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Managing Water in NSW

Water is a limited resource. While in theory water is renewable, it is possible to extract too much water and therefore threaten the quality of our water supplies and the ability to maintain natural ecosystems that rely on water. Water is a state-owned resource and in NSW the Department of Water and Energy is responsible for the overall management of our freshwater resources - that means water in rivers, streams, and lakes (surface water) and water held under the ground in aquifers (groundwater).

The Department sets the overall policies for ensuring our water resources are sustainable and licences the extraction and use of water. Some of these licences are issued to major water supply authorities such as Sydney Catchment Authority or local councils for town water supplies, while others are issued to commercial users such as mines and individual farmers and irrigators.

In the last decade, NSW has embarked on a major process of reforming or improving the way water is allocated, ensuing that licence holders have more certainty about their future access to water and also ensuring that a proportion of water in our rivers and groundwater systems is set aside for environmental needs.

The water management information on this website is divided into seven areas:

Legislation and Policy – Find out the major pieces of legislation that govern water management in NSW, what is happening at the national level through the National Water Initiative and the key State policies on water management.
Water Sharing Plans – Find out how water is being shared between water users and the environment through the rules set in statutory water sharing plans. Find out which areas of the State now have water sharing plans.
Water licences, Approvals and Trading – Find out about basic landholder rights, how to apply for a water licence, a water supply works approval, or controlled activity approval for works carried out in, on or under waterfront land or how to trade water. Read about the changes that are being made to water licences, or view the public registers which provide information on licences, conditions, and water trades in NSW.
Water for the Environment – Find out how NSW is providing water for the environment, including important wetland areas, and contributing to inter-state and national water savings programs such as the Living Murray and Snowy Initiatives.
Water Data Online – Look at the flow at a certain point in a river today, current dam levels, if there are any algal alerts for your river, or information on the range of water quantity and quality data that is available from the Department.
Water Quality– Find out what are the major water quality issues for our freshwater resources and how these are being managed.
Compliance – Find out about compliance which is based on an integrated, risk-based approach incorporating education, monitoring and enforcement.