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Learn more and have your say
We've proposed major investment to secure Greater Sydney's water future in our price proposal to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). After its review, IPART will set prices for water, wastewater, recycled water, stormwater and trade waste to take effect from 1 July 2025. Have your say now through IPART's public consultation process.
Tomorrow's water starts today
Watch this video to learn about our price proposal. There's a lot we must achieve together, and our price proposal outlines how we can do it.
Your voice has been important in every phase of our customer engagement journey. The conversations we've had with our customers have shaped every part of the price proposal submitted to IPART. And now, we encourage you to have your say to IPART, too.
How prices are set
Our prices are determined every 5 years by IPART after a review of our price proposal outlining the efficient cost of running our business for the upcoming 5-year period. The determination process includes a public consultation period. Then IPART sets our prices for water, wastewater, recycled water, stormwater and other services. The prices you pay depend on the type of property you have and the services available in your area. Prices are adjusted for the rate of inflation on 1 July each year. IPART has now started the review process of our 2025–30 price proposal, which we submitted on 30 September 2024.
Yes, prices will likely increase
We propose to invest $16.6 billion in capital works and $9.9 billion in operating expenditure across water, wastewater and stormwater services.
Most of the increased investment is required to enable growth in both new and existing regions as Western Sydney continues to develop, and as population growth exhausts remaining excess capacity in water and wastewater systems or expands to areas where no infrastructure exists. The increase in operating expenditure will support rising bulk water costs, growth, improved systems and service performance through increased investment in maintenance to secure a safe and secure water supply.
We have worked hard to balance these priorities, be efficient and avoid unnecessary costs to develop a price proposal that's fair, and aligned with customer needs and preferences.
Reflecting customer priorities
From July 2022 until March 2024, we ran our largest customer engagement research program in our 136-year history. In total, 13,394 customers took part in the program. We heard that the cost of living, a housing crisis and other financial pressures are making life tougher for everyone. Customers who participated in the research program, called Our Water, Our Voice, told us what their priorities are clearly. We heard that we're expected to continue delivering reliable water services now and for future generations at an affordable price. We heard that we're expected to safeguard water quality and reliability even in tough times. We also heard we're expected to provide a great customer experience and protect the environment for future generations.
We're aligned to the NSW Government's housing supply strategy
We work closely with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and local councils to stay aligned with government policies, including the NSW response to the National Housing Accord. The Accord focuses on sustainable housing and emphasises the importance of water efficiency measures. These include using recycled water and better managing stormwater to reduce environmental impacts. Water services play a big role in making the NSW Government's vision a reality, affecting everything from how affordable and practical new housing developments are to their long-term sustainability.
We're building a resilient and reliable water supply
We're facing a water supply challenge, and it's time to start thinking differently about how we use water. By taking an integrated approach, we can better plan and manage our water resources. This means combining the delivery of water, wastewater, recycled water and stormwater services to ensure water security, protect public health and achieve the environmental outcomes that matter to our customers. Key parts of our plan include building purified recycled water (PRW) plants and expanding the Sydney Desalination Plant to keep our water supply reliable.
And we'll always be here to help
By staggering potential bill increases, we'll make sure any changes are clear and predictable. We understand that price increases can affect affordability, so we're improving the financial support available for those who need it. Developers will also contribute to the cost of new infrastructure for their projects, reducing the costs passed on to customers. Between 2025 and 2030, with help from the NSW Government, we'll boost our support services and provide over $1 billion in payment assistance programs.
20 ways our proposal will deliver value to you
Customers indicated that they understand the challenges we face, and they support us to act now to ensure our city's water future. They said they don't want a decline in services now or in the future, and could accept an affordable bill increase over the next regulatory period to safeguard current levels of service into the future. Here are 20 ways we're planning to make Greater Sydney better.
We must provide safe and reliable drinking water
Customer experience
1. Informed and empowered customers
We'll be providing over 5 million customers with information about outages, water use and bills through digital channels.
2. Positive customer experience
We'll deliver the same high level of service that you're used to.
3. Fair and affordable bills
We'll keep water bills affordable while minimising the impact of necessary investments for safe and reliable services. We currently have the lowest water bills of any Australian capital city.
4. Improve water literacy
We'll invest in education programs about water, where it comes from, how it's managed and where it goes. We'll also raise awareness of purified recycled water as a rainfall-independent water supply.
5. Safe swimming and recreation
We'll improve community recreation sites through collaboration with other organisations across Greater Sydney by 2030 and provide real-time swimming condition updates.
6. Help with bills
We'll scale up our hardship programs and services with NSW Government assistance, forecasting over $1 billion for payment relief programs from 2025 to 2030 to support those in need.
We must provide reliable services as the population grows.
Water quality and reliability
7. Secure water supply
We'll increase water security to reduce severe restrictions in droughts by increasing rainfall-independant supply by 33% of total drinking water by 2030.
8. Reduce leaks
We'll reduce the volume of drinking water lost through leaks by 2030.
9. Save water together
We'll provide support for customers to save over 5 litres a day, and assist community and business organisations to improve water efficiency and drought resilience.
10. Reliable water
We'll ensure a further reliable water service, with only under 2% of customers ever facing lengthy unplanned interruptions, and we'll provide prompt responses to minimise impact.
11. Safe and clean water
We'll upgrade 4 water filtration plants by 2030 to ensure safe, clean drinking water across Sydney, the Illawarra and Blue Mountains in all weather conditions.
12. Support housing needs
We'll deliver services to 300,000 new homes to support the NSW Government's growth ambitions, and our growing population and cities.
13. Invest for the future
We'll invest to secure Sydney's future by planning and building today to support population growth of 1.7 million people by 2050.
We must give Greater Sydney safe swimming and recreation.
Environmental protection
14. Cool, green natural places
We'll actively manage nearly 30% more Sydney Water land to conserve waterways and habitats, incorporating Caring for Country practices and collaborating with the community and First Nations peoples.
15. Net zero carbon emissions
We'll achieve net zero carbon emissions in our operations by 2030 by expanding solar and wastewater energy, securing power purchase agreements and using credible offsets to cut over 334,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
16. Prevent pollution of waterways
We'll upgrade our water resource recovery facilities in order to meet regulatory requirements to protect waterway health.
17. Reduce environmental harm
We'll minimise the risk of significant incidents, such as overflows into waterways, by improving how we operate and maintain our assets, as well as undertaking targeted renewal of old and high-risk wastewater pipes.
18. Recover resources
We'll increase the amount of recycled water available for supply from treated wastewater and harvested stormwater to around 62 GL per year, reducing water loss to the environment.
19. New regional integrated stormwater servicing
We'll deliver Australia's largest stormwater harvesting program to reduce impacts to waterways in Western Sydney and support urban cooling and greening.
20. Climate resilient systems
We'll improve our business risk management and invest to ensure water services and infrastructure can cope with climate change.
What our proposed prices mean for you
Yes, our prices are likely to go up in 2025 because we need to invest now, but they're not final yet. Only IPART can determine the prices that will take effect from 1 July 2025. IPART will decide if the prices we propose are fair and reasonable. You can view our full 2025–30 price proposal when you have your say.
