FAQs

If you notice a leak on your property, you need to call a licensed plumber to fix it.

If you notice a leak in the street or in a public area, please help us and immediately call 13 20 90 (24 hours) so we can fix it.

How we get clean water to you

From our water filtration plants, we send your water to secure covered reservoirs in your area. Our pipes connect the reservoirs to the taps in your home. We monitor them for leaks and breaks. As a result of this, sometimes we need to upgrade or replace sections of our water mains, to make sure water is not wasted.

If an upgrade or replacement of a section of the existing water main in your street, we'll let you know by putting a notification in your letterbox.

The work generally involves:

1. Upgrading or replacing the water main
   • we’ll first set up a temporary work site which may include a skip bin, storage container, materials and a toilet
   • we’ll be digging in your street to replace or lay the new pipe
   • our work can get noisy and dusty, and parking will be limited in your street while we're working there
2. Testing the upgraded or replaced water main
   • after we've upgraded or replaced the water main, we need to test it, which is done remotely
   • we'll temporarily restore and clean up our work site during this time, but we'll leave some things like skip bins and protective equipment for when we return to connect the pipe
3. Connecting the upgraded or replaced water main, and your property, back into our network
   • we’ll need to turn off your water supply when we do this
   • you’ll receive a notification in your letterbox with further details about when this will happen
   • when you’re connected, we’ll remove the temporary work site and restore the areas we impacted.

• your home may need to be connected to a temporary water supply so that you have water while we’re working
• this will be an above ground pipe connected to your garden tap or water meter
• when installing and removing this temporary supply, we’ll turn the water off for up to one hour but we’ll knock on your door first before this happens
• when we connect the upgraded or replaced water main back into our live network, we'll turn the water off for up to five hours and affected residents will receive a separate notification from Sydney Water before this happens
• replacing the water main can take up to three months or more and our crews may work intermittently during this time
• if you need to make special arrangements with us, please reach out so we can work with you.

What you can do to help

Also remember, you shouldn’t connect your property’s stormwater drainage to your wastewater drainage. These cross-connections increase flow in our wastewater network during wet weather which contributes to overflow events.

If you experience or notice any wastewater overflows on your property or in your neighbourhood, please call Sydney Water on 13 20 90. This number operates 24/7 and is the best way to provide us with the essential information we need to try and fix problems.

What we’re doing to help

We’re trying to reduce wastewater overflows by proactively maintaining our assets through our avoid fail program, stormwater and sewer rehabilitation program (SSRP), and also investigating wastewater overflow problems reported to us by our customers to find a solution to reduce the frequency of it happening. This is our internal surcharge program.

Avoid fail program

We continually check our wastewater assets to keep them in good condition. The aim is to improve the reliability of our wastewater system by repairing or replacing old wastewater pipes. We also install new pipes to increase the system’s wastewater capacity.

Internal surcharge program

Wastewater surcharges (overflows) can occur in wet weather. This is usually due to a blocked pipes or insufficient capacity within our pipes. Blockages can generally be found by CCTV investigations, and cleared soon after the surcharge occurs. When we can't find a blockage, we do further investigations to try and find the reason why the surcharge is happening. To fix problems and reduce the number of times surcharges happen in the same area, we may need to build new infrastructure, install new, or upsize existing wastewater pipes to cope with additional flows during wet weather.

Stormwater and sewer rehabilitation program (SSRP)

The Sewer and Stormwater Rehabilitation Program (SSRP) involves repairing and lining wastewater or stormwater pipes. This is done using trenchless, no dig technology. The old pipes in need of repair are rehabilitated by inserting a liner inside them through existing maintenance holes at either end of the pipe. Pipes need to be intact, with no collapsed sections, to be lined. If there are significant breaks or collapses in the pipes these need to be repaired, by digging and replacing that section of pipe, before lining can be done. There are several lining systems available and approved by Sydney Water. The method of installation varies depending on the type of liner used. More information is available in our factsheet.

A lot of the work is done on private properties in stages, and requires several visits to maintenance holes by specialist crews, including:

• site investigation - we visit each property with a maintenance hole to determine the exact location and gather property owner / tenant information, contact details, and explain the work and impacts which are documented in a pre-construction agreement (PCA)
• cleaning & CCTV inspection
• lining
• junction cutting/sealing
• post CCTV inspection.

The aim is to complete all stages as quickly as possible, ideally within four weeks, to reduce the impact on residents.

Every day, we supply about 1.5 billion litres of drinking water to over 5.3 million people in their homes and businesses. About 80% comes from Warragamba Dam. The rest comes from a mix of other dams, the Hawkesbury–Nepean River and Sydney Desalination Plant at Kurnell.

The Illawarra Water Delivery System supplies water to about 300,000 people in Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama LGAs.

Water sources

• Main source: Avon River

• When required: Nepean River and the Shoalhaven River System

Main water storage

• Avon Dam

Water filtration

• Illawarra Water Filtration Plant

Wastewater, also known as sewage, is the used water that goes down sinks, toilets and drains all over the Illawarra. We keep it moving while protecting the health of our customers and reducing impacts on the environment. We collect and process wastewater through a complex, coordinated combination of carefully monitored facilities and pipes.

We continue to look for ways to better protect public health and the environment as we prepare for a growing city and work towards a circular economy. We aim to:

• use technology better to find and fix problems – hopefully, before they occur
• reduce leaks and blockages
• improve treatment processes
• reduce odours and other impacts on our customers
• increase water recycling
• reuse waste products.

Our water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) treat the wastewater before it's reused or discharged to rivers or oceans. They follow strict licence conditions issued by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA)(External link), which monitors the effect of discharges on water quality and aquatic life. They can also produce recycled water and biosolids, a rich source of phosphorus and nitrogen which can be used in agriculture, composting and land rehabilitation.