National Water Week 2025: Bringing water in focus

Last week it was National Water Week. To celebrate, the Australian Water Association invited us to ‘Bring Water into Focus’.

Water quietly powers almost everything we love about Sydney. Healthy communities, thriving businesses, green parks, playing fields, a world-class harbour, pools and beaches. Our current water system ensures sports fields are safe to play on, community gardens can thrive and the trees lining our streets ensure suburbs remain cool throughout hot summers.

Reliable, safe water underpins almost every aspect of Australian life and the economy. As summer approaches, the impact of a severe drought without alternatives to rainwater would be devastating.

Businesses would be forced to scale back or shut temporarily. Construction would slow, playing fields would brown off and the flora and fauna would die. A shortage in our water supply would mean households face tougher limits than we’ve known in years gone by and essential services strain to maintain standards. The economic impacts compound across supply chains, and community wellbeing takes a hit.

Desalination helps prevent that scenario. It stabilizes supply at all times, reducing reliance on storage dams, especially during the driest periods, so restrictions are less severe and shorter in duration, protecting people’s jobs and everyday life. Sydney Desalination Plant therefore plays a key role in supporting the water ecosystem in Sydney.

For a city on the water, Sydney’s identity flows from its harbour, rivers, and coast. For First Nations peoples, the Gadigal of the Eora and the neighbouring Dharug, Dharawal, and Guringai Nations, these waters are living Country. SDP recently collaborated with Re-Right Collective on a mural for a section of our Pipeline, drawing inspiration from the local land and seawaters, inviting all of us to see water as more than a resource. Water is the thread that binds us to place, to each other.

This ethos was reflected in the AWA’s call to action this National Water Week. It’s worth remembering that water’s value is societal as much as it is economic. The SDP is one part of an integrated system to keep Sydney liveable and prosperous. Every drop we save and every smart investment we make strengthens that resilience.

Going beyond National Water Week, what can you do to help? Use water wisely at home and work, support green infrastructure, and stay informed about how Sydney’s water system operates. When we value water, we protect the city we love.