Strengthening And Equipping Local Water Utilities For The Future

The NSW Government is extending the successful $32.8 million Town Water Risk Reduction Program (TWRRP) to strengthen and equip Local Water Utilities (LWUs) and ensure regional communities can continue to rely on safe and reliable water services for the future.

The program has been assisting Local Water Utilities to reduce risks in town water systems throughout the state, including providing technical support to help Councils optimise their water treatment infrastructure, as well as boosting training opportunities to address critical workforce shortages across the sector.

NSW Minister for Water Rose Jackson said the delivery of safe, secure and affordable water supply and sewerage services in regional NSW was of paramount importance.

“Part of the solution is the Town Water Risk Reduction Program, which we are extending for another three years with additional funds to ensure we can roll out more initiatives in close partnership with Local Water Utilities,” Ms Jackson said.

“More than 90 councils right across NSW have partnered with this program.

“It’s a multi-pronged arsenal of measures with a proven track record of providing technical support and improve workforce capability and training opportunities where they’re needed most.

“We’re also continuing to roll out projects under the $1 billion Safe and Secure Water Program which helps Local Water Utilities fund and implement solutions to resolve high-priority risks to their water supply and sewerage services.

“In our government’s first parliamentary session, we passed legislation to ensure the Sydney Water and Hunter Water would be properly safeguarded from privatisation.

“But we always knew we had to look at the rest of NSW to get the full picture.

“I want to thank the Committee for its great work over the past 12 months.

“This is about keeping Local Water Utilities publicly owned, effective, sustainable, and backed up with the right resources from the state government which is exactly what we are doing.”

Government will continue working in partnership with the sector to understand how best to support LWUs in regional NSW and identify areas that need to be prioritised.

Key priorities for the three-year, $15 million extended program include:

Delivering a new skills and training program for LWUs staff, helping to establish a mature jobs market with targeted funding and appropriate training material as well as moving towards competency standards for all water operators;

Continuing to roll out the Advanced Operational Support Program which provides grants to LWUs to upgrade their water treatment plant infrastructure and boost drinking water quality; and

Working with the sector to address the Productivity and Equality Commission’s Review of Funding Models for local water utilities with a focus on Western NSW to find the most efficient and effective structure for providing water supply and sewerage services.

Extending the TWRRP is a central recommendation from the Joint Select Committee which was established last year to investigate ways to continue public ownership of LWUs.

The Committee recognised the program’s successes and called for continued support of the LWU sector.

The NSW Government supports, or supports in principle, all recommendations from the Committee, including the view that LWUs should remain in public hands, which is why we are committed to not privatising or selling-off water supply and sewerage assets or forcibly amalgamating LWUs.

The Government is carefully considering the findings and recommendations of the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission’s Review of Funding Models for local water utilities and will publish its response in 2025.

Any proposed changes to funding pathways for LWUs will require extensive consultation with the sector which will begin in the coming weeks with the release of a discussion paper to inform the NSW Government response and implementation planning.

Review the NSW Government’s full response to the Joint Select Committee’s findings at the Parliament of New South Wales website.

• Topics:

• Water