Goal

2008–09 Performance summary

Progress rating

Providing clean, safe drinking water

Water quality compliance

• Water quality: Continued full compliance with the 2004 Australian Drinking Water Guideline.

• Customer satisfaction with water: Customer feedback shows satisfaction with water quality is high.

Helping develop a water efficient city

Water efficiency

• Reuse and recycling: 10 billion litres of drinking water saved through recycling schemes. Investment in recycled water schemes increased by 145%.

• Water leakage: Leakage remained low at 7.3% of drinking water drawn. Sydney Water is on track to meet the target of 105 million litres a day by June 2010.

• Demand management: Investment in demand management and water savings have increased significantly since the programs began in 1999. Water savings increased by almost 13% compared to 2007–08.

• Water drawn: The total volume of water drawn increased slightly due to a return to average weather conditions in 2008–09.

Contributing to clean beaches, oceans, rivers and harbours

Licence compliance

• Sewage treatment system discharges: Treated wastewater discharge loads remained within system licence limits.

• Breaches of statutory instruments: Two tier 3 penalty notices were issued under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 to Sydney Water and a contractor. Neither incident resulted in significant environmental harm.

• Environmental performance monitoring: Long-term results show considerable improvement in water quality and ecosystem health in inland waterways and Sydney beaches.

• Trade waste agreements: The mass of heavy metals discharged to the sewer remained within total limits specified in trade waste consents for the various catchments.

Optimising resource use

Eco-efficiency

• Energy consumption: Sydney Water met the annual target towards its commitment to become carbon neutral for energy and electricity consumption by 2020. This represents a 22.4% reduction in carbon emissions against the 1993–94 baseline.

• By-products: The target of 100% beneficial use of biosolids was met.

• Waste minimisation: Sydney Water’s recycling rate decreased from 86% to 53% in 2008–09 due to increased non-recyclable construction and demolition waste.

• Flora, fauna and heritage: Heritage management targets were met. Restoration and rehabilitation works resulted in a net gain of native vegetation in 2008–09.

Serving customers

Customer service

• Customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction with service delivery remained high. There was a reduction in billing complaints related to meter reading issues. The number of noise and odour complaints increased by 23%. Complaints began to decrease after measures to better manage odours were put into place.

• Social assistance: The number of short-term payment extensions increased. Sydney Water continued to support customers experiencing difficulties.

• Service quality and system performance: Water and wastewater system performance targets met.

Developing a safe, capable, committed workforce

Workforce, safety and capability

• Safety: Continued progress towards zero injuries despite an increase in the frequency rate for contractor lost time injuries.

• Training and capability: Staff skills and knowledge improved with access to national competency programs and training.

• Entry level employment: Graduate, trainee and apprenticeship programs in place to meet long-term skills needs.

Being an economically efficient business

Business efficiency

• Profitability: Profit below target due to lower demand for water, the abolition of regulated developer charges, and asset impairment due to a downward revaluation of system assets.

• Return on assets and equity: Return on assets and equity low by commercial standards. Return on equity decreased due to one-off asset impairments.

• Debt servicing: Increased debt to fund a comprehensive capital expenditure program but interest cover remains at prudent levels.

• Infrastructure management: Ensured reliability and availability of services through ongoing investment in renewal, rehabilitation and maintenance of infrastructure.