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How we make positive impacts
Healthy ecosystems and clean waterways are at the heart of our vision as we plan, design and manage sustainable solutions for world-class water services.
Supporting safe swimming and recreation
Our beaches and waterways have significant environmental, recreational and economic value. They're a major part of what makes our cities liveable. We protect beaches, waterways and the ocean by making sure wastewater is cleaned to the right standard and released in the right location.
We monitor our wastewater system and address emerging issues that may have an impact on marine ecosystem health and public use of beaches and harbours. For example, we're reducing the impact of debris balls that have recently washed up on beaches.
Beachwatch publishes State of the Beaches reports in October each year, and grades the 38 ocean beaches along Greater Sydney's coastline. It also provides Sydney beach forecasts to help you find somewhere safe to swim in the ocean or harbour.
We're helping to create more spaces for the community to enjoy waterways across Greater Sydney with Urban Plunge®. We provide support and expertise to councils and other partners who want to set up new recreational sites. RiverWatch®, our recreational water quality program, is an important Urban Plunge partner. It means you can find a safe swim spot anytime.
Protecting our creeks and rivers
Many people live near creeks and rivers, using them for swimming, boating, fishing and agriculture. Protecting our waterways is a key priority.
Some of our water resource recovery facilities release treated wastewater into creeks and rivers. We ensure it's been treated to a high standard to remove nutrients and fine particles.
Our comprehensive Sydney Water Aquatic Monitoring (SWAM) program assesses our impacts on river health, in line with the Australian and New Zealand guidelines for fresh and marine water quality. We regularly report our monitoring results to the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and publish a detailed, publicly available annual program data report.
We're also preparing for a growing population. This includes upgrading water resource recovery facilities to increase capacity and reduce the risk of wastewater overflows. This will deliver long-term improvements to water quality. We're working to cut wet weather overflows from the wastewater network by fixing incorrect property connections and reducing extra rainwater entering the pipes.
Stormwater management is an important part of protecting local waterways. We focus on reducing pollutants, improving water quality and enhancing the ecological health and community amenity of creeks and rivers. Find out more about our stormwater systems and the work we're doing.
Protecting waterways is a shared responsibility. We collaborate with councils and catchment groups like the Parramatta River Catchment Group, Cooks River Alliance, Georges Riverkeeper and Sydney Coastal Councils Group so we can improve, manage and protect our precious waterways together.
Protecting our biodiversity
Our operations stretch across environmentally sensitive bushland and waterways, and we're committed to protecting and enhancing biodiversity across our sites. As part of this commitment, we have several programs of work and initiatives to protect biodiversity, restore creeks and maintain natural areas.
We participate in the NSW Biodiversity Offset Scheme, a government-led initiative that helps balance development with conservation. We joined as a landholder in October 2018, launching our Biodiversity Offset Program to improve land management and create value through conservation. Our credits are managed through the Biodiversity Conservation Trust. Selling biodiversity offset credits helps fund conservation of habitats for threatened flora and fauna on our land.
Our Picton Water Resource Recovery Facility in south-western Sydney was the first site in our program. The land surrounding Picton Farm was registered in the NSW Biodiversity Offset Scheme in June 2021.
Threatened species protected at our Picton site include the Southern Myotis Bat, the Large-eared Pied Bat and the Cumberland Plain Land Snail.
Red Bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera)
Ecological communities protected at Picton Farm include Grey Myrtle – Lilly Pilly dry rainforest in dry gullies of the Sydney Basin Bioregion and South East Corner Bioregion, Cumberland Plain shale woodlands, Sydney Turpentine – Ironbark forest, and Cumberland shale sandstone Ironbark forest.
Our second site was the Winmalee Water Resource Recovery Facility, surrounded by the Blue Mountains National Park. Ecological communities protected at the biodiversity offset site at Winmalee include Red Bloodwood – Grey Gum woodland, Red Bloodwood – Scribbly Gum woodland, Smooth-barked Apple – Red Bloodwood, and Leucopogon fletcheri subsp. fletcheri.
We have around 120 sites with Property Environmental Management Plans (PEMPs). PEMPs are developed for our land with identified environmental value to help protect sensitive environments and ensure compliance with environmental legislation. Partnering with our bush regeneration contractors, we maintain natural areas through weeding and revegetation programs to encourage native vegetation and wildlife. Some pest management tasks are done along with Caring for Country activities.
If you have questions about our Biodiversity Offsets Program, email biodiversityoffsets@sydneywater.com.au.
Our environmental performance
We continually monitor our environmental performance. Our wastewater pipes and water resource recovery facilities must meet strict environment protection licence conditions set by the EPA. Our Operating Licence sets out our environmental performance indicators and responsibilities.
Environment protection licences tell us:
- what quality our treated wastewater needs to be before it's released into the environment
- what tests we need to do
- how and when we monitor water quality and report our results.
The licences are based on the unique environment where we release the treated water, such as the ocean, rivers or creeks. They also set expectations for improving environmental performance.
We publish summaries in our EPA pollution monitoring data reports and aquatic monitoring program reports. Each year, we report on our environmental performance through our Annual environmental performance report. This includes our statement of implementation of our special objectives and our environmental performance indicators report.
Our sustainability policy
Our role in sustainability involves balancing the needs of future generations while achieving a better life for customers today. We manage for the long term by caring for Country, supporting social equity and community wellbeing, and providing high economic value and affordable services for generations to come.
Here's some of what we're working on.
- Participation in the United Nations Global Compact, which commits us to consider sustainability principles and processes, and supporting these United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
6 Clean water and sanitation
7 Affordable and clean energy
9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure
11 Sustainable cities and communities
12 Responsible consumption and production
13 Climate action
14 Life below water
15 Life on land.
- Water recycling – treating wastewater by turning it into a valuable source of water that can be used for many different things, including improving community wellbeing by greening and cooling spaces.
- Solids recycling – treating solid waste from wastewater to turn it into valuable products like fertiliser.
- Improving our energy management to lower our energy use and include more renewable energy.
- Achieving net zero carbon emissions in our operations by 2030 in response to the increasing impact and risk of the changing climate.
- Conserving and restoring waterways and natural habitats.
Environmental policy, planning and management
Policy and planning
Our strategy 2025–2035 provides an overview for delivering our vision: Creating a better life with world-class water services. It includes our strategic outcome of environmental protection. This outlines how we will continue to ensure we protect our waterways and environment now and for the future. Learn more about our commitment to the environment from our Environmental policy.
To help us implement our vision, we've developed an environmental protection strategic investment plan focused on our objectives to prevent pollution, recover resources, contribute to cool, green and natural places, and achieve net zero carbon emissions and climate-resilient systems. We're also refining the ways we track our performance and report progress to customers.
Management system
Our Environmental Management System (EMS) helps us manage, review, correct and improve our activities and operations to minimise our impacts on the environment. It's certified to the international standard ISO 14001:2015. It's part of our integrated management system, which includes Quality, Safety and Asset Management components.
Maintaining our EMS certification helps to:
- demonstrate due diligence in environmental management
- ensure top management commitment
- maintain predictable and consistent processes
- reduce and manage resources such as waste materials and energy
- protect and manage water and land resources.
Environmental assessment
We use environmental assessments to plan, operate and maintain our assets. We invite community and stakeholder input, and aim to have a low impact on the environment. Learn more about our projects in your area, how they may affect you, and how you can provide feedback.