local councils to deliver programs to manage water quality including riverbank naturalisation, stock control, weed and pest prevention, community education programs and integrated water management.
Hunter Water continues to deliver works at Seaham Weir in the Williams River to support catchment health improvements, including the installation of gates in 2023, and weir refurbishments and fish passage infrastructure in 2024. Riverbank protection work is planned for the Seaham weirpool in 2024-25.
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.
As part of implementation of the NSW Water Strategy research and analysis was undertaken into current roles and responsibilities for water quality management and monitoring across NSW. The NSW Water Quality Governance Roadmap PDF, 4577.59 KB was published in June 2024 and it identifies opportunities to improve water quality outcomes. Two key pathways are currently being progressed by the department:
- an integrated catchment management work program to explore potential reforms to integrated catchment management policy and governance
- the development of a new, statewide water quality monitoring framework to enable data to be used more effectively to manage water quality issues in a timely manner for incident response and broader catchment health.

Priority 2 – making the most of what we've got

We will manage our current water resources wisely, working with the community and stakeholders to maximise their use before considering new sources. By reducing leakage and losses, improving water efficiency, and using recycled water, we can make the most of what we have.

Outcome 2: reduced leakage and losses

In 2023-24 Hunter Water’s leakage decreased from 83 L per service connection per day (2022-23) down to 76 L per service connection per day. Improvements have been sustained in leakage reduction since 2015/16 (104 L per service connection per day).
The recent leakage performance reflects a general increase in watermain breakages as well as more significant leakage events, with regular rainfall contributing to pipe leaks from saturated soil movement. While it is not anticipated that the target in the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan of reducing leakage to 50 litres per connection per day by 2027 will be met, Hunter Water is continuing to implement leakage reduction programs to both identify and address leaks. It is expected that the target will be achieved by 2030.
Hunter Water has now rolled out expanded programs for district metered areas and active leak detection. Their intelligent leak detection program now covers 80% of the network, up from 52% last year. This monitoring system is expected to cover 96.5% of the network by 2024-25.

Outcome 3: reduced demand for potable water

The Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set a target of achieving an overall 17% reduction in customer potable water use (combined residential and non-residential) by 2032-33. In 2023-24, a 8% reduction was achieved which is consistent with the interim target for the year, though up slightly from last year due to increased demand and wetter than average climate conditions.
In the residential sector, the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan targets 155 litres/person/day potable usage under average climate conditions. The current estimate for this is around 172 litres/person/day and has been quite stable over the last 12 months.
In the non-residential sector, the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set a target to reduce water use to 17 gigalitres a year under average climate conditions. This is a 2 gigalitres per year reduction from 2016-18 levels. Non-residential demand in 2023-24 was 18 gigalitres, an increase from 16 gigalitres in 2022-23. The drivers for this increase relate to post COVID recovery for sectors like tourism and retail as well as a change in usage by several major customers.
In November 2023, Hunter Water delivered their first Five-year Water Conservation Plan, which is now updated annually. The Water Conservation Plan identifies programs to support residential and non-residential customer participation to reduce water consumption; programs to reduce Hunter Water’s own leakage, losses and potable use; and programs to substitute drinking water with recycled water. Programs support customers in finding and repairing leaks, monitoring usage, and developing water efficiency plans.
The department completed the first stage of a review of the Building and Sustainability Index for water (BASIX) in 2023. BASIX applies to all residential dwellings in NSW and sets out planning requirements to drive more efficient homes. The review identified 8 recommendations that will form the basis of a second review in 2024-25. This forward work program will include updates to the BASIX tool to improve water saving confidence and longer-term ground truthing studies to build an evidence base for further improvements to the program.
The department will use funding from the Climate Change Fund to deliver a number of initiatives over the next five years to support water conservation, including Water Sensitive Urban Design guidelines, a review and enhancement of regulatory mechanisms that encourage more efficient use of water, a residential equity program to support access to water efficient washing machines, and revision and identification of opportunities for BASIX to address broader integrated water cycle management objectives.

Outcome 4: increased use of recycled water

The Lower Hunter Water Security Plan set a target of increasing recycled water by 1,300 million litres per year. To date, around 40% of the long-term target has been achieved.
In 2023-24, a total of 6,686 million litres of recycled water was provided to industrial and irrigation customers or used onsite by Hunter Water. Of this volume, around 5,506 million litres replaced drinking water.
Recycled water from Kooragang Water (CoNEXA) continues to be the most significant recycled water scheme in the Lower Hunter, using wastewater from Hunter Water to provide around 3,000 million litres of recycled water to range of industrial customers each year.
Hunter Water’s single largest direct user of recycled water is the Eraring Power Station. While this is slated for closure in the coming years, new opportunities may emerge to use recycled water to support the developing hydrogen energy sector. Industrial customers are likely to offer the best opportunities to reach the long-term target as demand is not influenced by weather conditions as it is with irrigation customers.
As an action under the NSW Water Strategy, the department is developing the Recycled Water Roadmap. The draft Recycled Water Roadmap was released in 2024 and it identifies actions, case studies and opportunities for state government to facilitate the increased use of recycled water for both drinking and non-drinking purposes. Engagement on the Recycled Water Roadmap will continue in 2024-25 before it is finalised.

Outcome 5: increased water literacy in the community, including around purified recycled water for drinking and urban water cycle

Hunter Water continues to deliver programs to improve water literacy. The ‘Young Water Warriors’, ‘Water World’ and ‘Lets Love Water’ programs reach 6,000 secondary, primary and pre-school students each year, while broader engagement with customers is delivered under the ‘Love Water’ program.
Hunter Water continues to explore the best option to engage with its community on purified recycled water as a future source of supply and to build water literacy not only on purified recycled water but on other sources of water that are not reliant on rainfall, such as desalination.

Priority 3 – improving the resilience of the system

Our climate is changing, and the future is uncertain. We will act to improve our resilience to shocks such as drought as well as remaining adaptive to future risks and opportunities. Increasing the water available from both diverse and rainfall-independent sources are key to improving resilience.

Outcome 6: increased system resilience through more diverse and rainfall-independent supply

Delivery of a 30 million litres per day desalination plant at Belmont is a key action in the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan. The project achieved several major milestones in 2023-24. Preliminary design for the plant was completed in October 2023 and the final business case was reviewed by an independent review team as part of a ‘health check’ by Infrastructure NSW in November 2023 Planning approval was subsequently provided in September 2024.
Construction and design cost of the desalination plant is estimated at $530 million. While higher in cost than earlier estimates due to design changes to ensure the plan is enduring for future generations and remains resilient to the impacts of climate change, and increased labour and construction costs, economic analysis to support the business case demonstrated that upfront investment in a desalination plant is a valuable investment compared with constructing a drought-triggered plant.
Based on current timelines, it is anticipated that the Belmont Desalination Plant will be operational and supply water by 2028.
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. Together the agencies undertook a range of activities over 2023-24 including demand assessments, hydrological assessments, route planning, evaluation of water sharing plan considerations and potential solutions, and preliminary economic and funding analysis.
Hunter Water and the department delivered a community engagement program for the Lostock Dam – Glennies Creek Dam and Paterson River Offtake. This consisted of drop-in information sessions throughout the impacted region, meetings with a stakeholder reference group, direct engagement with affected landholders, and presentations to some community groups and local councils.

Outcome 7: improved preparedness for drought

Hunter Water delivered the Lower Hunter Drought Response Plan in November 2023, which outlines the process to prepare and respond to drought as water supplies decline. The drought response plan sets out supply responses, demand responses (including water restrictions), governance, communications, and pricing.
In addition to the Belmont Desalination Plant, a second desalination plant was also proposed as part of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan. This would be triggered in response to drought. Further investigation is required based on land availability, ocean access, connecting infrastructure and environmental factors. A plan will be developed including a high-level site layout and investigations to improve the understanding of construction risk and approval pathways and to support engagement with customers. It is not anticipated that the project will be prioritised to progress within the 2025-30 period.

Outcome 8: improved understanding of opportunities to use groundwater more innovatively and sustainably

The department published the Groundwater Strategy Implementation Plan. In December 2023. The implementation plan sets out clear, tangible actions that the government will take to tackle groundwater management challenges across NSW. Of relevance to the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan is an action to continue development of a policy framework to enable managed aquifer recharge. This work will be important in developing potential future sources of water supply for the Lower Hunter.
Hunter Water’s long-term investigations have identified a potential site for additional groundwater supply or future managed aquifer recharge beneath the existing Tomago aquifer. Collaboration is now underway between the department, Hunter Water and the University of Newcastle to progress further investigations and research.
Work is ongoing to develop an access protocol to improve clarity on water access, support risk evaluation, and establish monitoring expectations for drought triggered access to deeper parts of the Tomago aquifer.

Outcome 9: improved supply system modelling to support future planning

The department has now developed a paleo–stochastic climate dataset for the Hunter region. This data will inform modelling approaches that can be applied for future reviews of the Lower Hunter Water Security Plan.
The department, Sydney Water and Hunter Water are working together to develop a framework to support climate change modelling and decision making, including approaches to using the newest climate change projection dataset, the NSW and Australian Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM) 2.0 dataset.

Priority 4 – water for life

Water is an essential part of connection to country for First Nations and Aboriginal people and supports liveable communities. Actions under this priority include how we incorporate the values and participation of First Nations and Aboriginal people, how we use water to support liveable communities and how we protect and restore our environment and ecosystems.

Outcome 10: increased opportunities for Aboriginal communities to contribute to water planning and management and have access to water for cultural or economic purposes

Hunter Water’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan and subsequent Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan are now complete. They lay the foundation for Hunter Water to promote positive relationships with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and communities, provide a culturally safe and inclusive work environment, and increase employment of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
Hunter Water’s next Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan is currently in development and will be released in 2025. An Engagement Framework, Procurement Framework and Employment Framework will be key elements of the revised Reconciliation Action Plan.
The department’s Aboriginal Water Program has been working to build relationships, and to work, with Aboriginal communities across NSW on water matters including waiving licence fees for cultural water applications, establishing Regional Aboriginal Water Committees and establishing an Indigenous cultural and intellectual property protocol to protect the rights that Aboriginal people have to their cultural heritage.
*The department is looking forward to delivery of the final Aboriginal Water Strategy in 2024-25, with a draft released in August 2024 and supported by a comprehensive stakeholder engagement program.

Outcome 11: increased ability of the water system to enable liveability

Two major water reuse schemes have been investigated by Hunter Water – the Newcastle Stormwater Harvesting Scheme and the Lake Macquarie Irrigation Scheme. Stage 1 of the Lake Macquarie Irrigation Scheme is in the delivery stage and will supply recycled water from Edgeworth Wastewater Treatment Works for irrigation of sporting fields. The Newcastle scheme is exploring the potential to use stormwater to provide irrigation and greening benefits to the Newcastle Jockey Club and sporting fields in the future.
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.

Outcome 12: improved integration of land use and water management

Estimated to be published in 2025, the department has been progressing development of an Integrated Water Cycle Management Framework. The framework identifies the common features of IWCM and by drawing on this guidance, organisations will be better placed to improve the design and establishment of new urban communities, urban infill and urban redevelopment; and achieve greater community value from water infrastructure investment and land development.
As part of the NSW Water Strategy, the department is undertaking a project to better integrate land use planning and water management. Phase 1 of this project is complete and has provided 63 recommendations. This was informed by two key bodies of work:
- Research to map out the legislative and strategic planning pathways where land use planning and water planning intersect.
- Issues analysis of contemporary barriers to integrating land use planning and water management as informed by over 50 stakeholder consultations across state agencies, water utilities (state-owned corporations and local water utilities) and local councils.
Findings from the project to better integrate land use planning and water management have informed the scope and key actions to be delivered under the NSW Government’s Housing Approval Reform Action Plan and the integrated catchment management work program.

Outcome 13: increased resource recovery within the water cycle

Hunter Water updated its Sustainability Strategy in August 2024 which outlines how they will improve water security, care for the environment, respond to climate change and contribute to the community.

Outcome 14: reduced greenhouse gas emissions contributing to a net zero future

Hunter Water's Renewable Energy Program has now installed 6.3MW capacity of solar panels to increase renewable energy at Lower Hunter treatment plants and pump stations. This program will reduce emissions, decrease ongoing electricity costs and move Hunter Water towards net zero.
In 2023-24, Hunter Water:
- Commissioned an additional 400kW of solar across three Hunter Water sites.
- Increased total onsite electricity generation to 4.05GWh, a 25% increase year on year. 80% of total generation was self-consumed onsite, with the remainder exported to the grid.
- Expanded its total renewable energy generation capacity to 2.96MW and generated 4,054MWh of renewable energy.
Hunter Water has entered into a renewable energy power purchase agreement with AGL to supply its large sites with electricity. This agreement is expected to reduce Hunter Water’s operational carbon footprint (Scope 2 emissions) by 70% by 2030.
The planning approval conditions for the Belmont Desalination Plant require that 100% renewable energy be used in the Plant when it is constructed. Hunter Water plans to install both ground and roof solar panels at the Plant to supplement energy requirements, as well as progress a renewable energy power purchase.

Hunter Water’s regulatory reports, including the Water Conservation Annual Report and Compliance and Performance Report, have informed this monitoring, evaluation and review process and are available.

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