I am pleased to announce today that the Australian Government will provide $132.5 million to improve water quality in the Hawkesbury Nepean River.
Last year I called for bids for large, iconic water projects under the Australian Government's $1.6 billion Water Smart Fund to manage our water sustainably and productively with new infrastructure, technology and information systems.
In June 2006, the New South Wales Government sought $132.5 million in Commonwealth funding to improve the level of sewage treatment in western Sydney and use the discharge to replace environmental flows from Sydney's water supply.
The National Water Commission did not support the NSW Government proposal because it was primarily aimed at augmenting water supply, which is core business for Sydney Water, and did not advance National Water Initiative objectives of innovative water conservation and management.
The Commonwealth is prepared to provide the $132.5 million sought by the NSW Government for a project that more comprehensively restores the health of the Hawkesbury Nepean river system.
I have asked the National Water Commission to work with the NSW State Government, local governments and stakeholders to develop a truly iconic project for the Hawkesbury Nepean and western Sydney, including;
* improving sewage discharges at three treatment plants below the Warragamba Dam (up to $54.6 million Commonwealth funding);
* improving urban stormwater management (up to $35 million);
* properly managing agricultural and open space irrigation (up to $15.9 million);
* treating sewage to a higher level, particularly in the South Creek sub-catchment, thereby reducing nutrient discharges (up to $27 million).
Our funding is contingent on the NSW Government developing a water sharing plan for the Sydney region consistent with the National Water Initiative and bringing forward decisions on environmental flow releases from Warragamba Dam. It is my expectation that both state and local governments would also contribute financially.
I call on the NSW Government to respond to our proposal and develop a revised submission that will address water sustainability and management issues so crucial to the more than one million western Sydneysiders who live in the Hawkesbury Nepean catchment.