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Community grants
Annual grants for local community projects
Sydney Water, through its annual Community Grants Program, supports local community groups across Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and the Illawarra area.
With a shared goal to build thriving and sustainable communities, the Community Grants Program supports project teams with innovative ideas to put projects into action that benefit local communities.
Applications are sought from grassroots community groups, volunteer organisations, education institutions, local government with community partners, sporting groups, and other community-minded organisations that share Sydney Water’s vision of creating a better life for today and generations to come.
The 2024 grant applications are now open. This year we are looking for projects "Driving a Sustainable Water Future” with the focus areas of water education, healthy waterways and/or water conservation.
Program theme and focus areas
Water is an essential part of daily life and is at the heart of the places where we love to live and play. We couldn't imagine a world without it. How we value water connects us with our environment and each other.
The 2024 Community Grants Program is seeking projects under the theme Driving a Sustainable Water Future with an impact on one or more of these focus areas:
Please read the guidelines for more details.
2024 dates
- Applications Open: 9:00 AM Monday 6 May 2024
- Applications Close: 5:00 PM Monday 1 July 2024
- Announcement of Community Grant recipients: August 2024
- Project completion date: May 2025
Any questions please direct your enquiry to communitygrants@sydneywater.com.au
Key documents and information
Please review these documents for important information before applying:
- Community Grants Program Guidelines
- Community Grants Program FAQs
- Community Grants Program Terms and Conditions
To find out what information you will need to apply, see the Grant Application Questions.
2023 grant recipients
2023 Sydney Water Community Grant recipient and project (water conservation) |
Suburb |
|---|---|
The Scout Association of Australia New South Wales Branch Recycling Water Project |
Helensburgh |
Communities in Fellowship Together Incorporated Water Wise Community Education |
Blacktown |
Inner West Council Pioneers Memorial Park - Water Saving Project |
Leichardt |
Integricare Rainwater in action |
Northbridge |
Council of the City of Shellharbour Water sensitive landscaping - Jock Brown Sportsfield |
Barrack Heights |
Sans Souci Community Veggie Patch Wicking Beds for Community Garden |
Sans Souci |
Illawarra United Representative Football Club The Illawarra Stingrays Smart Irrigation Project |
Fairy Meadow |
Past community grant projects
Sans Souci Community Veggie Patch – Wicking beds for community garden
The Sans Souci Community Veggie Patch group replaced current wooden aviation shipping boxes with wicking beds for their community garden. These wicking bases are both sustainable and waterwise as they minimise the need to add water whilst evenly distributing moisture. This reduces water consumption as much as 90% compared to ordinary garden beds.
“Members of the community now walk past and are impressed by the new beds, opening up many conversations about 'wicking beds' and evaporation in gardens.” ~ Andrea (SSCP Chair)
Carnarvon Golf Club – Floating Wetlands
Carnarvon Golf Club installed additional floating wetlands into their dam. This enhanced the filtration system, healthy waterways and the quality of the water that flows from the golf course into Haslams Creek and then into the Parramatta River. Furthermore, these wetlands have created safe healthy habitats, resulting in an increase of bird species from 25 to now 40 in the area.
Integricare Pre-school – Rainwater in Action
Integricare fixed a broken water pump and installed a new smart water irrigation system that uses rainwater tank to maintain their outdoor environment. This system uses an app to set timers for watering and allows weather-based adjustments, minimising wastage and saving water.
Now trees and plants are beautiful and lush providing a wonderful canopy and cooling impacts, for the children to enjoy, explore and be out in nature.
Western Sydney University – Building Citizen Science Literacies for the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Project
Western Sydney University (WSU), with its partners, released its first Hawkesbury-Nepean River Report Card. The report card combined scientific, social, and cultural data collected by scientists and citizen scientists, and visually demonstrated how local people connect daily to the river.
Project team members worked collaboratively with First Nations peoples to write a statement on the cultural significance of ‘Water in Ngurra (Country)’ and the Alliance’s ongoing commitment to partnership moving forward.
A Waterbug training workshop for local residents and Landcare volunteers provided advice on using and understanding the Stream Pollution Index (SPI) to monitor the water quality at Cattai Creek using apps. Participants also learned to identify and score macroinvertebrates and upload data to dedicated apps for sharing and storage.
Pledging to drink tap water with Ocean Action Pod.
Learning about the urban water cycle.
Total Environment Centre – Ocean Action Pod project
The Ocean Action Pod Project engaged adults and children with the growing problem of plastic pollution. The Total Environment Centre used its Sydney Water Community Grant to run an Ocean Action Pod activation at the University of Technology / Ultimo TAFE NSW Green Market Week event.
The project encouraged and empowered over 300 students to make responsible choices and choose tap water over bottled water, with the aim of reducing single-use plastic bottles impacting the environment.
Sydney Water representatives attended the event alongside Ocean Action Pod to highlight how plastic bottles and other litter impact our precious waterways and systems, and how our drinking water is treated and tested to ensure it remains some of the best drinking water in the world.