4.4 million
people |
Population
Sydney Water supplies water, wastewater, recycled water and some stormwater services to over 4.4 million people in Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains. Sydney Water is Australia’s largest water utility. |
1.4 billion
litres a day |
Water services
Sydney Water supplies 1.4 billion litres of water to over 1.7 million homes and businesses every day. Households used 72% of the water supplied, while businesses used 28%.
Privately owned filtration plants, operated under contract to Sydney Water, treat most of the water. Several other plants owned by Sydney Water treat the rest. The largest filtration plant at Prospect treats around 74% of the water supply. In January this year, a desalination plant was added to our water treatment network. It provided four per cent of our water supply needs, with the remaining 22% coming from the other water filtration plants.
In future, the desalination plant is expected to supply up to 15% of Sydney’s water supply needs, with 65% from Prospect Water Filtration Plant and around 20% from the other water filtration plants.
Treated water is distributed to customers via a network of about 21,015 km of water pipes, 265 reservoirs and 171 pumping stations. The system is operated using centralised computer control systems. |
92 million
litres a day |
Recycled water
Sydney Water recycles about 92 million litres of wastewater a day. A number of water recycling schemes reduce demand on water supplies and discharges of wastewater. There are 444 km of recycled water mains, and the volume of recycled water is increasing. Recycled water is treated to the standard needed for its use. |
1.3 billion
litres a day |
Wastewater services
Sydney Water collects and treats over 1.3 billion litres of wastewater a day. The wastewater network includes about 24,022 km of pipes and 670 wastewater pumping stations. There are 24 separate sewerage systems licensed by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.
Sydney Water transports wastewater to 29 wastewater treatment plants. After treatment, it is reused or discharged to rivers or the ocean under licence conditions, related to the receiving environment. Inland plants discharging to the rivers treat waste to high levels. Three of the treatment plants (Fairfield, Bellambi and Port Kembla) are used only during major storms. As a result of more rain and ongoing reduced water use due to Water Wise Rules, this year, for the first time, the volume of wastewater exceeded the amount of water supplied to customers.
Sydney Water beneficially uses 100% of captured biosolids in agriculture, composting or land rehabilitation, and around 50% of captured grit and screenings. |
440 km
of channels |
Stormwater services
Most stormwater channels and drains are the direct responsibility of local councils. Sydney Water manages 440 km of stormwater channels and conduits mainly in south and south-west Sydney, as well as flood-prone areas and trunk drainage at Rouse Hill. |
