Stormwater management

What is stormwater?

Stormwater is water that falls from the sky and runs across roofs, roads and parks into stormwater drains.

Sydney Water works closely with local councils and other agencies to manage the stormwater in Sydney.

Stormwater services:

• protect people and properties from flooding
• improve the health of waterways
• allow for stormwater to be reused.

Recycling stormwater

There are about 70 initiatives across Sydney that capture and reuse stormwater. They benefit local communities by keeping our local parks, gardens and sports grounds green. Stormwater is also used in public amenities.

Together these initiatives collect over 1.3 billion litres of water each year. This is the same as 520 Olympic swimming pools.

Read more about stormwater initiatives in your area.

Improving stormwater quality

Stormwater can carry pollutants like litter, coarse sediment, grease, oil and metals collected from roads and properties. These pollutants can affect the quality of the local waterways.

Sydney Water has 64 Stormwater Quality Improvement Devices (SQIDs) that help to clean stormwater. These include trash racks, litter booms and sediment traps. In the last twenty years, we have removed over 35,000 cubic metres of litter and organic waste as well as 39,000 tonnes of sediment from stormwater, before it reaches waterways.

Want to know more about SQIDs? Read our case study on the Woollahra Golf Course SQID (PDF - 277KB) to find out how it's helping protect the Whites Seahorses in Rose Bay.