Water Kit - Hunter Water

Water kit . ssS . 001 . april 2010 

Water Kit 

an education resource for schools

About 

this kit 

Water 

supply 


conservation 

Wastewater 

conservation 


Support 

material

introduction to water supply 

WATER SUPPLY 

Hunter Water provides water to nearly 

500,000 residents, businesses and 

industries in the local government areas 

of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, 

Cessnock and Port Stephens. 

Water is collected in three main storage 

sources, treated and then supplied to 

consumers through an extensive network 

of pipes and pumping stations. 

Historically, urban water supply has been 

guided by the principle of increasing 

supply to meet the evergrowing 

demands of consumers. 

In more recent times, however, there 

has been a shift towards finding ways 

to manage the community’s demand for 

water rather than just increasing supply. 

Water conservation programs, user-pays 

water pricing systems, water recycling, 

and improving water supply efficiency 

are all part of Hunter Water’s sustainable 

approach to water supply. 

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES 

This Water Kit provides information and 

worksheets to help schools integrate 

local and regional water issues into their 

curriculum. A range of issues are 

addressed in this section, including: 

• The relationships between the 

water cycle, catchments and our 

water supply 

• The location and features of the 

Hunter’s water storage areas 

• Impacts on water quality and 

water supply within the Lower 

Hunter’s catchments 

• How sustainability principles are 

being addressed in the water 

supply system 

• Opportunities for community 

participation 

The information and worksheets within 

this section can be used collectively, 

independently or combined with those 

from other sections of the kit. 

Water kit . ssS . 001 . april 2010 1

links with syllabus 

Used collectively, the information and 

worksheets from this section address the 

following syllabus outcomes: 

key learning area stage syllabus outcomes addressed 

Human Society and Its Environment 3 ENS3.5 - Patterns of place and location 

ENS3.6 - Relationship with places 

SSS3.7 - Resource systems 

Science and technology 3 PSS3.5 - Products and services 

ESS3.6 - Earth and its surroundings 

INV3.7 - Investigating 

Physical Development, Health and 

Physical Education 

DMS3.2 - Decision making 

PSS3.5 - Problem solving 

PHS3.12 - Personal health choices 

Geography 4* 4G1 - Investigating the world 

4G2 - Global environments 

4G3 - Managing global environments 

4G4 - Global citizenship 

* While Stage 4 focusses on global issues, the kit could be used to 

compare the Lower Hunter with communities/issues outside Australia 

Geography 5 

5A2 - Changing Australian environments 

5A3 - Issues in Australian environments 

5A4 - Australia in its regional and global context 

Science 5 5.10 - Ecosystems 

5.11 - Resource use and conservation 

5.13 - Identifying and planning an investigation 

5.14 - Performing first-hand investigations 

5.15 - Gathering first-hand information 

5.16 - Gathering information from secondary sources 

5.17 - Processing information 

5.18 - Presenting information 

5.19 - Thinking critically 

5.20 - Problem solving 

5.21 - Use of creativity and imagination to solve problems 

5.22 - Working individually and in teams 


1

introduction 

WHY STUDY WATER? 

Water for everyday use is vital, but 

too often taken for granted. Students 

should study the water cycle, water 

management and water conservation 

to build an understanding and 

appreciation of water issues. 

They can then choose the best options 

and practices to protect this finite 

resource that is the basis of all life 

on earth. 

HUNTER WATER 

Hunter Water is often the first contact 

point for students researching the local 

water cycle. Hunter Water understands 

that education about water and 

wastewater issues is part of ensuring 

healthy, reliable and sufficient water 

supplies for our communities, both 

now and in the future. As water is 

essential to all life, it is vital that we 

protect our environment and its 

biodiversity to ensure the health of our 

waterways and water storages. 

THE WATER KIT 

The Water Kit was commissioned by 

Hunter Water and developed by The 

Wetlands Centre, Australia. 

It also involved input from the 

Department of Education’s Wetlands 

Environmental Education Centre 

(Newcastle), teachers from local 

schools, and other government 

agencies in the Hunter. 

The Water Kit provides targeted support 

to schools and their communities on 

water resource management in the 

Hunter. It has been developed to: 

• Provide support to schools through a 

targeted curriculum-based package 

to raise understanding and skills in 

sustainable water management 

• Proactively respond to primary and 

high schools’ needs for local waterrelated 

resources 

• Acknowledge Hunter Water’s role 

in facilitating water education in the 

lower Hunter to complement current 

water education in schools 

• Assist Hunter Water to deliver, 

monitor and report on environmental 

education programs 

The Water Kit is unique in its strong 

regional content and context. It provides 

an opportunity to cultivate a sense of 

place whilst developing guidelines on 

how we can all contribute to sustainable 

water management. It encourages 

students to observe, research, think 

critically and be open to discussion 

and new ideas on local and regional 

water issues. 

THE WATER KIT FEATURES FOUR 

MAIN SECTIONS 

1 Water Supply 

2 Water Conservation 

3 Wastewater and Stormwater 

4 Support Material 

The first three sections contain fact 

sheets and worksheets that can be used 

in a variety of ways. The introduction for 

each section outlines learning 

opportunities and potential links within 

different levels of the curriculum. 

The Water Kit contains material to 

support teachers address syllabus 

outcomes across a number of Key 

Learning Areas. It also helps integrate 

the objectives of the Environmental 

Education Policy for Schools (NSW 

Department of Education and 

Training 2001) with student learning 

programs. 

The kit has been developed with the 

needs of both teachers and students in 

mind. The resources target students in 

stage four and five, and may be used 

directly by students to support their 

learning, and by high school teachers as 

background information or ideas for 

investigating water issues. 

There is a wealth of water education 

resources available. This Water Kit meets 

the need for more localised information 

rather than duplicating existing 

resources. Section 4 of the Water Kit 

outlines a range of other resources 

available to schools. It includes 

information on websites, and funding and 

awards opportunities for schools 

interested in sustainable water initiatives. 

ENQUIRIES 

Enquiries about the Water Kit should be 

directed to Hunter Water’s 

Communications Unit by calling 

1300 657 657. 


2

contents 

About 


supply 

1.1 

1.2 

1.3 

1.4 

1.5 

1.6 

1.7 

1.8 

1.9 

1.10 

>> 

The Water Cycle 

The importance of Catchments 

History of the Hunter’s Water Supply 

The Lower Hunter’s Water Supply 

Drinking Water Treatment 

Managing Groundwater Supply 

Impacts on Catchment Water Quality 

Sustainability and Water Supply 

Waterwatch - Playing an active role 

Landcare and Waterways 

Water Supply Worksheets 


conservation 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

2.4 

2.5 

2.6 

>> 

Water Use and Conservation 

Being Waterwise at Home 

Being Waterwise at School 

School Water Audit 

Water Conservation Initiatives 

‘Think Twice’ Water Saving Campaign 

Water Conservation Worksheets 

Wastewater 

conservation 

3.1 

3.2 

3.3 

3.4 

3.5 

3.6 

>> 

The Hunter’s Wastewater 

Wastewater Treatment in The Hunter 

Raymond Terrace WWTW 

Morpeth Wastewater and Wetlands 

Stormwater Management 

Managing Stormwater with SQIDS 

Wastewater and Stormwater Worksheets 


Support 

material 

4.1 

4.2 

4.3 

4.4 

4.5 

4.6 

Environmental Websites 

Contacting other Organisations 

National Grants and Awards 

Hunter Grants and Awards 

Glossary 

Acknowledgments

1.1 the water cycle 

INTRODUCTION 

More than two thirds of the Earth’s 

surface is water, but only 3% of this is 

freshwater. 

Most of the 3% that is 

freshwater is locked up in polar ice 

caps, glaciers, the atmosphere and 

soil. Only a very small percentage of 

freshwater can be found in rivers, lakes 

and underground aquifers. 

The water cycle takes place around the 

world every moment of every day. 

Look up and you might see clouds 

building or transforming - that’s part of 

the water cycle. The rain falling on the 

ground or into waterways is part of the 

water cycle. 

Even theperspiration that you develop 

after physical activity joins the water 

cycle. These are all part of one amazing 

process that transforms water through 

different physical states - solid (hail, 

snow), liquid (rain), and vapour (mist, 

fog, perspiration). 

WATER IS IMPORTANT! 

There’s no point imagining daily life 

without water. The fact is we cannot 

live without it. It is crucial for the 

survival of all living organisms. 

Consider the following facts: 

• A human body is around 70% 

water. Our muscles have more 

water than any other body tissues, 

and our brains are 75% water. 

• We lose 3 to 3.5 litres of water 

in an average day, more in hot 

weather or when we exercise. So, 

we need to replace water in 

our body. 

• At most a person could survive 

three to four weeks without food, 

but less than one week without 

drinking water. 

• Lose 10% of your body water and 

you can barely walk. Lose 20% 

and you’re in real trouble. Water 

cools the body, it helps carry 

nutrition through the system, and 

carries out wastes. 

DAILY WATER USE 

Think about how you use water 

every day. 

The table below provides a summary. 

where 

Home 

School 

Industry 

Agriculture 

Recreation 

Healthcare 

Ecosystems 

examples of water use 

Cooking 

Drinking 

Cleaning 

Bath and shower 

Toilet 

Washing cars 

Washing clothes 

Washing windows 

Gardens 

Pool 

Toilets 

Drinking 

Cooking 

Cleaning 

Water features and gardens 

Keeping fish, turtles, tadpoles 

Conducting lab experiments 

Making materials eg bricks, timber 

Dust minimisation spraying 

Mixing materials eg concrete 

Stock watering 

Irrigating crops and pastures 

Washing out dairy sheds 

Processing milk products 

Processing crops eg cotton 

Drinking 

Irrigation of sports fields, gardens 

Establishing shade trees 

Swimming pools 

Making sporting equipment, like 

goalposts, balls and wooden bats 

Cooking 

Drinking 

Cleaning 

Bathing 

Sterilising equipment 

Surgical operations 

Survival and habitat for animals 

Survival and growth for plants 

Flowing rivers, creeks, streams 

Moderator of temperature extremes 

Dissolving nutrients for uptake by 

plants and animals 


consider the facts 

Did you know that Australia is the 

driest inhabited continent on Earth? 

Australia’s rainfall and river flows are 

the most variable in the world and the 

amount of water that we collect from 

runoff is one of the lowest. Yet 

Australians use more water per 

head of population than most other 

nations. 

The water we use in the Lower Hunter, 

like anywhere else in the world, has 

been ‘recycled’ for millions of years 

Since the amount of water on Earth 

does not change (ie no ‘new’ water is 

created), conserving water and 

keeping it clean is very important. 

We therefore need to be aware of when 

and where we use water and how we 

can reduce our water consumption. 

This will help to ensure a plentiful 

supply for ourselves, future generations 

and our local environment. 

WHAT IS THE WATER CYCLE? 

The water cycle is driven by the 

processes of condensation, 

transpiration, precipitation and 

surface runoff. 

The natural water cycle involves 

precipitation in the form of rain, snow 

or hail, which results from the 

condensation of water vapour in the 

atmosphere into clouds. Precipitation 

falls over catchments and then flows 

(as runoff) into waterways such as 

rivers, lakes and wetlands, and then 

into the ocean - the Earth’s main water 

reservoir. 

Water can also be absorbed into the 

soil and be stored naturally in 

underground basins called aquifers. 

Eventually, the underground water is 

also transported back into the ocean. 

Energy from the sun causes the water 

at the surface of the oceans, lakes and 

rivers to heat up and change from a 

liquid to a vapour. This is the 

process of evaporation. Water is also 

able to enter the atmosphere through 

the process of transpiration by plants. 

Transpiration involves plants taking 

water up through their roots and 

passing moisture back into the 

atmosphere through their leaves. 

In the atmosphere, the temperature 

falls with increased altitude and hence 

the water vapour condenses to form 

liquid water droplets, appearing 

as mist, fog and clouds. This process 

is known as condensation. When the 

clouds are saturated the water 

droplets join, become heavier and 

eventually fall out of the atmosphere 

as rain, hail or snow, and the water 

cycle continues. 

This water cycle diagram shows how water moves around the world 

This diagram of the water cycle includes the interruptions and processes that humans undertake to ensure a clean and relia 


BREAKING THE WATER CYCLE 

To supply the water we need for 

our homes, farms, industry and other 

needs, the natural water cycle must 

be intercepted. 

Some of the ways in which humans 

intercept the natural water cycle 

include: 

• Extracting water directly from river 

systems and underground 

aquifers for agricultural uses 

• Collecting surface water and 

storing it in dams and weirs to 

ensure large volumes of reliable 

and clean water for the community 

• Collecting water in rainwater tanks 

for later use in and around our 

homes and gardens 

Human activities impact on the water 

cycle and therefore influence the 

quality and quantity of freshwater 

available to all other living organisms. 

The diagram below shows some of our 

interactions with the natural water 

cycle. Wastewater treatment could be 

considered an extra stage in the urban 

water cycle process. 

Hunter Water is responsible for 

collecting, storing, treating and 

delivering drinking water to the Lower 

Hunter. Hunter Water is also responsible 

for collecting and treating wastewater 

before returning it to the natural 

water cycle. 

This diagram of the water cycle includes the interruptions and processes that humans undertake to ensure a clean and reliable water supply 


3

1.2 the importance of catchments 

Natural catchments direct runoff water to creeks, rivers, lakes, aquifiers and the ocean 

What is a catchment? 

A catchment is the area of land that 

supplies surface water to a common 

collection point - usually a creek, river, 

dam, ocean or aquifier. Typically, 

catchments are bordered by high 

points like hills or ridges that direct the 

flow of water. 

Catchments can vary in scale from 

the suburb you live in through to entire 

regions covering thousands of 

square kilometres. Many smaller 

catchments can be located within one 

large catchment. 

Catchments may be completely 

natural, or a combination of bushland, 

agricultural, industrial and urban areas. 

Typical coastal urban catchment land use zones 

The types of land use and surfaces 

found in a catchment will have a major 

effect on the quality and quantity of 

water found in the catchment zone. 

The quality of our fresh water supplies 

depends on the health of our catchments. 

HUNTER WATER’S AREA OF 

OPERATIONS 

Hunter Water provides water and 

wastewater services to towns and cities 

across the Lower Hunter, Lake Macquarie 

and Port Stephens catchments. This area 

of operations includes the five local 

government areas of Newcastle, Lake 

Macquarie, Port Stephens, Maitland 

and Cessnock. 

Hunter Water’s collection, storage and 

treatment of water is centred around 

the Williams River and adjacent Port 

Stephens catchments. The three main 

water storages are Chichester Dam, 

Grahamstown Dam and the Tomago 

Sandbeds. 

Chichester Dam is located north of 

Dungog. The catchment for Chicester 

Dam is within the Barrington Tops 

National Park and is a declared 

wilderness area. It is one of the most 

pristine catchments in Australia, with 

large areas unaffected by human 

activity. This is reflected in the quality 

of the water drawn from the dam. 

Water released from Chichester Dam 

flows into the Chichester River and the 

Williams River. The Williams River 

catchment is relatively undeveloped 

but supports a range of activities and 

land uses including agriculture, 

residential and urban developments, 

recreation and tourism. 

Further downstream, near Seaham, 

water from the Williams River can be 

transferred to Grahamstown Dam via the 

Balickera Canal. The Williams River 

Grahamstown Dam system is an 

important component of the Lower 

Hunter’s water supply. 

Grahamstown Dam is the region’s major 

urban water supply. It is an off-river 

storage with water supplied from its own 

catchment and the Williams River. 

The third source is underground water 

from the Tomago Sandbeds in the 

Port Stephens catchment. Water from 

the sandbeds is extracted by pumps 

and sent for treatment at the 

Grahamstown/Tomago Water Treatment 

Plant. Smaller treatment plants at Lemon 

Tree Passage, Glovers Hill and Anna Bay 

extract water from nearby aquifiers. 

The first map shows Hunter Water’s 

area of operations. While the Williams 

River catchment is not part of Hunter 

Water’s area of operations in terms of its 

service to customers, it is of great 

importance due to the location of 

Chichester Dam. 

The following three maps on the 

opposite page show the Port Stephens, 

Hunter and Lake Macquarie 

catchments. The dashed lines in the top 

and middle maps show the boundary of 

Hunter Water’s area of operations. 


4

Hunter Water’s area of operations cover five local government areas: Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Maitland and Cessnock 

Port Stephens, north-east of the Hunter catchment, is part of a catchment that includes Karuah and Myall Lakes sub-catchments 


5

The Hunter Catchment extends far inland. The Williams River catchment lies between the Hunter and Port Stephens catchments 

Catchments and Water Sources 

The Hunter is one of few regions in 

the world with large protected 

catchments for its water sources. 

Few people live in these catchments 

and public access, recreation and 

other activities that could impact the 

quality of the water supply are 

minimised. 

Hunter Water is responsible for 

supplying the Lower Hunter community 

with a reliable and healthy supply 

of water. Hunter Water’s water sources 

are Chichester Dam, Grahamstown 

Dam, Tomago Sandbeds and the 

Revegetating with native plants can 

reduce riverbank erosion 


Tomaree Sandbeds.They are all 

located in either the Williams River or 

Port Stephens catchments. 

Management and protection of these 

two catchments are essential to the 

management of our water supply system. 

Catchment Management is an 

important means of linking Hunter 

Water, government departments, 

local councils, industry, farming 

and community groups to coordinate 

protection of individual catchments. 

Hunter Water works with others to 

manage our catchments and sustain our 

water sources by controlling feral 

animals, revegetating with native plants 

and protecting waterways by releasing 

environmental flows. Hunter Water also 

supports rehabilitation projects, such 

as those developed by the Healthy 

River Commission. 

An Integrated Water Resource Plan has 

been prepared by Hunter Water to 

manage the community’s need for water 

and the capacity to supply water, to 

achieve sustainable water management 

This plan is available from Hunter Water’s 

website at: 

www.hunterwater.com.au 

What you can do 

We all have a responsibility to ensure the 

health of catchments. Here are some 

simple things you can do to maintain high 

quality water in the Lower Hunter: 

• Join a local environment group like 

Waterwatch or Landcare and learn 

how to minimise your impact on 

the Hunter’s waterways, as well as 

participate in rehabilitation activities 

• Don’t overuse chemicals, 

detergents and cleaners 

• Choose environmentally endorsed 

products from the supermarket 

• Keep sediment and organic matter 

out of your local waterways 

• Carefully store and dispose of 

possible pollutants, like paint, oil 

and chemicals 

6

Protecting and managing the 

catchment 

Keeping catchments clean and 

healthy will help ensure high quality 

watersupplies. 

Hunter Water works with many other 

organisations to protect our 

catchments and the quality of local 

water supplies. 

To find out how these organisations 

are involved in catchment 

management, visit their websites: 

• Hunter Water 


• Hunter-Central Rivers 

Catchment Management Authority 

www.hcr.cma.nsw.gov.au 

• Department of Environment & 

Conservation 

www.environment.nsw.gov.au 

• Department of Infrastructure, 

Planning and Natural Resources 

www.dipnr.nsw.gov.au 

• NSW Department of Primary 

Industries 

www.agric.nsw.gov.au 

• Local community groups such as: 

Landcare, 

www.landcareaustralia.com.au 

Waterwatch, 

www.waterwatch.nsw.gov.au 


7

1.3 history of our water supply no.1 

Safe Harbour and Good Water 

A large safe harbour, abundant fresh 

water, coal deposits and good soil 

attracted the first settlers to Newcastle 

and the Hunter. Water was obtained 

from streams, public wells and private 

storage tanks. Yet rapid growth in the 

1860s placed pressure on water 

supplies and quality. Droughts also 

threatened water supplies and future 

economic growth. More secure water 

supplies were essential. 

The Start Of Treated Water 

Walka Water Works was completed by 

the Public Works Department in early 

1887. The Water Board took control in 

1892. It is located west of Maitland 

on the Hunter River and in 1887 had 

50,000 potential consumers. A 15 

inch pipe 37km long carried water 

to Newcastle. Those who could afford 

it had pipes and taps installed in their 

homes, others collected their water 

from public standpipes. 

Demand Greater Than Supply 

In 1912, just 20 years after the 

Water Board was formed, the 

population supplied with water had 

increased five fold. Industry was also 

growing rapidly, BHP opened in 1916 

increasing water demand. The choice 

for a second water source was to 

build a dam or extract water from 

sandbeds. Many rivers in the 

Barrington Tops were studied before 

deciding on the Chichester River. 

1903 

1864 

1887 

1916 

Hard Work and Health 

Concerns 

Storing and transporting water was 

time consuming and difficult. Pollution 

also posed a threat to water quality 

and public health; in 1878 a Lambton 

doctor said it was ‘not water at all, but 

mud’. The Hunter District Water 

Supply and Sewerage Board was 

created in 1892 to provide safe and 

reliable drinking water to the public 

and industry - which of course was 

easier said than done. 

A CycleOf Drought and Flood 

As Walka had limited storage capacity 

the Lower Hunter was still affected 

by floods and drought. A flood in 

1893 caused major damage to the inlet 

structure and pipeline. Droughts 

in 1902-03 and 1905-06, and 

continued rapid growth, also raised 

the need to develop other water 

sources. The ‘hardness’ of Hunter 

River water for domestic chores was 

also a cause of concern to local 

residents. 

Bushrangers and World War 

Chichester Dam lies north of Dungog 

in an area once known for bushrangers 

such as Thunderbolt and Joe 

Burn. Work began in 1916 during the 

First World War, with more than 1000 

men, women and children living in the 

construction village at Dusodie. 

The dam is surrounded by state forests 

which makes it one of the most 

protected and pristine catchment 

areas in Australia. 

1875 

1903 

1924 


Water From The Mountains 

Chichester Dam holds 21,500ML(one 

megalitre (ML) is one million litres). 

The catchment covers 120km2. 

The wall is constructed from 

thousands of inter-locking units of 

concrete. The 1000mm pipe to 

Newcastle is 85km long. After 

completion investigations began on 

a third source with a view to closing 

the Walka Water Works, the likely 

choice being the Tomago Sandbeds. 

More Water From 

Underground 

The Tomago Sandbeds stretch 25km 

from Tomago to Port Stephens and are 

4km wide. The total catchment 

area is 105km2. Sand deposits 

underground hold freshwater ranging 

from 7m above to 15m below sea 

level. Hunter Water extracts up to 

16,500 ML per year of raw water 

through a system of bores and pump 

stations. Extracted water is treated at 

the Tomago Treatment Plant. 

Production and Consumption 

Through the 1950s the Hunter kept 

growing as a major commercial centre 

for coal, steel, manufacturing and 

agriculture - serviced by the port of 

Newcastle. Growth in water use was 

linked to industrial activity; between1939 

and 1952 the population suppliedwith 

water rose 10% but waterconsumption 

jumped by 90%. Demand again placed 

pressure on available supply. 

1925 1940 

1955 

Depression and Then 

Recovery 

The Walka Water Works were closed 

in 1931 due to the Great Depression 

By 1935 the economy had recovered 

and in 1936 work began on the 

Tomago Sandbeds. The Water Board 

played a crucial role during World 

War II during which time consumption 

grew 50%. As a result, the Tomago 

Sandbeds changed from a backup 

water source to an indispensable 

part of the water system. 

1937 


9

1.3 history of our water supply no.2 

Our Largest Water Source 

Strong economic and population growth 

led to investigations for a new water 

source. Another dam near Dungog was 

proposed, but Swedish engineers 

suggested Grahamstown Moors be 

converted into a dam with water diverted 

from the Williams River to replenish 

supplies as needed. This was a much 

easier and less expensive option, work 

on the scheme began in 1956. 

Rising Wealth and Droughts 

With a strong economy living standards 

and consumer spending rose steeply 

During the construction of the entire 

Grahamstown supply system (1956-65 

consumption of water rose 62% 

Grahamstown was the saviour of the 

Newcastle Region in 1964-65 during the 

most severe drought since records began 

in 1858. It continues to be our most 

important water storage source. 

Gardens Pools Dishwashers 

The warning signs of the 1970s did 

not prevent water use rising in the early 

1980s. Strong growth in new homes, 

pools, dishwashers, larger gardens & 

greener lawns sustained rising 

water consumption. But instead of 

building a another dam at considerable 

expense a new approach was 

considered - one that saw water as a 

valuable and finite resource. 

1903 

1955 

1965 

1980 

An Off River Storage System 

The catchment for Grahamstown Dam 

is only 70km2; to maintain water levels 

a weir was built on the Williams River at 

Seaham - water from the Williams is 

diverted along the Balickera Canal into 

Grahamstown Dam. The dam holds 

131,000 ML covers 2,500 hectares and 

is 6m deep. Water from Grahamstown 

is also treated at Tomago Treatment 

Plant, where it is mixed with treated 

sandbed water. 

Oil, Inflation and Unemployment 

During the 1970s western economies 

suffered a huge jump in the cost of oil 

as supply failed to meet demand. This 

resulted in both high inflation and high 

unemployment. We realised that 

our natural resources were not 

unlimited and that we needed to 

protect and manage our environment 

on a sustainable basis. The high 

economic and consumption growth 

since the early 1950s was no longer 

automatic or sustainable. 

Droughts and Tough Decisions 

In 1982 the east coast of Australia 

suffered it’s worst period of drought 

since 1965. The importance and the 

limit of our drinking water supplies 

became more widely appreciated. 

Hunter Water also raised the idea of 

rewarding people for conserving water 

and discouraging them from 

unnecessary water consumption via a 

pricing system that placed a more 

accurate value on our water. 

1960 

1970 

1982 


Rewarding Water Conservation 

A new pricing system for water 

use known as ‘user pays’commenced 

in July 1982. What it really meantwas a 

change in the way water bills were 

calculated. For the first time the actual 

amount of water used at a property 

was the main factor that determined 

water charges. Water consumption fell 

significantly and the need to build 

another water source at great expense 

was deferred. 

How You Can Be Waterwise 

Environmental education strategies 

help promote water conservation ideas, 

from ways of protecting our catchments, 

dams and rivers to saving water around 

the home and in the garden. A central idea 

stresses that we all benefit from water, and 

shouldall help to save and sustain our 

community’s water. Together, ‘user pays’, 

recycling, new technologies and education 

have helped to reduce our overall water 

consumption. 

Getting More Out Of Our System 

Upgrades to the water system include: 

a pipeline to Port Stephens to reduce 

demand on their sandbeds; a hydro 

electric plant at Chichester Dam; new 

pumps in the Stockton Sandbeds; 

plans to access Stockton Beach 

sandbeds during major droughts; and 

long-term work to raise the capacity of 

Grahamstown Dam by 50%. 

1903 

1983 

1990 2000 

RECYCLING WATER FOR INDUSTRY 

Growing environmental awareness and 

a desire to improve efficiency leads to 

a focus on recycling. Drinking water 

can be conserved if reclaimed water 

from wastewater treatment plants is 

used in industrial processes. Today 

recycled water is used to generate 

electricity, wash coal, fight fires and 

water golf courses. Hunter Water is 

committed to getting the most from 

our existing assets. 

1985 


11

1.4 the lower hunter’s water supply 

hunter water’s role in water 

supply 

Hunter Water is responsible for supplying 

the Lower Hunter community with a 

reliable and healthy supply of water. This 

includes urban residents, the commercial 

sector and industry in the Newcastle, 

Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and 

Port Stephens local government areas. 

Rural communities generally manage their 

own water supply by collecting rainwater 

in tanks, pumping from groundwater 

bores, or pumping from local creeks and 

rivers. The water supplies of some towns 

are managed by their local council. 

Dungog Shire Council, for instance, 

purchases bulk drinking water from Hunter 

Water and then manages the delivery of 

this water to its customers, who pay for a 

reticulated water supply. 

Hunter Water operates five water 

treatment plants (WTPs), 4,270km of 

pipes, 77 reservoirs and 74 pump 

stations to supply water to homes,shops, 

factories, schools and hospitals. A 

strategic control centre provides 24hr 

monitoring of system performance. 

Where are our water SOURCES ? 

Chichester Dam 

Chichester Dam is the oldest 

operational dam in the Hunter and was 

completed in 1926. It was constructed 

on the Chichester River below the 

junction of the Wangat and Chichester 

Rivers. The catchment covers an area 

of 197km2 and includes extensive 

forests and high mountains. The 

catchment area is relatively unaffected 

by pollution caused by human activities. 

The dam was constructed using 

hundreds of interlocking units of 

concrete. Once one block was finished, 

the framework was raised ready for 

the next, until its final height of 40 

metres was reached. The dam can hold 

21,500 megalitres of water. 

Grahamstown Dam 

Grahamstown Dam has been operating 

since 1960 and is the Lower Hunter’s 

major urban water supply. It is an off 

river storage with water supplied from 

both its own catchment through runoff 

and by pumping fresh water across 

from the Williams River along the 

Balickera Canal. It is the largest water 

storage facility in Hunter Water’s area of 

operations and can hold 152,000 

megalitres of water. 

Tomago Sandbeds 

Tomago is a local Aboriginal name 

for ‘sweet water’. Since 1939 the 

Tomago Sandbeds has supplied water 

to the Lower Hunter. 

The sandbeds retain water, which seeps 

through the sand, allowing it to 

accumulate in the sand as a layer of 

water known as an aquifer. The 

catchment area covers130km2 and can 

hold 60,000 megalitres of water. 

Tomaree Sandbeds 

The Tomaree Sandbeds consist of an 

unconfined aquifer about 15km2 in 

area and exceeds a depth of 6.0 metres 

in some places. 

The Tomaree Sandbeds 

are located between Nelson Bay, 

Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and One Mile 

Beach. The sandbeds can hold 16,000 

megalitres of water. A pipeline was 

built by Hunter Water in 2002 from 

Tomago WTP to supplement supply 

from the Tomaree aquifier. 

HOW TO MEASURE WATER 

VOLUMES 

Hunter Water’s water sources are 

Chichester Dam, Grahamstown Dam, 

and the Tomago-Tomaree Sandbeds 

- all located in either the Williams River 

or Port Stephens catchments 

Management and protection of these 

catchments is vital to safeguard the 

quality and quantity of the water supply. 

MEASUREMENT SYMBOL VOLUME EQUIVALENT 

Millilitre ml 20mls 1 dessert spoon 

Litre L 1000ml 1 litre of milk 

Kilolitre kl 1000L 1 very full bath 

Megalitres ML 1000kl 0.5 olympic pool 

Gigalitre GL 1000ML 500 olympic pools 

CHICHESTER DAM GRAHAMSTOWN DAM TOMAGO SANDBEDS TOMAREE SANDBEDS 

MAXIMUM CAPACITY 21,500 ML 152,000 ML 60,000 ML 16,000 ML 

AVERAGE DAILY SUPPLY 90 ML 60 ML 45 ML 7 ML 

MAXIMUM DAILY CAPACITY 90 ML 270 ML 140 ML 24 ML 

AVERAGE YEARLY EXTRACTION 33 GL 22 GL 16 GL 3 GL 

AREA OF STORAGE 180 hectares 2600 hectares n/a n/a 

AREA OF CATCHMENT 197km2 99km2 100km2 16km2 

AVERAGE DEPTH 35m 7m 20m 35m 

HEIGHT OF WALL 43m 10m n/a n/a 

LENGTH OF WALL 254m 4.8km n/a n/a 

LENGTH OF SPILLWAY 112m 160m n/a n/a 

COMMISSIONED 1925 1960 1939 1949 


12

Main infrastructure of Hunter Water’s water supply system 


1.5 drinking water treatment 

Issues connected with raw 

water sources 

Raw water from Chichester and 

Grahamstown Dams and the Tomago 

Sandbeds contains some natural 

impurities that need to be removed 

prior to distribution to households, 

commercial properties and industry. 

The raw water may contain clays, silts, 

iron,organic matter, manganese, and 

micro organisms. In addition, the natural 

pH of the water may need to be 

adjusted. Hunter Water’s WTPs are 

located near water sources at Dungog, 

Tomago, and Tomaree Peninsula. 

They produce high quality drinking 

water by treating for the following: 

• Clays and silts which cause ‘cloudy’ 

water and particles can shield 

1 . Raw Water 

Micro-organisms from disinfection 

• natural organic matter, iron and 

manganese which cause taste, 

odour and discolouration problems 

• High or low pH which cause 

corrosion, taste and odour 

problems, and ineffective 

disinfection 

Good drinking water 

Drinking or ‘potable’ water should be safe 

to use and aesthetically pleasing. It 

should be clear and colourless, with no 

unpalatable taste or odour. 

Hunter Water is required to treat water to 

a standard defined by the National Health 

and Medical Research Council and 

NSW Health. 

The key parameters that must be 

2 . Coagulation/Flocculation 

tested and treated are listed below: 

PARAMETER 

Physical 

Chemical 

Microbiological 

COMPONENTS 

turbidity, pH, colour 

iron, zinc, maganese, 

copper, fluoride, 

aluminium,chlorine, 

lead, trihalomethanes 

total coliforms, 

faecal coliforms 

After treatment it is vital that water is 

kept clean in the pipes and reservoirs of 

the distribution system; all Hunter 

Water’s reservoirs have roofs to prevent 

pollution from wildlife, dust or 

unauthorised access. 

The water treatment process 

3 . Sedimentation 

Rain, river and runoff water is diverted 

and stored in dams, then transported 

to water treatment plants. Groundwater 

is extracted by pumps and also sent to 

treatment plants. 

Liquid aluminium sulfate (alum) and/or 

polymer is added to the raw water causing 

tiny dirt particles in the water to stick together 

(coagulate). The particles eventually form 

larger, heavier particles called flocs that are 

easier to remove by settling or filtration. 

The water and floc particles flow into 

sedimentation basins where the water velocity 

slows causing the heavy floc particles to settle 

to the bottom. This floc is called sludge and 

is piped to drying lagoons. Some plants use 

direct filtration where the floc is removed by 

filtration only (there is no sedimentation stage). 

4 . Filtration 

5 . Disinfection 

6 . Fluoridation 

Water flows through a filter that removes 

particles from the water. The filters are made 

of layers of sand and gravel, and in some 

cases, crushed anthracite. Filtration catches 

the suspended particles and improves the 

effectiveness of disinfection. The filters are 

cleaned by a process called ‘backwashing’. 

Disinfection removes bacteria, viruses, and 

parasites. Chlorine is very effective at 

guarding against possible biological 

contamination in the distribution system. 

Water is fluoridated to improve dental health 

as required by the Fluoridation of Public 

Water Supplies Act 1957. 

7 . pH correction 

8 . Sludge Drying 

Lime is added to adjust the pH and stabilise 

the naturally soft water, which minimises 

corrosion of water pipes and hot 

water systems. 

Solids collected during sedimentation and 

filtration are removed to drying lagoons. 


14

1.6 the managing groundwater supply 

What is groundwater? 

Groundwater is water that has fallen 

as rain, infiltrates the soil and becomes 

stored under the ground. It commonly 

occurs in sandy areas where water can 

permeate the soil. Large quantities of 

groundwater can often be captured and 

stored in underground geological storage 

areas known as aquifiers. Farmers and 

land owners often search out groundwater 

and bring it to the surface using a bore 

This water is known as ‘borewater’. 

Since groundwater is located underground 

and out of sight, it is often difficult to 

understand its character. However, studies 

have shown that groundwater is critical to 

the maintenance of ecosystems,especially 

to adjacent wetlands and deep-rooted 

native forests that take advantage of the 

stored water. 

Groundwater forms an important part of 

the Lower Hunter‘s water supply. Aquifers 

and borewater have always been 

important sources of water for rural users 

Recent urban growth has meant that they 

are now even more important sources of 

drinking water for the Tomaree and 

Tilligerry Peninsulas in Port Stephens, and 

as a security against drought for other 

areas of the Lower Hunter. 

Hunter groundwater sources 

There are many small localised aquifers in 

the Hunter, but three have been identified 

as significant sourcesof water: 

Tomago,Tomaree and North Stockton 

aquifiers.They cover an area of 275km 

along a 10 15km wide coastal strip that 

extends from the Hunter estuary in the 

south to Port Stephens in the north. 

The volume of water stored in the aquifer 

is approximately 60 gigalitres (or 60,000 

million litres). This large volume of 

groundwater is a valuable source of 

back-up water for urban areas. 

Of the three aquifiers Tomago is the most 

well-known. Tapped into from 1939, the 

Tomago Sandbeds are about 100km2 

and 18m deep. Across this area, 520 

wells draw water up to 26 pump stations. 

After being treated at Grahamstown WTP 

the water is sent to Newcastle, Lake 

Macquarie and Port Stephens. 

The Tomaree aquifier supplies water to 

the Tomaree Peninsula, whilst the 

North Stockton aquifier is maintained 

as a drought reserve. 

In 2000 new bores were sunk at the northern 

end of the Tomago Sanbeds 

The Tomago Sandbeds looking north-east 

towards Port Stephens 

An original map of the Tomago extraction and pumping system 


15

Impacts on groundwater 

quality in the hunter 

Groundwater is vulnerable to human 

impacts. Even small changes to the 

groundwater catchment can create a 

slow but significant change to water 

quality and quantity over time. 

There are a variety of impacts on 

groundwater management, including: 

• Water extraction: overuse of 

groundwater can affect the level 

of water stocks and potentially 

remove the natural buffer between 

the aquifer and saline sea water, 

allowing a flow of sea water into the 

freshwater sandbeds. 

• Industrial land use: industrial 

development can result in 

deforestation, water pollution and 

compaction of the sandbeds, and 

reduce the storage capacity and 

quality of the aquifer. 

• Urban development: pesticides 

and fertilizers used in urban areas 

can infiltrate the soil and move into 

the aquifer. Large areas of the land 

sealed as roads, roofs, driveways 

and paths cause a decrease in 

infiltration and thereby reduce 

replenishment of groundwater 

supplies. 

• Sewerage disposal: leaking septic 

tanks can seep into groundwater 

and cause contamination. 

• Mineral and sand mining: can 

cause damage to groundwater by 

exposing the water to the air. This 

begins as a series of chemical 

reactions which can result in ‘grey 

water’ and increased concentration 

of minerals, such as iron. 

Managing Groundwater in the 

Lower Hunter 

The sustainable management of 

groundwater will ensure that this resource 

is available for continued human use, and 

remain an important factor in sustaining 

local ecosystems. 

Up until 1991, Hunter Water managed 

Tomago Sandbeds to provide water to 

Newcastle. Under Hunter Water’s 

management, some groundwater sources 

were classified as special areas and 

attract a high level of protection. In other 

areas licences were necessary to access 

a specified volume of water. These 

strategies ensured that the quality of 

water remained high. 

Since 1991 the management of the 

sandbeds has been controlled by the 

Department of Infrastructure, Planning 

and Natural Resources. New legislation 

empowered DIPNR to manage the 

resource to maximise benefits and 

minimise impacts. 

The Hunter Water (Special Areas 

Regulation came into effect in 2003, 

replacing the 1997 regulation. This 

regulation gives power to the Director 

General to issue directions for the 

management, disposal or removal of any 

substance that may harm any waters in 

the Special Area. 

The Water Management Licence issued 

to Hunter Water under the Water Act 

1912 is administered by DIPNR. The 

licence authorises Hunter Water to take 

and use water, and places rules on 

extractions from Chichester and the 

Williams River, and groundwater from 

Tomago and Tomaree Sandbeds. 

The licence requires Hunter Water’s 

management of water resources to 

follow the principles of sustainability 

and to manage its land in order to 

protect water quality. Management of 

the Sandbeds is guided by the 

following principles: 

• Water levels in the aquifer should 

be managed in a way that maintains 

the health of wetlands and other 

ecosystems 

• Unacceptable salt water intrusion 

is prevented by maintaining 

appropriate water levels 

• Unacceptable changes in the 

levels of chemical ions in the 

groundwater must be prevented 

• The amount of groundwater 

extracted annually should not 

exceed the average annual recharge 

(ie the amount of water entering the 

aquifer on average each year) 

• maintaining a management plan 

for the area 

Raw water is primarily extracted from the Inner Barrier zone 

Water from the sandbed is extracted by 

sinking bores underground 


16

Water Sharing Plan for the 

Tomago, Tomaree and Stockton 

Groundwater Sources 

It has become necessary to develop 

rules about the use of Tomago- 

Stockton-Tomaree Sandbeds. These 

rules are in the Water Sharing Plan 

for Tomago, Tomaree and Stockton 

Groundwater Sources. 

The Water Sharing Plan was required 

by the NSW Government and developed 

by a committee of government, 

agriculture, industry, indigenous and 

environmental groups. It aims to provide 

for the environmental protection of the 

groundwater sources and to give direction 

on how water will be allocated and shared 

among different water users. 

The Plan recognises a number of 

important issues regarding the 

sustainable mangement of the Hunter’s 

groundwater sources: 

• Climatic variability causes 

variation in the amount of rainfall 

and infiltration which ‘top up’ the 

Hunter’s groundwater 

• Residential and tourist 

development is placing increased 

demand on the water source 

• The groundwater supports a 

number of ecosystems in the area 

ie terrestrial vegetation, wetland, 

coastal sand dunes 

• The groundwater provides important 

flows to rivers and tidal creeks 

• The groundwater source areas are 

spiritually and culturally significant 

to the Worimi aborigines 

The extraction of water under these rules 

is monitored and reviewed every five 

years under the provisions of the Water 

Management Act 2000. The table below 

outlines the water requirements and 

extraction limits for groundwater sources. 

Groundwater Recharge: water 

requirements and extraction 

limits at start of Plan (ML/year) 

Groundwater 

source 

#Average 

annual 

recharge 

#Environmental 

water from 

recharge 

Landholder 

basic rights 

Hunter Water 

share 

components 

Other licenced 

share 

components 

#Extraction 

limit 

Tomago 35,700 10,700 1,000 25,300 1,300 25,000 

Tomaree 8,600 2,600 3,000 3,700 800 6,000 

Stockton 20,000 6,000 2,000 0 3,100 14,000 


17

1.7 impacts on catchment water quality 

Catchments and water quality 

The Hunter is one of few regions in the 

world with large protected catchments for 

its water sources.Very few people live in 

these catchment areas and public access, 

recreation and other activities that could 

degrade water quality are minimised. 

However, the water entering the major 

water storage and supply facilities 

can still be affected by land uses such 

as agriculture, forestry and urban 

development. 

These land uses can affect water quality 

through erosion and sedimentation of soil, 

application of pesticides, fertilisers and 

other chemicals over the land, and through 

high levels of nutrients and bacteria from 

animal wastes. 

Despite having well-protected water 

supply catchments, many factors 

impact on the Hunter catchment and 

may therefore still impact on the water 

supply. These can be divided into 

human and non-human (or ‘natural’) 

impacts on the waterways. 

Good vegetation cover on riverbanks reduces 

erosion and turbidity 

Natural influences oN 

catchment water quality 

Geology and soil types 

Much of the Lower Hunter floodplain is 

underlain by sedimentary rock formed 

during the Permian geological period. At 

that time brackish swamps with naturally 

high salt levels covered the area. This salty 

bedrock and associated groundwater 

now sit relatively close to the surface. 

Erosion can expose the salty rock material 

and evaporation and capillary action 

combine to bring the salty groundwater 

to the surface. Rainfall over these areas 

dissolves salts and transports them to 

local waterways. 

Basalt is naturally high in phosphorus and 

is the main geology of the Barrington Tops, 

which form the headwaters of the Williams 

River catchment. This area includes old 

volcanoes and rock formed from basalt 

flows and dykes during the Tertiary 

geological period. Weathering basalt 

and erosion of basaltic soils contributes 

phosphorus to waterways. 

Vegetation cover 

Vegetation coverage maintains cleaner 

water by minimising erosion, dryland 

salinity and filtering surface water. 

The loss of riparian vegetation makes 

riverbanks more prone to erosion as 

the deep roots that once stabilised 

the soil are removed. Erosion of the 

riverbank results in increased sediment 

in waterways, affecting water quality 

parameters such as turbidity and 

dissolved oxygen. 

Clearing native vegetation is also 

a major cause of dryland salinity. 

Removing this deep-rooted vegetation 

results in salty groundwater rising 

towards the surface through 

evaporation. 

As water flows over land affected 

by salinity, it dissolves salts and 

transports these into nearby 

waterways. 

Climate 

Climate affects the volume of water in 

waterways, either diluting or concentrating 

contaminants. Climate can fluctuate 

greatly, bringing about major changes in 

water quantity in a relatively short period of 

time. For instance, during 2001-02 water 

flow in the Williams River ranged from 

three ML/day to more than 11,000 ML/day. 

Human influences oN 

catchment water quality 

Urban and industrial development 

The ongoing development of industry and 

expansion of urban areas can have a major 

impact on water quality. Large areas of 

vegetation are often cleared, soil erosion 

increases, and stormwater runoff from 

these areas become a major source of 

nutrients, litter, heavy metals, and bacteria 

entering waterways. 

Stormwater pollution 

Stormwater can flow at high velocities and 

is therefore capable of eroding river and 

stream banks and carrying large quantities 

of litter. Stormwater can also transport 

less noticeable forms of pollution such as 

detergents from people washing their cars, 

nutrients from garden fertilisers and heavy 

metals into the water supply. Plastics and 

metals can cause harm to aquatic life and 

birds, and the addition of nutrients leads to 

algal blooms, some of which may be toxic 

eg cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). 

Agricultural runoff 

Fertilisers and animal wastes contribute 

nutrients to waterways. While nutrients 

are essential to all life, an excess of 

nutrients can bring ill health to waterways. 

Nutrients of particular concern are nitrogen 

and phosphorus. High concentrations 

of these in waterways cause excessive 

growth of macrophytes (large water 

plants), algae, diatoms and blue-green 

algae. Decomposition of these plants can 

decrease dissolved oxygen, causing fish 

kills and affecting other aquatic life. 

Agricultural herbicides and pesticides can 

also pollute waterways via runoff, causing 

a decline in the health of aquatic plant 

and animal life. Vegetation clearing and 

land cropping can expose the soil and 

accelerate erosion, adding more sediment 

and organic matter to the waterway. 

Animal waste dissolves in runoff and adds 

bacteria and nutrients to the water course. 

Recreational activities 

Recreational activities, such as boating, 

can create soil erosion and be a source of 

pollutants such as greases, oils, nutrients, 

sediment and litter. Weed seeds can be 

transported from one waterway to another 

by being carried on boats and their 

equipment. 


Monitoring the Hunter 

catchment 

The population and diversity of aquatic 

life are easily affected by environmental 

stresses. Organisations such as Hunter 

Water, the Hunter-Central Rivers 


(HCRCMA), Landcare and Waterwatch 

monitor water quality to keep a check on 

the health of waterways and the stresses 

they face. Water quality monitoring 

involves checking for changes in aquatic 

(biological) life, as well as physical and 

chemical parameters. 

Hunter Water works with the HCRMA, 

the Department of Environment and 

Conservation, the Department of Planning, 

Infrastructure and Natural Resources, 

Fisheries, the Department of Primary 

Industries, landholders and community 

groups to protect our catchments and the 

quality of local water supply. 

Managing the human impacts 

on our waterways 

Managing human impacts on local 

waterways isn’t just the responsibility of 

government and industry. Since we all use 

and rely on clean water for our existence, 

we all have a role to play. 

Obtain expert advice 

Contact Waterwatch, Bushcare, 

Landcare, Dunecare, Councils, Hunter 

Water or the CMA for advice about 

water-related issues. 

Show others what can be achieved 

Set a good example for friends, family 

and neighbours by conserving water 

and provide encouragement for people 

become involved and learn more. 

Join a community group 

Join a local environmental community 

group and play an active and rewarding 

role in protecting your environment and 

your local catchment area. 

Don’t overuse detergents and cleaners 

Wash vehicles on the lawn, keep 

fertilisers and manure away from gutters 

and stormwater drains and use lowphosphorus 

detergents. 

Choose the right product 

Purchase and use environmentally friendly 

products, recycle where possible and 

properly dispose of waste material. 

These measures can reduce wate to 

landfill requirements and minimise 

pollution entering waterways. 

Keep sediment out of our waterways 

Stop suspended particles such as salt, 

clay, sand and silt entering waterways. 

These sediments can reduce light 

penetration needed for photosynthesis 

and absorb heat, which warms the water 

and reduces oxygen levels needed by 

aquatic fauna. 

Maintain grass and tree cover 

Good grass and tree coverage minimises 

soil washing into gutters, drains and 

waterways. 

Keep organic matter out of the 

waterways 

Ensure organic matter from your property 

including leaf litter, animal droppings, lawn 

clippings and compost material does not 

find its way into gutters, drains or any other 

waterways. 

Safely store and dispose of pollutants 

Dispose of pollutants thoughtfully by 

taking them to the appropriate collection 

point and ensure that all containers are 

secure. Special care should be taken with 

sump oil, paints, pesticides, fertilisers, 

chemicals and poisons. 

Students take a ‘catchment crawl’ along the Williams River 

Native grasses prevent sediment from entering waterways 


19

1.8 sustainability and water supply 

Ecologically Sustainable 

Development indicators 

Addressing sustainability 

issues 

ESD achievements and how 

you can help 

Ecologically Sustainable Development 

(ESD) is a framework which integrates 

environmental, economic and social 

decision-making into natural resource 

management. 

ESD principles have become an 

important component for Hunter Water’s 

decisions in managing the Lower 

Hunter’s water supply. 

A set of ESD ‘indicators’ or criteria have 

been developed for Hunter Water to 

monitor and report on progress towards 

achieving ecological sustainability for 

water supply in the Lower Hunter. 

These indicators include: 

• Economic 

These relate to the direct and 

indirect financial impacts on 

Hunter Water’s customers (ie 

community, business, industry). 

Changes to the water supply 

system need to be cost-effective 

in terms of pricing and incentives. 

• Environmental 

These involve impacts on 

living and non-living natural 

systems - ecosystems, air, land 

and water. Hunter Water works 

with community, government 

and industry to take a holistic 

catchment approach to planning 

and managing the water supply 

system. A catchment-wide 

approach is an effective way of 

improving the health of waterways 

as it integrates the management 

of land, vegetation and water 

resources, rather than dealing with 

these natural resources in isolation. 

• Social 

These address the impacts on 

communities in the Hunter. They 

include qualitative and quantitative 

information on public health and 

safety, labour practices and social 

issues. To achieve sustainable 

water resource management 

Hunter Water keeps the community 

informed of decisions regarding 

future water resource management. 

This also helps develop community 

responsibility for minimising the 

collective impact on the water 

cycle and water supply system. 


Sustainability can be achieved by 

following ESD principles and objectives 

that ensure the maintenance of 

ecological processes and systems. 

To make water supply truly sustainable, 

these principles and objectives are 

integrated into Hunter Water’s activities 

and operations, for example, captial 

works and service delivery. 

ESD objectives are mandated in NSW 

legislation. The core objectives of the 

National Strategy for ESD signed by 

Australia’s Government are: 

• To ensure a path of economic wellbeing 

that safeguards the welfare 

of future generations, referred to 

as ‘intergenerational equity’ 

• To enhance the individual and 

community well-being within and 

between generations, referred to 

as ‘intragenerational equity’ 

• To conserve and protect biological 

diversity, ecological processes and 

life-support systems 

The core aspect of these objectives 

is that the present generation needs 

to ensure the health, diversity and 

productivity of the environment for 

the benefit of future generations. 

Protecting the Hunter’s water supply 

is a big part of this challenge. ESD 

principles highlight the importance of 

educating the current generation about 

leaving our waterways and environment 

intact for the next generation. 

Hunter Water is working towards using 

the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) as its 

sustainability reporting framework. This 

involves reporting on the organisation’s 

overall performance against 

environmental, economic and social 

indicators. 

TBL is not meant to involve three separate 

figures - one against each indicator. 

Instead, it involves one report that 

interlinks these indicators to provide a 

more transparent and credible system of 

reporting on ESD. 

Incorporating ESD principles and 

objectives into Hunter Water’s water 

supply system can be a challenging 

process. Despite this, there have been 

many ESD achievements shared by Hunter 

Water and the Lower Hunter community. 

Economic 

Hunter Water: 

• Real savings of 40% in operating 

cost per property over the last ten 

years. Similarly, prices charged to 

customers have been reduced by 

about 30% in real terms over the 

same period. 

• The first Australian water supply 

authority to fully introduce the 

user-pays principle in water and 

wastewater services. As a result, 

the total demand on water has 

remained relatively constant, 

despite population growth. 

Your Role: 

• Reduce your water bill by 

conserving water around the home 

and garden 

• Don’t plant deep-rooted trees 

around water pipes and sewer main 

to minimise damage to assets 

• Keep pollution out of our waterways 

to minimise water and wastewater 

treatment costs that are otherwise 

passed onto consumers 

Student plant trees at Edgeworth 

Wastewater Treatment Works 

20

Environmental 


• Developed the Integrated Water 

Resource Plan that balances the 

community’s demand for water 

against water supply capacity, 

so that sustainable water 

management can be achieved. 

• Upgrades wastewater treatment 

works to bring significant 

improvements in the quality 

of effluent discharged into the 

environment. 

• Re-uses the effluent produced by 

wastewater treatment works to 

reduce demand on drinking water 

supplies. 

• Maintains domestic water demand 

at 214kL per residence per year. 

Average household water use in 

Hunter Water’s area of operations 

has consistently been amongst 

the lowest of the major Australian 

water supply authorities. 

• Works cooperatively with 

community and government 

agencies to protect catchments 

where raw water is sourced. This 

includes revegetation along creek 

lines, plantings around water 

and wastewater treatment works 

to create habitat and improve 

biodiversity, and installation of 

stormwater devices to manage 

pollution (eg litter, grass cuttings) 

before it washes into drains, 

waterways, harbours and our 

beaches. 

Your Role: 

• Keep rubbish, litter and garden 

waste out of stormwater drains 

• Safely dispose of chemicals, paints, 

grease and oils – use drop-off points 

at Council waste management sites 

• Install water and energy efficient 

appliances - remember energy 

production also places a major 

demand on water sources 

• Get involved in Landcare and 

Waterwatch activities to help 

improve the health of local 

waterways 

Social 


• Provides a customer contract 

that sets a minimum standard for 

customer service. 

• Implemented the $300 million 

Hunter Sewerage Project that 

expanded the provision of 

sewerage facilities to 20,000 

properties across the Hunter. 

• Co-funds Newcastle University 

environmental engineering 

programs and research into water 

sensitive urban design and macroinvertebrates 

as water quality 

indicators. 

• Promotes community ownership 

and responsible use of water 

resources through public education 

programs at events. 

• Carries out community 

consultation with residents and 

interest groups on a number of 

issues, eg sewer pump station 

upgrades, sewer transport 

upgrades, and water pipeline 

augmentations. 

• Seeks community input to 

water related issues through a 

Consultative Forum, community 

surveys, public meetings and 

focus group sessions. 

• Monitors customer satisfaction 

through surveys. 

Your Role: 

• Respond to surveys and attend 

Hunter Water’s community 

information sessions 

• Attend a public education event 

on water, such as Hunter Water’s 

Catchment Day held during 

National Water Week in October 

every year 

• Report leaks in the water transport 

network or pollution of water 

supplies 

• Join a community or environmental 

group that works to improve local 

waterways 

SOME GROUPS THAT HUNTER WATER WORKS WITH 


21

1.9 waterwatch- playing an active role 

What is HUNTER Waterwatch? 

Waterwatch is a national school and 

community water quality monitoring 

program that promotes environmental 

awareness and action. 

Hunter Waterwatch is coordinated by 

the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment 

Management Authority with the support 

and sponsorship of Hunter Water, the 

Department of Education and the Natural 

Heritage Trust. 

There are now more than 100 

Waterwatch groups in the Hunter region 

that participate in a variety of waterfocused 

activities. 

When you join Waterwatch, your school 

or community group becomes part of 

an expanding network of people who 

care about the environment and want to 

help improve water quality and aquatic 

habitats of our local waterways. 

The key to the success of Waterwatch 

is the cooperation between schools, 

community groups, councils, catchment 

management authorities, water utilities 

and industry. All of these groups work 

together to ensure that everyone plays a 

role in keeping our local waterways clean. 

Data and information from Waterwatch 

activities can be loaded onto the 

NSW Waterwatch website at www. 

waterwaterwatch.nsw.gov.au 

Students take water samples on the Williams 

River Catchment Crawl 

Waterwatch activities 

Spring and Autumn water bug surveys 

Schools and community groups journey 

down to their local rivers and creeks 

to assess water quality by surveying 

water bugs. Water bugs, also known 

as macroinvertebrates, can be used 

as biological indicators. A signal of a 

waterway in stress can be the absence of 

sensitive water bugs and small numbers 

or low diversity of water bugs. Collecting 

and identifying water bugs can therefore 


provide a snapshot of the health of local 

waterways. 

Apart from Waterwatch and Landcare 

groups, schools, property owners, 

guides and scouts all participate in 

the Waterwatch bug surveys. Anyone 

interested in water quality and the health 

of the Lower Hunter catchment can pull 

on their gumboots, wade into the water 

and get involved. 

Visit www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au to 

get involved in the Spring and Autumn 

bug surveys. This site also provides 

information on the following: 

• Conducting a water bug survey 

• A guide to help you identify bugs 

• Calculating the health of the 

waterways 

• Hints on catching and caring for your 

bugs 

Murder Under the Microscope 

Somehow… somewhere… an 

environmental crime has been 

committed. Working in teams and 

researching the evidence, thousands 

of students across Australia become 

detectives and race against the clock to 

crack an environmental murder mystery. 

Murder Under the Microscope is an 

interactive educational eco-game that 

uses satellite technology, the internet, 

and interactive television to beam clues 

on an environmental crime into the 

classroom. 

Murder Under the Microscope takes 

place annually in Term 2 and is open 

to students in Years 5 to 8. It is a great 

activity for students to develop skills in 

research and problem solving, and to 

learn about current environmental issues. 

Catchment Crawls 

Hunter Waterwatch coordinates 

Catchment Crawls that involve students 

and teachers investigating the impact of 

urbanisation, land use and our way of life 

on local waterways and catchments. 

During a ‘crawl’ a number of key sites 

are visited to conduct litter surveys, drain 

stencilling, site and habitat assessments, 

water quality monitoring and 

macroinvertebrate (water bug) surveys . 

The ‘crawlers’ also have the opportunity 

to interview and discuss issues with guest 

speakers such as Hunter Water staff 

and community members. These people 

provide in-depth local knowledge about 

environmental issues and discuss steps 

being taken to resolve any problems. 

Catchment Crawls are a practical and 

fun way for students and teachers to 

learn more about their local environment, 

and provides a great day out with handson 

learning and development of skills. 

Student reports from Catchment Crawls 

across the Lower Hunter are available 

by visiting the Hunter-Central Rivers 


website: 


Students count bugs during a catchment 

crawl of the Williams River 

Waterwatch case studies 

The following case studies demonstrate 

some of the activities of local schools 

involved in Waterwatch. 

Metford Public School 

Metford Public School’s environment 

team regularly monitor Melaleuca Ponds 

opposite their school. These ponds 

connect to Four Mile Creek and the 

Tenambit Wetlands. Since becoming 

involved in Waterwatch activities, the 

environment team have participated 

in water bug surveys, Phosphorus 

Awareness Day, tree planting and 

Clean Up Australia Day, along with 

water quality monitoring. Over time 

the students have noted changes in 

water quality and observed subsequent 

changes in the wetland. 

A problem for Metford Public School’s 

Waterwatchers involved polystyrene 

foam washing into the ponds from the 

stormwater drainage system each time 

it rained. The foam is manufactured in 

large blocks and is used on building 

sites in the laying of concrete slabs. 

22

The Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) was 

washing into the wetlands from nearby 

residential development as not all could 

be caught in the gross pollutant trap 

upstream. 

After repeatedly cleaning up the 

wetlands, Metford Public School worked 

with Hunter-Central Rivers Waterwatch 

Coordinators and Maitland City Council 

to inform local manufacturers and Lower 

Hunter local councils of the problems 

associated with EPS. 

EPS is longer a problem at Melaleuca 

Ponds due to the student’s efforts. 

Manufacturers have agreed to assist in 

cleaning up sites where EPS waste from 

building developments is a problem. 

Local councils are monitoring building 

sites and issuing fines for unsecured 

EPS. The result is that EPS no longer 

gets into our waterways. 

Metford Public School students help to 

clean up Melaleuca Ponds 

Lambton High School 

A group of Waterwatch students from 

Lambton High School has helped 

Newcastle City Council naturalise a 

stormwater entrance to Lambton Park. 

The students assisted with re-naming the 

creek and attended community meetings 

to discuss proposed changes to the 

creek. Hunter Water was also involved in 

the process. 

Since then, students have been testing 

the water in Lambton Ker-rai Creek every 

fortnight and posting their results on the 

Waterwatch website. 

As well as water quality monitoring, the 

students report rubbish and pollution 

incidents at the site, complete water 

bug surveys with the assistance of 

Council’s ‘Creeks Alive’ team. They also 

participate in actions to educate local 

residents around Lambton Park to reduce 

the amount of material ending up in 

stormwater and Lambton Ker-rai Creek. 

Based on their work with the local 

community, Waterwatch and Newcastle 

City Council, Lambton High’s 

Waterwatch team made a presentation 

in Melbourne as part of the Youth 

Challenge – Pathways to Innovation 

national competition, and won. 

The Lambton High School Waterwatch 

team is an excellent example of how 

partnerships can be formed between 

state and local agencies, schools and 

the community to improve our local 

environment. 

Lambton’s Waterwatch team conduct a 

bug survey at Ker-rai Creek 

Cessnock West Public School 

Cessnock West Public School students 

enjoy being outside and learning about 

environmental issues - the perfect 

reason for Waterwatch activities to be so 

popular with these students. 

During Autumn and Spring, students 

collect household items such as old broom 

handles, stockings, foam trays, netting and 

coathangers to make nets and other bugcatching 

tools. This work is to prepare for 

the Autumn and Spring bug surveys. 

Students congregate at Black Creek, and 

work in groups to collect water bugs along 

the water’s edge. The bugs are identified, 

sorted, counted and then returned to the 

creek once the survey is finished. 

Back at school the results are tallied 

and submitted to the Water Bug Survey 

website. The bug surveys have provided 

an excellent opportunity for students to 

become aware of the health of their local 

creek and to appreciate how this may 

change with time. 

getting involved 

Primary schools 

Primary schools can become involved 

in the Junior Waterwatch program that 

includes simple water quality testing, 

water bug surveys, and taking part in 

Murder Under the Microscope. 

High schools 

Junior high school students can become 

involved in the Junior Waterwatch 

program, whilst senior students may be 

involved in conducting more complex 

water quality testing and analysis, and 

water bug surveys. 

Community groups 

Community groups can form their own 

Waterwatch group and conduct water 

quality tests and water bug surveys. 

Forming a Waterwatch group is a great 

way to meet local residents who have 

an interest in caring for local waterways. 

Results from school and community 

water quality monitoring are invaluable in 

assessing whether targets for restoring 

and maintaining the health of the Lower 

Hunter catchment are being achieved. 

If you would like to find out more 

contact: 

Hunter Waterwatch Coordinator 

colin.mondy@cma.nsw.gov.au 

Tel: 4930 1030 


23

1.10 landcare and waterways 

What is Landcare? 

Landcare is an Australian environmental 

movement based on groups of 

volunteers who work in their local area 

and ‘adopt’ a site to restore or maintain. 

Some Landcare groups conduct 

education programs but most work is 

hands-on work for the environment. 

Landcare and waterways 

Many Landcare projects near waterways 

typically involve revegetation, weeding, 

erosion control, water quality testing, 

litter control and habitat creation for 

native wildlife. The benefits of Landcare 

for our waterways are: 

Environmental 

• Revegetation of riverbanks and 

wetlands increases biodiversity and 

reduces erosion, which stabilises 

the soil and improves soil and water 

quality 

• Building mounds and swales can 

redirect runoff and slow water flow, 

thereby reducing erosion 

• Reducing weeds and litter improves 

the health and amenity of the local 

area 

• Conducting water quality monitoring 

contributes to water quality 

databases eg Waterwatch to help us 

understand our local waterways and 

how we can manage them better 

Social 

• School students and community 

members gain practical skills and 

knowledge through being involved in 

Landcare and Waterwatch 

• People working together on local 

environmental problems generates 

community spirit 

Economic 

• Increasing the value of the land by 

restoring productivity and improving 

its amenity 

• Improved health of estuaries and 

wetlands help to maintain the 

breeding of fish and prawns which is 

an income source for the 



Partnerships and cooperation 

In recent years all levels of government 

have begun to understand the 

contribution that Landcare groups make 

to local communities and environments. 

Many Landcare groups contribute 

skills and time towards a local project, 

while government agencies contribute 

financial support. 

People are often attracted to Landcare 

because projects are in the area that they 

live and they can see the direct benefits 

of caring for their local area. Landcare 

involves people from many different 

backgrounds working together. This 

cooperation means that resources can 

go further and more can be achieved. 

organisations that support 

Landcare in the Hunter 


Hunter Water has worked in partnership 

with Landcare groups in the Lower 

Hunter region for many years. Support 

is available to Landcare groups through 

an annual sponsorship program that 

funds on-ground works to revegetate 

and rehabilitate degraded land and 

waterways. 

Hunter Water also works directly with 

the Hunter Region Landcare Network to 

provide small grants to Landcare groups 

in its area of operations. 

Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment 

Management Authority 

The CMA is working to build links with 

community groups, business, industry 

and government throughout the region, 

ensuring that all interests and concerns 

are considered and that the responsibility 

for action is shared. 

The CMA’s project officers and 

Community Support officers provide 

direct assistance to landcare and 

community groups who help manage 

the region’s natural resources. Hunter 

Water works directly with the CMA on 

catchment management activities in the 

Lower Hunter. 

Local councils 

Local councils are an important source 

of technical information and materials 

for environmental projects. Councils 

have a specific interest in their local 

areas and are often a first point of 

contact for Landcare groups setting 

up new projects. Many Councils 

have established grant programs to 

support landcare groups to tackle local 

environmental issues. 

Local schools 

Schools can form their own Landcare 

group or work cooperatively with a 

Landcare group from their community. 

For instance, Metford Public School 

formed their Landcare group in 1996. 

This group works with community 

members and are stewards of their local 

wetland – Melaleuca Ponds. Teachers 

and students regularly carry out water 

quality monitoring, litter removal, 

revegetation, and raise awareness 

in their local community about the 

importance of the ponds and working 

together to keep them clean. 

Holy Family Primary School Landcare 

group has established an on-site native 

plant nursery and supplies plants to 

other Landcare groups in their local area. 

Teachers and students have worked 

over several years to install a number 

of rainwater tanks that feed into an 

artificially created wetland on the school 

grounds. 

Landcare Actions in the Hunter 

There are more than 300 landcare groups 

throughout the Hunter with a total 

membership of nearly 10,000 people. 

These groups work on many different 

projects - here is a sample of activities 

you may be involved in if you join a 

Landcare group. 

Earthcare Park East Maitland 

The Earthcare Park and Education 

Centre Landcare group has been 

working on the rehabilitation of degraded 

bushland and a portion of Tenambit 

Wetland since 1996. 

Their site activities began with removing 

cattle and then by conducting a series 

of environmental investigations of the 

sites flora, fauna, soils, archaeology and 

hydrology. The results helped to highlight 

the issues that needed attention. 

A plan of action was developed and 

funds raised to carry out rehabilitation 

and education. Monitoring and 

evaluation keeps track of the group’s 

outcomes. About 500 hours of volunteer 

24

labour is invested on the site annually 

and over 5000 native plants have been 

established onsite to improve water 

quality, habitat and biodiversity. 

The group has also been involved 

in education initiatives, including 

workshops on sustainable land use, 

planning and design, permaculture, 

bushland regeneration, and local 

bushfoods. 

Warners Bay Landcare 

The Warners Bay Landcare Group 

was formed in 1999 with a mission to 

protect and improve the aquatic and 

terrestrial environments of the Warners 

Bay catchment through education and 

rehabilitation. 

A major project of the group has 

been the Warners Bay Riparian Zone 

Rehabilitation and Wildlife Corridor 

Extension. This project aims to improve 

water quality and provide wildlife habitat. 

The project has achieved some 

impressive outcomes within three years: 

• Established 51,239 native plants 

on three hectares 

• Controlled 4.25 hectares of weeds 

• Installed 0.83 kilometres of 

protective fencing 

• Re-introduced 5,000 native Bass 

to North and South Creeks and 

Lakelands Wetland 

Wollombi Landcare 

Most farmers know that willow branches 

will grow into trees if they are pushed 

deeply into the ground, but few people 

know that this technique will produce 

similar results if applied to natives. 

With the help of Wollombi Landcare 

Group, Bill Hicks has perfected a 

technique called longstem tubestock 

planting to restore and conserve river 

systems affected by degradation. 

Using native plants, the longstem 

tubestock system duplicates all the 

advantages offered by willows for 

streambank stabilisation. The plants 

not only have the ability to restore a 

degraded riparian environment, but also 

revive the native ecology. 

Landholders caring for our waterways 

Individual landholders can also care and 

protect our waterways. One of the main 

environmental issues being addressed 

by landholders in the Paterson-Allyn 

and Williams River catchments is how to 

better look after local creeks and rivers. 

Margaret and Gregan McMahon of 

East Seaham are landholders who are 

implementing a plan to look after the 

land that surrounds waterways on their 

property. By adopting rotational grazing 

and pasture management practices, they 

have made significant environmental 

improvements to their property in just a 

few years. 

Reduction in runoff from the farm 

has been dramatic. Before the 

improvements, even a few centimetres 

of rain would see the farm’s dams begin 

to fill as the soils absorption rate was 

quickly exceeded. Now barely any runoff 

reaches the dams. 

Practically all rain is absorbed by the 

deep, healthy topsoil that now exists, 

and this has provided for an abundance 

of pasture. The McMahon’s feel they 

will be well prepared to handle the next 

drought because they are now managing 

their property in the best way to handle 

Australia’s weather cycles. 

The improvements have also had 

an almost immediate benefit to their 

income, allowing the McMahon’s to 

increase the amount of cattle that can be 

sustainably carried on the property. 

Margaret and Gregan have also 

increased the forest cover on the 

property by allowing sections to naturally 

regenerate. These parts of the farm 

have not been removed from grazing 

production, but because parts have been 

selectively grazed, native plants have 

regenerated successfully. 

These sections were chosen from a 

wildlife habitat perspective, as they link 

the small existing strands of forest on the 

property to adjacent holdings. 

The works that are an excellent example 

of how landholders can carry out their 

own Landcare activities. It demonstrates 

that land can be managed in a way that 

is highly productive without impacting 

negatively on the environment. 

Other landholders in the district are 

now undertaking similar works to make 

the Paterson-Allyn and Williams River 

catchments a healthier place for all. 

Getting involved 

If you would like to find out more contact: 

Hunter Region Landcare Network 

Coordinator 

hrln@hunterlink.net.au 

Tel: 4955 0792 


25

influences on water supply in the hunter 

worksheet 1 

Background 

A number of factors affect the 

volume of water supply in the Hunter. 

They include climatic and weather 

conditions, vegetation coverage, and 

water demand by humans. Each of these 

factors affect the availability of freshwater 

by impacting on the water cycle. 

Fluctuations in rainfall are strongly 

connected with the climate 

phenomenon called the Southern 

Oscillation, a major air pressure shift 

between the Asian and east Pacific 

regions. The best known extremes of 

this are El Niño and La Niña events, 

where rainfall is generally reduced (El 

Niño) or increased (La Niña). 

El Niño refers to a sequence of 

changes in ocean and atmospheric 

circulations across the Pacific Ocean 

and Indonesian archipelago when 

warming is particularly strong, resulting 

in altered weather conditions. 

Put simply, El Niño brings reduced 

rainfall conditions to eastern and 

northern Australia, particularly during 

winter, spring and early summer. El 

Niño events occur about every four 

to seven years and typically last for 

around 12 to 18 months. They are a 

natural part of the climate system and 

have been affecting the Pacific Basin 

for thousands of years. 

The El Niño effect can reduce the 

Hunter’s water supply during the 

months that it endures. 

RESEARCH Activity 

Managing our water supplies is a 

complex task. Each of the influences 

outlined in the table (overleaf) don’t 

operate on their own; they interact to 

reinforce or cancel out each other’s effect. 

Using the fact sheet Impacts on 

Catchment Water Quality as a starting 

point, research the natural and human 

influences on the water cycle. After 

doing this, briefly comment on how each 

‘influence’ outlined in the table affects 

our freshwater supplies in the Hunter. 


26

influences on water supply in the hunter 

worksheet 1 

influence 

connection with the 

water cycle 

INCREASE OR 

DECREASE SUPPLY 

EL NINO 

Ocean temperatures increase with increased evaporation, followed 

by extensive cloud cover (condensation).Trade winds move 

eastwards away from the east coast of Australia (there is a reversal 

of the Southern Oscillation). This cuts off a major moisture source 

and precipitation is decreased over the land. 

Water supplies decrease 

DROUGHT 

HOT DRY WINDS 

LARGE SCALE 

VEGETATION 

CLEARING 

SMART WATER USE 

AND WATER 

CONSERVATION 


27

ainfall patterns and water supply 

worksheet 2 

Background 

Australia is one of the driest continents 

on earth although rainfall varies greatly 

across the continent. Some regions, 

such as the Lower Hunter, receive more 

rainfall annually than parts of England 

and South America, whilst other regions 

receive less than the Sahara Desert. 

The Lower Hunter catchment has 

a varied climate, depending on the 

elevation and proximity to the ocean. 

Coastal areas and the area around 

Barrington Tops receive quite high 

rainfall which generally falls between 

January and March, and again in midwinter. 

The lowest rainfall periods are 

spring and summer. 

High rainfall variability throughout the 

year means that the catchment can 

potentially be wet or dry in any month. 

This feature has been observed in 

measured flows of the Williams River, 

which supplies water to Grahamstown 

Dam. Importantly it is variability in 

rainfall that is the more critical issue for 

water supply in the Lower Hunter (and 

Australia) than total rainfall. 

Activity 

The table below provides average 

monthly rainfall and corresponding 

water storage levels in Chichester 

Dam over a three-year period. Using 

the data draw a graph that illustrates 

the changes in rainfall compared with 

the corresponding changes in water 

storage levels. Analyse the data 

and graph and respond to the 

questions (overleaf). On the left make 

a rainfall scale of 0 to 275 and on the 

right a water level scale from 60 to100. 

2002 

2003 

J F M A M J J A S O N D 

J F M A M J J 

RAIN 

RAIN 

49 192 104 49 87 79 11 28 27 15 65 232 32 140 130 131 197 30 34 

IN mm IN mm 

LEVEL 

AS % 90 96 99 100 99 100 96 89 87 81 70 85 LEVEL 

93 86 87 93 98 87 85 

AS % 

A S 

37 1 

82 75 

O 

87 

70 

N 

200 

65 

D 

119 

95 

RAIN 

IN mm 

LEVEL 

AS % 

2004 

J F M A M J J A S O N D 

138 170 235 15 60 12 42 45 71 270 58 93 

96 94 100 100 95 87 78 73 66 76 99 97 

your graph 


28

ainfall patterns and water supply 

worksheet 2 

Questions 

1 What trends can you see in annual rainfall patterns, both within each year and between the three years? 

2 Water restrictions are generally enforced if total water storage levels fall below 60%. Would water 

restrictions have been applied at any stage over the three years? 

3 If so, when and for how long might the restrictions have lasted? 

4 What was the relationship between rainfall and water storage levels? 

5 List the other factors that affect water storage and outline how they may affect water storage? 


29

managing water supply sustainably 

worksheet 3 

background 

The demand for a reliable and safe 

water supply brings with it a number 

of impacts. Environmental, social and 

economic considerations must be 

taken into account when managing 

water supply. Sustainability can be 

achieved by following Ecologically 

Sustainable Development (ESD) 

principles and objectives that ensure 

the maintenance of ecological 

processes and systems. The core 

objectives of the National Strategy for 

ESD are to: 

• Ensure economic well-being that 

safeguards the welfare of future 

generations (‘intergenerational 

equity’) 

• Enhance the individual and 

community well-being within 

and between generations 

(‘intragenerational equity’) 

• Conserve and protect biological 

diversity and essential ecological 

processes and life-support 

systems 

This worksheet involves students in 

research, reflection and problem-solving 

in response to a hypothetical situation 

concerning sustainable management of 

water supply in the Hunter. 

THE CURRENT SITUATION 

Hunter Water is responsible 

for supplying the Lower Hunter 

community with a reliable and healthy 

supply of water. This includes urban 

residents and industry in Newcastle, 

Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock 

and Port Stephens. To meet the 

water demands of its customers, 

Hunter Water extracts water from 

four main sources: Chichester Dam, 

Grahamstown Dam, Tomago Sandbeds 

and the Tomaree Sandbeds, located 

in either the Williams River or Port 

Stephens catchments. The population 

of the Lower Hunter region is steadily 

growing, placing extra demand on the 

area’s water supplies. Some action 

will be needed to meet the additional 

demand, but every option has specific 

costs and benefits. These options must 

be fully considered in terms of ESD 

principles if we are to ensure sustainable 

management of the water supply. 

The hypothetical options 

Let’s say there are two main options to 

help address the growing demand on 

the Hunter’s water supplies: 

• Introduce widespread and 

effective water conservation 

measures in the Lower Hunter 

• Build a dam across the Tillegra 

River, on gently sloping land that 

is a mix of grazing, dairy, native 

forests 

The activity 

Choose one or both of the hypothetical 

options outlined above and get your 

group to: 

• Discuss how population increases 

and lifestyle changes impact on 

water supply. Understanding what 

causes increased demand can 

help in developing preventative 

measures to manage demand on 


• Identify the major elements of 

each hypothetical option. For 

example: What kind of measures 

to conserve water could be 

implemented? What would 

construction of a new dam 

involve? 

• Identify the key stakeholders 

associated with the option. For 

example: Who would be involved 

in the decision-making? Who will 

be affected by the option and 

therefore need to be consulted? 

• Identify the different viewpoints of 

stakeholders and assess whether 

they would generally be for, 

against, or neutral regarding the 

option. 

• Investigate the possible 

environmental, social and 

economic impacts of the option. 

• Propose possible alternatives 

to address conflict surrounding 

the option and address (ESD) 

principles. 

• Convene a public meeting (ie 

role play) where the proposal 

can be outlined and the views of 

the various stakeholders shared. 

Classroom consensus could be 

sought to determine whether 

or not the option has merit and 

therefore whether it should be (i) 

implemented, (ii) modified, or (iii) 

overturned. 


30

managing water supply sustainably 

worksheet 3 

Useful background material 

• Integrated WATER 

Resource Plan - 

www.hunterwater.comm.au 

This plan investigates the range 

of options for Hunter Water to 

continue to provide a safe and 

reliable water supply with the 

lowest cost, based on economic, 

social and environmental factors. 

• www.dams.org 

This website for the World 

Commission on Dams includes a 

detailed report which investigates 

and assesses the impacts 

associated with development of 

new dams. 

• www.savewater.com.au 

Australia’s leading source on 

water conservation. The aim of 

this site is to help promote a 

more sustainable social, physical 

and economic environment by 

reducing water consumption and 

increasing water efficiency. The 

site provides independent expert 

advice; a one-stop shop for 

information on water conservation; 

access to water conservation 

products; real life examples of 

water conservation in action; and 

encourages use of local knowledge, 

experience and products. 

Wangat Lodge’s 

‘Hypotheticals Program’ - 

Learning about geographical 

issues in context 

Nestled in the upper reaches of 

the Chichester catchment, Wangat 

Lodge offers a range of practical 

and educational activities for school 

students. The Hypotheticals Program 

involves identification and analysis of 

contemporary geographical issues 

affecting a catchment area in the Lower 

Hunter. The program runs over several 

days at Wangat Lodge and incorporates 

a program schedule and a range of 

complementary activities. 

Aim of the Program 

The Hypotheticals Program provides 

an introduction to the reasoning behind 

development projects and the analysis 

of their environment and social impacts 

in a democratic society. 

The program develops self-confidence, 

assertiveness, teamwork skills and clear 

thinking and judgement in presenting a 

viewpoint. A ‘Public Hearing’ requires a 

team of students, through research and 

evaluation, to present the case for the 

development, against the development 

or in favour of a compromise solution. 

Overview of the Program 

• discussion of water supply and 

conservation 

• working in pro, anti and 

compromise groups 

• briefings of the development 

projects 

• consultation with special interest 

groups 

• field inspections of sites 

• slide shows on issues of 

sustainable development 

• role plays and public hearings 

For more information on the 

Hypotheticals Program, go to 

the Wangat Lodge website 

www.wangat.com.au or contact 

Wangat Lodge on 4995 9265. 


31

water storage and supply 

resource list 

1.1 The Water Cycle 1.3 History of Our 

Water Supply 

Sources: 

We All Use Water 

Australian Water 

Association, 2002 


Hunter Water, 2002 

How Does the Water 

Cycle Work? 

Sydney Water, 2001 

Additional Information: 



Sydney Water 

www.sydneywater.com.au 

Newcastle City Council 

www.ncc.nsw.gov.au 

Environment Centre of WA 

www.ecwa.asn.au 

1.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF 

CATCHMENTS 

Sources: 



Hunter & Central 

Rivers Catchment 



Environmental Report 

Hunter Water, 2001-02 


Hunter-Central Rivers 

Catchment Management 

Authority 




Dept. Infrastructure 

Planning & Natural 

Resources 


Cooperative Research 

Centre for Catchment 

Hydrology 

www.catchment.crc.org.au 


Sources: 

Save and Sustain 


1.4 THE Lower Hunter’S 


Sources: 



A Sense of Place in Maitland 

Resource Kit 

Yeend, 2003 


Cooperative Research 

Centre for Water Quality 

& Treatment 

www.waterquality.crc. 

org.au 

National Health and 

Medical Research Council 

www.health.gov.au 

Health Water Unit 

www.health.nsw.gov.au 



1.5 DRINKING WATER 

TREATMENT 

1.6 Managing 

Groundwater SUPPLY 

Sources: 

Groundwater 

Management Plan 

Dept. Land & Water 

Conservation, 2002 



Water Sharing Plan for 

Tomago, Tomaree and 

Stockton Groundwater 

Sources 

Dept. Sustainable Natural 

Resources, 2003 




Authority 


Dept. Infrastructure 


Resources 


National Centre for 

Groundwater 

Management 

www.groundwater.ncgm. 

uts.edu.au 

CSIRO Land & Water 

www.clw.csiro.au 

1.7 Impacts on Catchment 

Water Quality 

Sources: 

Protecting Our 

Catchments 



Resource Kit 

Yeend, 2003 

We All Use Water 

Australian Association of 

Water, 2002 




Authority 


Dept. Environment & 

Conservation 

www.environment.nsw. 

gov.au 

Dept. Infrastructure, 


Resources 



Heritage 

www.deh.gov.au 

River Landscapes 

www.rivers.gov.au 

32

1.8 Sustainability 

& Water Supply 

Sources: 

Community and 

Environment Report 


Annual Environmental 

Report 


Integrated Water 

Resource Plan 




Heritage 


Institute for Australian 

Futures, Sustainable 

Water Futures 

www.isf.uts.edu.au 

1.9 Waterwatch - PLAYING 

AN ACTIVE ROLE 

Sources: 

Hunter Waterwatch 


Waterwatch 

www.waterwatch.nsw. 

org.au 

1.10 Landcare AND 

WATERWAYS 


Hunter Region Landcare 

Network 


National Landcare 

Facilitators Project 

www.landcareaustralia. 

com.au 

National Landcare 

Facilitators Project 

www. 

landcarefacilitators. 

com.au 


33

intorduction to water conservation 


The importance of being waterwise and 

conserving water becomes clear when you 

consider that: 

• Cean, fresh water is a finite resource 

• Australia is the driest inhabited 

continent in the world with very 

limited freshwater resources 

Hunter Water is responsible for providing 

reliable and safe water and wastewater 

services to residents, businesses and 

industry in the Lower Hunter. Water 

conservation measures and water use 

regulation are both important ways to 

ensure the region will continue to have 

access to clean drinking water. 

In more recent times our water supply has 

come under more pressure from pollution 

and drought. Fortunately, there has also 

been a growing awareness of the need to 

protect our environment and conserve our 

water resources - government, industry, 

business, schools, the community and 

individuals all have a role to play in 

managing water in Australia. 

Learning Opportunities 



local and regional water issues into 

their curriculum. A range of issues are 


• Water use across the Lower Hunter 

and its environmental, economic and 

social impacts 

• The importance of regulation and 

conservation in protecting water 

quality and supply 

• The nature of water use in the home 

and ways to use it more wisely 

• Steps to conserve water at school 

and how to conduct a water audit 

• Water conservation initiatives in the 







1

Links with THE Syllabus 


worksheets from this section address the 

following syllabus outcomes: 





Science and technology 3 ICS3.2 - Information and communication 

PSS3.5 - Products and services 

ESS3.6 - Earth and its surroundings 


UTS3.9 - Using Technology 



Mathematics 3 

COS3.1 - Communicating 




WM3.1 - Questioning 

WM3.2 - Problem solving 

WM3.3 - Communicating 

WM3.4 - Verifying 

WM3.5 - Reflecting 

WM3.6 - Using technology 

S3.5 - Data representation 

M3.1 - Measurement attributes, units and tools 

M3.4 - Capacity and volume 

Geography 4* 4G1 - Investigating the world 

4G2 - Global environments 





Geography 5 




Science 4 4.4 - Implications of science for society and the environment 

4.11 - Natural resources 









4.21- Use of creativity and imagination to solve problems 



2

2.1 water use and conservation 

The importance of water 

conservation 

Achieving and maintaining a sustainable 

balance between demand for water and 

its use is one of the greatest challenges 

facing our community. 

The Lower Hunter community relies 

on Hunter Water to provide a constant 

supply of clean, healthy water in a 

cost-effective manner with minimal 

environmental impact. 

Clean, fresh water is a finite resource. 

When rain falls from the sky we tend 

to think of it as cheap and unlimited, 

but this is not the case. Our supplies of 

drinking water are limited by: 

• Rainfall patterns 

• The total capacity of our drinking 

water storages 

• The amount of rain that falls in the 

catchments of these storages 

• The volume of water our treatment 

plants can process 

• Changes in demand for water by 

customers 

Our raw water supplies must also 

be shared with the natural world, ie 

environmental flows are required to 

ensure the health of local rivers such 

as the Williams. Water is required to 

run through our rivers, replenish our 

wetlands and fill up our lakes. 

Water is used in agriculture, business, 

industry, schools, homes and gardens, 

and its value becomes more obvious 

during periods of drought. When we 

see dam levels drop and hear about 

the potential for water restrictions, we 

realise how important clean and healthy 

water is. 

Hunter Water’s task is to provide 

adequate sources of water so that supply 

is maintained to residents of the Lower 

Hunter during times of drought. Hunter 

Water’s Drought Management Plan 

aims to reduce the impacts of drought 

to ensure water supply for all essential 

purposes. This plan involves limiting the 

demand for water during drought. 

Water use in the LOWER Hunter 

Water usually enters the Hunter Valley 

as rain but occasionally as snow on 

the upper peaks around Barrington 

Tops. It then flows into our creeks and 

rivers or infiltrates the soil. Water for 

human consumption is stored ‘on-river’ 

at Chichester Dam and ‘off-river’ at 

Grahamstown Dam, the Tomago and 

Tomaree Sandbeds. When Chichester 

Dam overflows, this water eventually 

flows into the Williams River. 

In the Lower Hunter, these three major 

storage areas serve a population of 

about 500,000 people through 4,200km 

of pipes and five water treatment works. 

This infrastructure provides us with a 

reticulated water supply. The rest of this 

water remains in storage or returns to 

the water cycle. 

Keeping the catchment area clean 

protects our drinking water sources. 

Fortunately in the Hunter many of our 

water storage catchment areas are 

protected within National Parks. 

Of all the potable water consumed in 

the Hunter 53% is by residents, 15% 

by industry and 5% by commercial 

interests. Farms and parks use only 1% 

of reticulated water, although farmers 

capture or redirect rainfall on their 

properties by using rainwater tanks and 

dams. This is not part of the reticulated 

water system. 

Hunter Water’s Drought Management 

Plan includes a scale of water 

restrictions as follows: 

DAM LEVEL 

70% dam 

storage: 

60% dam 

storage: 

50% dam 

storage: 

40% dam 

storage: 

RESTRICTION 

IMPOSED 

Public campaign to 

encourage voluntary 

reduction in water use 

Fixed sprinklers 

not allowed 

Limit on times when 

hand held hoses 

can be used 

No outdoor water use 

onserving the Lower 

Hunter’s water 

Water resources must be managed and 

protected so that they are not degraded, 

depleted or wasted. Management is also 

crucial to ensure that water is available 

on a sustainable basis for present and 

future generations. 

The challenge of managing water in the 

Lower Hunter is a shared responsibility 

between Hunter Water and all other 

water users such as community, 

industry, schools and government. 

Hunter Water must balance a growing 

community’s future use of water with 

improving the effectiveness of existing 

storage supplies. This is achieved by 

Hunter Water through: 

• The ‘user pays’ price signal 

• Promoting efficient use of water 

via strategies in the Intergrated 

Water Resource Plan 

• Publicising an annual summer 

campaign which seeks community 

cooperation to reduce demand for 

water in hot weather 

• Imposing restrictions on water 

uses in stages 

• Capitalising on the Lower Hunter’s 

natural advantage of extensive 

coastal sandbeds which act like 

dams and contains significant 

volumes of fresh water 

To this end, Hunter Water has prepared 

a ten-year plan to conserve water in 

the Lower Hunter region. The plan 

commenced in 2003 and is known as 

the Integrated Water Resource Plan 

(IWRP). It aims to conserve 1,000ML of 

water over 10 years; the equivalent of 18 

months growth in consumer demand for 

the Lower Hunter. 

3 

Water kit . ssS . 001 . april 2010


Resource Plan 

The IWRP considers environmental, 

economic and social factors in an 

integrated way to find the lowest cost 

of providing customers with water in the 

future. The IWRP involves a range of 

water saving initiatives, including: 


Educating the 

community about the 

importance of water 

conservation 

Monitoring indoor and 

outdoor water 

consumption data 

and trends 

A program to 

encourage water 

efficient practices in 

the home and garden 

Water audits and 

Cleaner Production for 

business, industry 

and schools to reduce 

their environmental 

impacts 

A labelling scheme to 

identify water efficient 

products such as 

front-loading washing 

machines and dual 

flush toilets 

Water sensitive urban 

design to create low 

impact developments 

that mimic natural 

catchments 

A ‘retrofit’ program to 

install water saving 

showerheads and tap 

aerators in homes 

Identifying andfixing 

leaks by replacing 

faulty infrastructure, 

especially pipes 

Impacts of water use in the 

LOWER Hunter 

Economic impacts 

Hunter Water is the water service 

provider for the Lower Hunter; with 

208,000 properties connected to the 

water supply network. Hunter Water 

delivers over 200 million litres of water 

per day on average, using assets worth 

approximately $2 billion. 

The management of water provides 

an essential service to industries 

and businesses in the region. Every 

organisation depends on a safe, reliable 

supply of water - many as a primary 

input to their production activities eg 

steel-making, energy production and 

meat processing. The environmental 

management of water also provides 

economic outcomes. 

The sustainable extraction and recycling 

of water means that ecosystems 

have sufficient water to maintain their 

processes and products. This means 

that wetlands can continue to provide 

flood mitigation, estuaries can continue 

to provide nursery areas for aquatic 

animals, and forests can continue to 

provide wood. 

The conservative use of water also 

means that the building of new 

infrastructure may be delayed, allowing 

Hunter Water to plan for growth in a 

more sustainable way. It can also mean 

that the cost of water to consumers can 

be kept to a minimum. 

Construction work to increase capacity at 

Grahamstown Dam 

Environmental impacts 

The environmental impact of water 

use is still not fully understood, but the 

impact of modern practices on water 

quality and quantity has been enormous. 

Deteriorating water quality and depleted 

freshwater supplies are amongst the 

biggest and most serious environmental 

issues facing Australia today. 

Fortunately in the Lower Hunter, the 

situation is different. An independent 

inquiry into the Hunter River system 

undertaken by the Healthy Rivers 

Commission found the Williams River 

to be in good condition. The inquiry 

set out to examine how river health is 

being managed and assessed all of the 

Hunter Rivers’ tributary streams and 

watercourses, as well as the contributing 

catchment area. 

Many new ideas have emerged about 

water conservation and use, and 

changes in legislation have highlighted 

the public concern about these issues. 

Waterways are now high on the agenda 

of commonwealth, state and local 

authorities. 

Social impacts 

The use of water in our society is 

fundamental to our well-being. Apart 

from the fact that we need water 

to live, it can also play a significant 

recreational, psychological and spiritual 

value in our lives. 

Indigenous Australians incorporated 

water into many Dreamtime stories - 

rivers, lakes and wetlands were often 

important places to meet, celebrate or 

find food and shelter. 

Water is essential for drinking, 

cooking, cleaning, and bathing. It is 

also essential for recreational activities 

such as gardening, swimming and 

fishing. The recreational value of water 

in the Lower Hunter is seen in the 

importance that we place on our clean 

beaches, rivers and dams. 

PRICING Versus Conservation 

When a community believes that tap 

water is endless and cheap, it can be 

hard to convince them that it is a precious 

resource not to be wasted. In the Lower 

Hunter, Hunter Water is addressing this 

issue through a combination of water 

pricing and water conservation initiatives. 

Water pricing 

Regulation in the form of pricing 

mechanisms can limit water use. The 

‘user pays’ system means that customers 

pay for the water they use; customers 

that use larger amounts pay more for 

water than those who use less. 

4

Hunter Water’s move to a pay-foruse 

pricing structure has resulted in 

a sustained reduction in overall water 

consumption in the Lower Hunter. 

Water conservation 

Conservation encourages the 

community to use less water through 

public relations strategies such as 

community education and incentive 

schemes. 

Hunter Water launches a water saving 

campaign each summer when the 

demand for water increases and the 

climate conditions can cause water 

supplies to decrease. During this time 

various methods are used to raise 

awareness of the importance of water and 

promote simple ways to conserve water. 

The promotion of water conservation 

is undertaken by Hunter Water at 

community events and through 

partnering on-ground projects that result 

in better management of land and water. 

Hunter Water also subsidises retrofit 

programs where water saving devices 

are installed in local homes. 

Benefits and costs 

There are benefits and costs for both of 

these management options. For instance, 

regulation can be scaled up or down 

according to different situations that 

affect water use (eg the consumer group, 

level of water storage), but it may also 

discourage high water use companies 

from establishing new facilites in the 


Conservation initiatives may prove 

effective during low water levels, but 

once rain arrives people can slip back to 

wasteful water use habits, so changes 

may only be temporary. However, simple 

things such as fixing leaking taps and 

replacing inefficient appliances can 

achieve ongoing savings. 

Combining pricing and conservation 

Hunter Water uses both pricing and 

conservation measures to reduce water 

usage. In terms of regulating prices, 

Hunter Water implemened its user-pays 

system in 1982. This system involves a 

small fixed charge based on the size of 

the water pipe ($25 per year for standard 

20mm residential connections), and a 

usage charge based on how much water 

is consumed (about $1 per kilolitre). 

Hunter Water recovers most of its costs 

through this pricing structure. 

Over the years Hunter Water has slowly 

increased water usage charges to 

convey a strong conservation message. 

Even before the Think Twice campaign 

in the summer of 2003-04, Hunter Water 

customers already used 24% less than 

other urban water users in Australia. 

Community awareness of water 

conservation has been an important 

priority for Hunter Water, especially since 

the introduction of user-pays pricing 

which provided an incentive for change 

in behaviour. Supported by the IWRP, 

Hunter Water’s community awareness 

campaign has involved public relations 

activities such as media, marketing, 

advertising, events promotion, 

publications and education. 

The challenge now is for Hunter Water to 

continue to involve the whole community 

in the management of water resources 

into the future. 


5

2.2 being waterwise at home 

Our water use habits 

For most of us water is available at 

the turn of a tap. In the Lower Hunter 

more than half of the water used is in 

households. 

The average annual amount of water 

used is equivalent to five averagesized 

swimming pools (around 210,000 

litres per year). About 60% is used in 

the laundry, bathroom and kitchen, 

with 40% used on the garden. 

‘Think twice’ ... saving water is easy 

and it can save you money. You 

can reduce your household water 

consumption by up to 45% by taking 

some simple and easy steps to 

become water wise. 

BEING WATERWISE IN THE HOME 

There are many ways to save water in 

our homes: 

• Turn off taps when not in use eg 

don’t leave the tap running while 

you clean your teeth 

• Fix leaking taps or toilet cisterns 

• Only wash full loads of clothes or 

dishes 

• Check and replace tap washers 

regularly 

• Install AAA-rated household 

appliances 

ANNUAL WATER SUPPLY BY SECTOR 

• Install water efficient shower roses 

• Take shorter showers 

• Recycle your grey water (collect 

water from the shower, bath and 

laundry for your lawn) 

• Install a tank to collect rainwater 

When these water saving actions are 

applied across the community the 

demand on our water supplies can be 

significantly reduced. It also reduces 

the demands on water infrastructure 

and the need to build or upgrade 

reservoirs, pumping stations and 

treatment facilities. 

16% Other 

1% Education 

2% Farms & Parks 

2% Hotels 

4% Health 

53% Residential 

5% Commercial 

15% Industrial 

DOMESTIC WATER CONSUMPTION 

24% Outdoor Use 

25% Bath & Shower 

2% Other 

14% Taps 

20% Washing Machine 

15% Toilet 


6

WATER FACTS IN THE HOME 

Leaking tap 

45L per day 

Dishwashing hand 

12 to 15L per wash 

Dishwashers 

20 to 60L per load 

Washing machines 

Front load: 

23L per kg dry clothing 

Top load: 

31L per kg of dry clothing 

Hand BASIN 

3L per minute 

Tap running while 

cleaning teeth 

5L 

Bath 

Half full: 60L 

Full: 120L 

Single flush toilet 

12L per flush 

good long soak every few days in 

summer instead of a short daily 

spray, this will make your plants 

hardier and grow deeper searching 

out moistuer. 

• Sweep paths and driveways rather 

than using a hose to wash them 

down 

• Wash your car on the lawn - this 

waters the grass and keeps 

detergents out of local waterways 

• Use tap timers to ensure you don’t 

forget to turn off taps, sprinklers 

and irrigation systems 

• Install a drip system to help avoid 

over-watering 

• Water gardens in the morning 

to minimise water loss through 

evaporation 

• Cover the pool when it is not in use to 

reduce evaporation and maintenance 

WATER FACTS IN THE GARDEN 

Standard 

shower rose 

20L per minute 

Dual flush toilet 

Half flush: 4.5L 

Full flush: 9L 

Hand watering 

the garden 

600 to 900L every hour 

Water efficient 

shower rose 

10L per minute 

Sprinkler 

Up to 1,500L every hour 

BEING WATERWISE IN THE GARDEN 

Some ways to be waterwise outside are: 

Washing the car 

In Lower Hunter households about 

35% to 50% of drinking water is used 

in the garden, even though this is not 

an efficient or cost-effective use of 

resources. Unlike us, our plants are not 

concerned if water tastes unpleasant or 

looks discoloured. 

Many gardens contain exotic plants 

that are not well-suited to the Australian 

climate. These plants often require much 

more water for survival than natives. 

We also tend to water the garden far 

more often than we should because we 

do not understand what our plants 

really need. 


• Choose plants that need less water 

- most natives need less water 

than exotics and provide food and 

shelter for birds and insects 

• Mulch your garden to prevent 

evaporation and retain water in 

the soil - the best mulch is wellrotted 

compost, which can prevent 

evaporation loss in your garden by 

up to 70% 

• Use recycled water or tankwater 

on your garden 

• Give your garden and lawn a 

150 to 300L of water 

Filling a 

swimming pool 

20,000 to 55,000L 

Mulching 

Reduces evaporation 

by up to 70% 

7

2.3 being waterwise at school 

Water use in schools 

Hunter Water supplies about 730 

megalitres of water a year to education 

facilities like schools, colleges and 

The University of Newcastle. This 

amounts to 1% of the Hunter’s 

reticulated water supply. Like other 

sectors, schools have a responsibility 

to manage their water use in a 

sustainable way. 

A school water audit and action plan 

provides a framework to implement 

water wise ideas. Conserving water at 

school can offer great savings to the 

environment and the school’s budget, 

as well as educate students to be 

waterwise. Water is used in many ways 

in schools, and there are ways to save 

water in each of these areas. 

Managing water use in schools 

Since 2004 all NSW Government 

schools have been required to develop 

a School Environmental Management 

Plan (SEMP) as described in the NSW 

Environmental Education Policy for 

Schools (2001). One of the best ways 

to progress this is through a school 

environment committee that involves 

students, teachers, grounds staff 

and parents, with support from local 

organisations like councils and 

Hunter Water. 

Water use and management is a 

focus of the new policy. Completing 

a desktop review of water costs and 

an audit of water use provides a 

snapshot of water usage in the school. 

The results can be used to develop 

strategies for improved water use and 

management that can be incorporated 

into the SEMP. Many schools have 

carried out water audits and teachers 

and studens have put forward 

recommendations to encourage the 

wise use of water in the school. 

water use at school 

Watering 

ovals, lawns, 

shrubs, gardens 

Cleaning 

paths, windows, 

playgrounds 

Toilets 

flushing toilets 

and urinals 

Taps 

for drinking, washing 

and cleaning up 

Science labs 

for experiments and 

cleaning up 

Art and design 

to mix paint and 

clean up 

Home economics 

for cooking and cleaning 


8

BEING WATERWISE AT SCHOOL 

actions 

1 Water meter readings 

Read the water meter every day for a month and record the results. 

This can be done at the beginning and end of each school day - 

which will help you to check for leaking pipes or taps (ie you will 

be able to detect water use overnight when no one is using taps, 

bubblers and toilets). 

2 Desktop review 

Collect information from as many bills as possible. Hunter Water bills 

are issued every four months. Tabulate the amount of water used, 

the number of billing days and the cost of the water. Ask the school 

administrator to keep future bills for your study. 

3 Water audit 

Water audits vary but usually include the following: 

• Conduct an inventory of every water fixture in the school (eg taps, 

toilets, bubblers, showers) and identify if any of these are leaking. 

• Measure the rate of water flow from school taps, you need to 

select at least one tap inside and one tap outside. 

• Measure the amount of water wasted by a dripping tap and 

calculate this over a year. This is best done by using a stopwatch 

and a measure to collect the water. Measuring the waste for a 

minute is a good point to start from. 

4 Stormwater, flooding and drainage 

Researching stormwater, flooding and drainage issues can also be a 

useful component of a water audit. 

5 Water saving strategies 

Discuss and develop strategies to conserve water across a variety of 

water uses in the school. 

6 Water saving action plan 

Develop an action plan that summarises the results of the desk top 

review and water audit, and the water saving strategies developed 

over the previous steps. The action plan can set targets for the 

school to become more water wise and makes recommendations on 

how to implement the water saving strategies. 

tips 

• This will highlight whether there are any leaks. Leaky pipes can 

waste 90 litres of water a day and a dripping tap can waste 45 litres 

a day. 

• The meter readings will also show daily patterns in water use. Large 

amounts of water use on weekends should be investigated. 

• If you have bills over several years compare water use over time. 

Take into account any changes in the number of students enrolled 

each year. The data can be used to calculate a figure for water 

usage expressed as kilolitres per student per day. 

• Results may show a trend but more importantly show how much 

money the school is spending on water. This will provide baseline 

data so savings can be calculated as waterwise activities begin. 

• Identifying the places where water is used will help you locate any 

problem areas. 

• Identifying leaking taps is critical in a water audit. 

• Measuring the amount of wasted water will show you the extent of 

the problem. Dripping taps waste more water than people realise. 

• Get a map of your school and outline key waterways, drainage lines, 

flood prone areas, then discuss how you could manage, reduce or 

improve things. 

• Students can develop their own strategies to save water including 

ideas for individual and group actions. 

• Some strategies might require the support or cooperation of other 

people eg plumbers. The P&C committee can be involved to help 

raise money for the purchase of water saving products eg rainwater 

tanks, water efficient showerheads. 

• Prioritise the strategies with regard to importance, time and 

money. This information feeds into the Action Plan and the School 

Environmental Management Plan. 

• Ideally involve the whole school community in the action plan. 

• Set realistic targets and recommendations. 

• Include an education and communication plan to help promote the 

plan and ways in which wasteful water habits can be changed. 

• Information developed through the action plan can then be included 

in the School Environmental Management Plan. 

7 Implementation and monitoring 

On implementing the action plan, set up procedures for monitoring 

and evaluating to see how effective the school has been in meeting 

the targets and recommendations set out in your action plan. 

• Contact other local schools to find out if they have undertaken 

a water audit and how they implemented their action plan. What 

difficulties did they face and how did they address these issues? 

• Identify areas where the community may be able to help. For 

instance, local businesses could be called upon to help the school 

purchase water saving products; service clubs could help provide 

labour for the installation of these in the school. 

• Promote and celebrate achievements. 


9

2.4 school water audit 

Why DO A water audit? 

Several schools in the Lower Hunter 

have conducted environmental audits. 

Environmental audits are used to 

collect data about where schools are 

in relation to various environmental 

factors such as water, waste, energy 

and biodiversity. 

A school water audit reveals how much 

water the school is using, how much 

money the school is spending on water, 

where and when water is being used, 

and if there are any obvious leaks. A 

water audit can help a school identify 

dripping taps and running toilets, or 

discover that some daily practices are 

using more water than they should. 

The information gathered through a 

water audit can be used to guide water 

wise actions that can bring with them 

significant water and cost savings. 

Kotara High School’s water 

audit 

Kotara High School was established 

in 1968, although it has changed a 

great deal over the years. A number of 

additional buildings have been added, 

the library extended and multi-purpose 

centre opened in 1997. 

Kotara High is flanked by bushland 

that makes up part of the school 

grounds. Since 2000 there have been 

significant improvements made to 

the bushland as a result of various 

grant funding and a very effective 

environmental project team. 

Understanding how the school has 

evolved is important as these changes 

can have a major impact on the way in 

which water is used and how much is 

consumed. The expansion of a school 

creates greater water demands and can 

change the daily patterns of water use. 

As a first step toward developing a 

School Environmental Management 

Plan, Kotara High held an ‘Eco- 

Snapshot Day’. The school sought 

assistance from Waterwatch to 

carry out a full environmental audit 

consisting of an air, solid waste, 

energy and water audit. 

Water use in the school 

A desktop audit identified the volume 

and cost of the water the school was 

using. Over four months the school 

used a total of 2,298 kL of water or 

about 1.5 Olympic swimming pools. 

The total bill of $4,333 included fixed 

charges, and water and sewer usage 

charges. Water usage and costs at 

Kotara High are similar to that of other 

high schools of its size. 

Students were involved in reading 

the water meter on a regular basis 

to determine if abnormal events 

such as hidden leaks or illegal use 

were occurring. Taps around the 

schools (including toilet cisterns and 

bubblers) were counted. It was found 

that a number of these were leaking. 

Students determined that if these 

leaks were repaired, environmental and 

economic savings could be significant. 

Hunter Water sets wastewater charges 

at 50% of water use. This assumes 

that half of all water used enters the 

wastewater system via toilets, sinks 

and bathrooms. Water conservation 

measures can therefore result in dual 

cost savings on a water bill, with water 

usage charged at $1.02 per kL and 

wastewater charged at 44c per kL. 

Students develop water wise ideas 

Through their investigations, students 

became concerned about the amount 

of water being used in the school. 

Opportunities to be waterwise in the 

school became obvious, such as: 

• Educating students about the 

value of water 

• Promoting simple ways to reduce 

water waste 

• Encouraging students to turn off 

taps properly 

• Developing a reporting system for 

leaks 

• Arranging for a plumber to fix 

leaking taps 

• Installing automatic taps 

The school designed a monitoring and 

feedback program so students could 

evaluate their progress in becoming 

more water conscious. This involved 

collecting data on their reduced water 

usage, promoting the benefits to 

students, monitoring how outcomes 

were being maintained, and taking 

photos of students conducting water 

saving initiatives. 


10

2.5 water conservation initiatives 

When introducing new ideas it is 

important to test the idea first to 

see if it is worthwhile. Hunter Water 

often works in partnership with other 

organisations to investigate water 

saving ideas and how well they may 

work when applied to the broader 

Lower Hunter community. 

eco-friendly home 

An eco-friendly home at Tighes 

Hill showcases best practice for 

sustainable living. This includes 40,000 

litre rainwater storage tanks to supply 

all water needed by the family. 

The house has water-free composting 

toilets. Grey water from washing 

machines and showers are used to water 

garden areas. Efficient shower roses and 

a front loading washing machine have 

been installed. Native grasses and trees 

have been planted and these have an 

advantage of being drought resistant. 

The home will save on water and energy 

costs and also showcase a sustainable 

alternative for Lower Hunter residents. 

This eco-friendly home is setting a new 

benchmark in terms of environmentally 

friendly living in the Lower Hunter. 

Berni Hockings at his energy and water efficient 

home in Tighes Hill 

Kotara Roof to Creek Project 

Developed by Hunter Water, Newcastle 

City Council and The University of 

Newcastle, this community project has 

involved the installation of rainwater tanks 

on individual properties, and changes to 

landscaping in public areas of Kotara. 

The project aims to conserve mains 

water use and to reduce the quantity 

and velocity of stormwater runoff leaving 

the catchment. The project monitors 

mains and rainwater use, and rainfall and 

runoff from the catchment. The project 

also looks at community attitudes and 

behaviour, motivations for installing 


rainwater tanks and the most effective 

and affordable ways of retrofitting 

rainwater tanks. 

Rainwater tanks replace drinking water 

for watering gardens 

The ‘Roof to Creek’ project has installed 

16 rainwater tanks in Kotara households. 

The project involved house-to-house 

briefings to advise residents of the 

project’s benefits and the involvement 

required. Each resident’s yard was 

assessed to determine the suitability, 

size and location of their respective 

rainwater tank. 

The project tested the value of rainwater 

tanks in addressing a stormwater problem 

in the catchment. It is also providing 

a testing and verification ground for 

research undertaken by the University 

into modelling of water flows and rainfall. 

The three-year project has also involved 

retofitting water efficient devices. 

Monitoring, evaluation and education has 

taken place throughout the entire project. 

family installs rainwater tank 

A local engineer has installed a rainwater 

tank at his home to supply about 70% of 

his family’s water when there is sufficient 

rain. In dry times, most of the water comes 

from the mains supply. The 4,500 litre 

tank supplies water to the toilet, washing 

machine and outdoor tap. 

The family estimates that an average of 

40% of their household water will come 

from the tank throughout the year; this 

equates to around 80 kL per year. Even in 

dry years, the tank will supply a lot 

of water. 

In order to achieve these levels of mains 

water reduction, the rainwater tank had to 

be connected to appliances that are used 

throughout the year, such as toilets and 

washing machines. Less than half of this 

amount of this water would be saved if the 

tank were only connected for garden use. 

If the rainwater tank runs low it can be 

‘topped up’ with water from the mains 

water supply. This ensures the tank 

never runs out of water and the supply of 

water to appliances is never disrupted. 

The top up is only activated when tank 

levels drop significantly. It does not refill 

the tank. Instead it ensures the water in 

the tank does not drop below a specified 

level. Without rain, the tank lasts about 

two weeks before the mains top up is 

activated. 

It takes at least 600 millimetres of rain 

per year to generate streamflow into our 

Lower Hunter reservoirs. Using rainwater 

tanks, however, a large proportion of any 

amount of rain can be collected via house 

roofs. The result is that rainwater tanks 

can achieve reduced demand on Hunter 

Water reservoirs and other infrastructure 

(ie pipes, pumping stations) even in times 

of drought. 

To monitor how much water could be 

supplied from the family’s tank, Hunter 

Water installed two water meters at 

the home. The university is using the 

rainwater tank as part of research into 

tank dynamics and their associated health 

implications. 

The Berghout’s rainwater tank saves 40% 

of potable water usage. 

Did you know? 

• Rainwater tanks come in all shapes 

and sizes, from small 600L slimline 

tanks to very large 45,000L tanks 

for rural use - the typical tank for 

residential purposes is 5,000L. 

Every 1mm of rain on 1m2 of roof 

amounts to 1L of water. 

• The size of tank that will suit your 

circumstances depends upon the 

footprint space available for the 

tank, the roof catchment area that 

feeds into the tank, rainfall patterns 

in your area, and your use of the 

collected water. 

• Rainwater can be used on the 

garden and for water supply to 

toilets and cold water taps in the 

laundry - this accounts for 60% of 

average household water use. 

11

2.6 think twice water saving campaign 

CAMPAIGN CONCEPT 

The average home in the Lower Hunter 

region uses about 210 kilolitres of water 

each year. Each person uses about 205 

litres of water a day for domestic purposes 

such as washing, cooking and gardening. 

The average household consumes 75% 

of water within the home and uses 25% 

outdoors. During a drought, the use of 

water is increased. 

The difficult drought conditions that 

impacted on NSW during 2002 saw 

Hunter Water launch a major community 

water conservation campaign to coincide 

with the start of the summer period. The 

campaign was called Think Twice. 

Water storage levels were about 80% 

of capacity at the start of the campaign 

and not at levels where restrictions would 

normally be introduced (at 60%). Even so, 

Hunter Water recognised the increasing 

effect of the drought and sought to raise 

the community’s awareness of the dry 

weather conditions and its impact on 

water supply. 

The ‘Think Twice’ logo was used consistently 

across the campaign 

Campaign Strategy 

The campaign was designed to 

emphasise the message that water is a 

valuable resource not to be wasted. Public 

sentiment remained high during the three 

months of the campaign (from December 

2002 to March 2003) as eastern Australia 

experienced its worst drought in more 

than 100 years. 

The theme Think Twice … Every Drop 

Counts was publicised on local television, 

radio and in newspapers, and focused on 

everyday activities where the community 

could save water: 

Clear, simple signage is used at community events 

• turn off taps when brushing teeth 

• wash cars on lawns instead of 

driveways 

• sweep down paths instead of using 

a hose 

• take shorter showers 

• reduce sprinkler use on gardens and 

lawns 

• use mulch on garden beds 

• install tap timers 

• put trigger nozzles on hoses 

• install drip irrigation systems 

• water gardens in the morning 

To complement this publicity and 

further encourage people to use water 

efficiently and wisely, interviews were 

arranged with local media. Followup 

activities involved water saving 

competitions at community events and 

the promotion of water conservation 

messages on fridge magnets, 

bookmarks and posters. Messages were 

issued on Hunter Water’s billls, customer 

telephone line and website. 

Results of the campaign 

Survey work conducted by the Hunter 

Valley Research Foundation in March 

2003 revealed that two in five people 

could recall the Think Twice campaign 

messages. 62% of those surveyed saw 

the campaign on television, compared 

with 35% who read about in newspapers 

and 14% who heard it on radio. 

These findings confirmed that the 

community understood the water 

conservation message and that Hunter 

Water’s television sponsorship of the 

weather segment during the local evening 

news was well received. 

The community awareness campaign 

coupled with much-needed rain in the 

Lower Hunter’s catchment area during 

the summer of 2002-03, enabled water 

storages to remain above levels that would 

otherwise have activated mandatory water 

restrictions as per Hunter Water’s Drought 

Management Plan. 

Data revealed that peak daily water 

consumption decreased by 50 million litres 

or 15% compared to the previous year’s 

summer. Combined dam storage levels 

rose to a high of nearly 88% in December 

2002 after brief but heavy rains, and fell to 

74% in early March 2003. 


12

Environmental 

• Water consumption fell 15% (50 

million litres) compared to the 

summer of 2001-02 - this is the 

equivalent of five million buckets 

of water. 

• Increased community awareness 

and behaviours to reduce water 

consumption. 

Economic 

• This cost effective campaign 

prevented and longer term 

spending that could be required to 

activate Hunter Water’s Drought 

Management Plan. 

• A broadening of the community’s 

priorities from drinking water 

quality to the sustainability of our 


campaign outcomeS 

The Think Twice campaign was a 

cost-effective way to raise community 

awareness of the value of water. The 

campaign successfully highlighted 

ways that consumers could cut back 

their water consumption and reduce 

their bills. 

Hunter Water’s public awareness 

campaign is an important strategy to 

help manage demand for our precious 

water resources. 

A Hunter Water advertisement to promote 

waterwise practices 

Sustainability Indicators 

Environmental, economic and social 

indicators showed that the campaign 

had been successful throughout the 


• Ability to capitalise on national 

media reports on the drought. 

Social 

• Increased awareness of the 

community’s responsibilities in 

relation to water conservation. 


13

design a water saving campaign 

worksheet 1 

Education and community awareness campaigns are often a very effective way of improving people’s understanding and 

changing attitudes and behaviours. Hunter Water’s Think Twice … Every Drop Counts (p.19) campaign raised awareness of 

the importance of water and ways in which we can all conserve water. 

Questions you need to address 

1 TARGET GROUP - Who is your campaign going to focus on? Why? 

Perhaps you would like to choose a specific problem or group (ie ‘target audience’), such as: 

• kindergarten kids who can’t turn the taps off properly; 

• some of your family members who waste water in all sorts of ways; 

• grounds and maintenance staff who have to take care of the gardens and grassed areas at your school. 

2 TIMEFRAME - How long will your campaign go for and at what time of the year? Why? 

3 THEME - What is the main message you will be sending to your target audience? 

4 SLOGAN - Can you think of a catchy phrase to describe your theme? 

5 STRATEGY - How will you ensure your campaign reaches its target audience and changes their behaviour? 

Will you use posters, stickers, pamphlets, TV, radio, newspapers, competitions, prizes in your campaign? 

What words, ideas and values will you use to communicate to your audience? 

6 REVISION - Think about your timeframe and target audience. Can you get it all done? Do you need to rethink the timeframe? 

Do you think your target audience will understand your message and alter their behaviour? 


14

design a water saving campaign 

worksheet 1 

7 LOGO - Can you think of a picture or symbol that expresses 

your campaign? Draw it below. This is called the “logo” 

and often reflects the theme. It can be used on stickers, 

pamphlets or web pages. If you get a sponsor to help your 

campaign, put their logo on the information you give out. 

8 BUDGET - How much will it all cost? 

Think about all the parts of your campaign and the 

timeframe. Make a list of all the things in your campaign that 

cost money. You should find out the real cost for these and 

then add them up. 

ITEM 

cost 

BUDGET TOTAL: 

9 INDICATORS - How will you know your campaign was successful? What things will have changed? 

This might include saving money, reducing waste or changes in behaviour, values or technology. 

These are called ‘indicators’ and are proof that the campaign worked. List your indicators below. 

10 REVIEW - After doing your budget and indicators, perhaps you should look back and review your campaign. 

Is anything you would like to change? Do you need more money? 

11 RESULTS - Once implemented, you need to see if the campaign is working. Look at your indicators and target audience and work 

out how you will measure success (ie water bills, surveys, interviews, improvements) 

12 REWARD - If your campaign suceeds, what sort of reward do you think is appropriate for you to receive? 


15

assessing water conservation schemes 

worksheet 2 

background 

Over time, there have been many ideas 

for conserving and managing water 

supplies. Some of these ideas have been 

around for a long time, and some are 

very new. 

For example, many older Australians 

used rainwater tanks as their main 

source of drinking water and grey water 

on the garden when they were young. 

This was a normal and important way 

to save water and use it wisely. Perhaps 

we need to go back to some of these 

approaches. 

To help plan for the future and assess a 

variety of ideas a cost-benefit analysis 

can be used. A cost-benefit analysis can 

be applied to many different situations, 

for example, ‘Should I buy a new bike to 

get to school or save my money to buy a 

car in a couple of years?’. In the case of 

water, a cost-benefit analysis is a useful 

way of weighing up a range of ideas 

on how to save water to create a more 

sustainable future. 

There are a number of ways to do a 

cost-benefit analysis, and also many 

ways of presenting the results. Some 

are extremely complex, whilst others 

quite simple. This worksheet offers an 

example of a simple but effective costbenefit 

analysis. The ratings that are 

assigned to the ‘cost’ and ‘benefit’ are 

relative; they are a good way to compare 

different proposals but they do not offer 

detailed information. Here are a couple 

of examples. 

HIGH 

COST 

LOW 

HIGH COST/ 

LOW BENEFIT 

Put covers on dams 

to reduce evaporation 

Stickers to encourage 

people to use less 

water at home 

LOW COST / 

LOW BENEFIT 

HIGH COST/ 

HIGH BENEFIT 

Supply all homes with 

water saving devices 

eg showerheads 

Turn the tap off while 

brushing your teeth 

LOW COST / 

HIGH BENEFIT 

LOW 

BENEFIT 

HIGH 

What is the cost-benefit of everyone turning 

the tap off when they clean their teeth? 

Low cost / high benefit 

Why? It would cost nothing for everyone to turn the tap 

off whilst cleaning teeth but it would save lots of water 

(especially if you add up all the savings across a whole 

community). This option would also mean that your water bill 

could be reduced as you use less water. 

What is the cost-benefit of chopping down 

all the trees so that they won’t use water? 

High cost / low benefit 

Why? There would be lots of different types of cost to us 

(eg economic, environmental, social, cultural). Although 

trees use water to grow they also release water back into 

the atmosphere through evapotranspiration, returning it 

to the water cycle. 


16

assessing water conservation schemes 

worksheet 2 

cost-benefit exercises 

Here are some for you to try. There are no right or wrong answers - it all depends on your point of view, but try and have a reason 

for your answer. These were put forward as serious ideas to solve our water problems. 

1 Build some more mountains because mountains help make rain 

Cost-benefit analysis: 

Reasons why: 

2 Fix leaking taps at home and at school 


Reasons why: 

3 Wash cars on the grass 


Reasons why: 

4 Fix leaking pipes 


Reasons why: 

5 Build a big pipe to bring water from another country that has lots of water 


Reasons why: 

6 Plant water-efficient crops that are more suited to the Australian environment 


Reasons why: 

7 Recycle water from your bathroom onto your garden 


Reasons why: 


17

8 Use wetlands to store stormwater instead of sending it out to sea 


Reasons why: 

9 Collect saltwater and turn it into freshwater 


Reasons why: 

10 Cart water by road and rail 


Reasons why: 

11 Turn the rivers back into the inland before they reach the sea 


Reasons why: 

12 Tow an iceberg 


Reasons why: 

13 Make clouds by making dust 


Reasons why: 

Can you think of ANY OTHERS ? 


18

water audits - a case study 

worksheet 3 

Activity 

Read Being Waterwise at School and 

School Water Audit as background. 

In September 2003, Sleepy Hollow Public 

School decided to see how much water 

they were using and investigate ways of 

saving water. They decided to do an audit 

to find out what was happening to water 

in their school. 

The Year 6 students looked at the bills for 

the previous three months and calculated 

how much water was used per month 

by the whole school. Year 5 students 

counted all the taps, identified all the 

leaks and asked students and staff how 

they used the water in the school. 

The Year 5 class asked the Principal to 

organise for the leaking taps to be fixed. 

After this was done the Year 6 students 

looked at the bills again. 

By doing the water audit Year 5 had 

found out that the kindergarten class 

washed their brushes outside after 

their art lesson every second day. The 

children would stand in a long line and 

wash each brush one by one under 

a fast running tap. The Year 5 class 

thought this might be a problem and a 

major waste of water. They asked the 

kindergarten children if they could think 

of another way to clean their brushes. 

The kindy kids said they could wash 

their brushes in a bucket to see if that 

would help. 

The Year 6 class looked at the bills 

again. This is what they found at 

Sleepy Hollow: 

water use sleepy hollow public school 

80 

70 

Water Usage - Kilolitres 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

JUN 

2003 

JUL 

2003 

AUG 

2003 

SEP 

2003 

OCT 

2003 

NOV 

2003 

DEC 

2003 

JAN 

2004 

FEB 

2004 

MAR 

2004 

APR 

2004 


19

water audits - a case study 

worksheet 3 

what did you discover about the results of the sleepy hollow case study? 

1 What was the approximate amount of water used for the three months before the audit? 

2 When did the Principal get the leaks fixed? 

3 What difference did it make? 

4 When did the kindergarten children change the way they washed their paint brushes? 

5 What difference did this make? 

6 What saved more water: getting the leaks fixed or washing the brushes in a bucket instead of under a tap? 


20

7 Why? 

8 How many taps do you think you might have in your school? 

9 What sort of things would a water audit at your school reveal? 

10 Can you think of any other ways your school could save water? 


21

desktop water audit 

worksheet 4 

Ask your principal or school administrator to provide you with copies of the school’s water bills for the last two years. Water usage 

is stated on the water bill in kilolitres (kL), 1kL equals 1000 litres. 

One kL of water costs 

Hunter Water also sets a figure that estimates how much water from toilets, wash basins and showers enters the wastewater system. 

For our school 

% is estimated to enter the wastewater system. 

Water Usage Desktop Review 

date of the bill water usage kl water usage $ no of days daily average total bill $ 

1: 

2: 

3: 

TOTALS FOR YEAR: 

1: 

2: 

3: 

TOTALS FOR YEAR: 

1 Draw a line graph below to show water usage using the data above. 

2 Add a new line to show the total cost of the water bills - you’ll need to draw a second scale on the ‘y axis’. 

3 Is there a correlation between water usage and the total bill? 


22

asic water audit 

worksheet 5 

You can undertake a basic water audit of your school using the table below to record the total number of water outlets and how 

many are leaking and at what rate. To avoid double counting it is a good idea to get copies of a map of your school and assign 

teams to different zones. 

ITEM total slow medium fast other/ 

comment 

Garden Taps: 

Basin Taps: 

Bubblers: 

Showers: 

Toilets: 

Other: 

TOTAL: 

EXPERIMENT: 

To find out how much water leaking taps and pipes can waste conduct the following experiment: 

1 Place 3 measuring jugs under 3 leaking taps (ie slow, medium and fast dripping leaks) 

2 Start the Stop Watch 

3 Stop the Stop Watch after set time, eg 5 minutes 

4 Measure the volume of water collected in millilitres (mL) and divide by 1000 convert to litres 

5 Divide the the total number of litres collected by the number of minutes 

You now have figures for how many litres of water per minute different leaks waste: 

Multiply these by 60 for hourly rates: slow: L/hr medium: L/hr fast: L/hr 

Multiply above by 24 for daily rates: slow: L/day medium: L/day fast: L/day 

Mutliply above by 365 for yearly rates: slow: L/yr medium: L/yr fast: L/yr 

To to see how much money these leaks cost your school each year, divide the yearly litres by 1000 to convert it 

to kilolitres, then times this by the cost per kilolitre (this is stated on your water bill). 

A slow leak costs $ per year 

A medium leak costs $ per year 

A fast leak costs $ per year 


23

asic water audit 

worksheet 5 

Leaking taps and pipes drip water at different rates - over a whole year the total for each leak can vary from hundreds of litres 

to many thousands of litres. The total of water wasted from all leaks is not only a significant amount, it also costs the school 

hundreds of dollars. To work out the actual amount of water and money that is wasted every year at your school from ALL leaks 

complete the following two tables. 

Enter your figures from the previous page into the first table below. 

LEAKAGE RATE LITRES PER MINUTE LITRES PER YEAR KILOLITRES PER 

YEAR 

YEARLY COST 

Slow Leak: 

Medium Leak: 

Fast Leak: 

Major Break: 

If you have completed the water audit on the previous page, you can now calculate total water loss and costs. 

For example, if a slow leak loses 10.5 kL/yr then 30 slow leaks is 30 x 10.5 = 315kL, x $1.01kL = $318.15 

Complete the table below using the results of your water audit and your leakage rates from the table above. 

Note: calculating the water losses from major breaks can be hard to estimate, as they usually occur for short periods of time. Find 

out if there have been any major leaks or breaks at your school in the last 12 months and estimate how much water was probably 

lost and the cost of this water. 

no. of leaking kl per year total kl total cost 

Example 30 10.5KL 315KL $318.15 

Slow Leak 

Medium Leak 

Fast Leak 

Major Breaks 

- - 

TOTAL COST: 

To protect the environment and save money, what simple things can be done to reduce or stop this waste? 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 


24

environmental audit protocol 

worksheet 6 

environmental audit protocol for conducting a water audit on the school premises 

site description 

School Name: 

Street address: 

Owner of Premises: 

Responsible Officer: 

Mobile No.: 

Audit Team: 

Audit Start: 

Audit end: 

Author: 

Report No.: 

File No.: 

Distribution: 

signed: 

DATE: 

Physical description 

School Type: 

General Description: 

Physical Location: 

Strata or Torrens Title: 

Relationship to adjacent buildings, 

landowners 

AUDIT CONSTRAINTS 

Are there any constraints that may 

affect the ability to carry out this audit? 

i.e single water meter for multiple users 

prevents identification of high water 

users and areas 

Are the premises shared by 

other occupiers? 


25


worksheet 6 

water activities and devices 

Describe activities and 

devices that use water 

eg washing machines, taps, dishwashers, 

toilets, urinals, watering crops gardens ovals, 

science labs, home economics, landscaping, 

cooling towers 

water usage 

Describe water usage in qualitative and 

quantitative terms, include seasonal 

andyearly patterns 

if appropriate 

water usage trends 

Is water usage increasing or decreasing on 

the premises? 

(attach charts or spreadsheets) 

Have activities changed on 

the premises in a way that affects water 

consumption? 

title 

1 Are the premises separately metered ? YES NO 

2 Have low-flow shower roses been installed ? YES NO 

3 Do the toilets have dual flush buttons ? YES NO 

4 Are taps fitted with low flow restrictors ? YES NO 

5 Are automatic flushing urinals installed ? YES NO 

6 If lawn irrigation systems exist, do they have timers ? YES NO 

7 Do cooling towers have recycling systems fitted ? YES NO 

11 Do rainwater tanks collect rain or stormwater for reuse ? YES NO 

9 Is there any grey water reuse on the premises? YES NO 

10 Are there any processes that require a tap to run continually? YES NO 

If so, please describe them: 


26


worksheet 6 

title 

11 Are there any water saving devices on any of the operational facilities ? YES NO 

eg solenoid valves that help control water etc 

12 Have there been searches in the last three years to check for secret leaks ? YES NO 

If yes, what was the result ? 

13 Are there areas where a leaking fitting or pipe could go undetected ? YES NO 

14 Is there any operational equipment that could be replaced with 

equipment that uses less water for the same cost? YES NO 

15 Are there any products used on the premises that could be replaced by 

products that use less water for a competitive price? YES NO 

16 Are there opportunities for students/staff to assist the premises 

to save water? If yes, provide details: YES NO 

17 Are there opportunities to educate or train staff and students in 

water saving techniques? YES NO 

18 Are there any leaking taps or fittings? If yes, please describe: YES NO 

19 Are there any other issues to be addressed? If yes, please list: YES NO 

19 Considering the findings of the audit, are there any opportunities to save 

water on these premises in the short or long term? If so, please describe: YES NO 

RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THIS REPORT 


27

water conservation 

resource list 

2.1 water use and 

conservation 

2.4 School Water Audit 2.6 Think Twice Water 

Saving Campaign 

Sources: 

Report on the Williams River 

Healthy Rivers Commission of 

Inquiry, 1996 

2.2 BEING WaterWise 

at Home 

Sources: 

Community and 



Annual Report 



Resource Plan 


Hints on How to be 

Waterwise 


Sources: 

Cleaner Production 

Audit Protocol 


2.5 Water Conservation 

Initiatives 

Sources: 

Kotara ‘Roof to Creek’ Project 

Hunter Water Australia, 2004 

Community and 



Sources: 

Community and 




Hunter Water Think 

Twice Campaign 


Sydney Water Every Drop 

Counts Campaign 


Three Buckets a Day Water 


www.medialaunch.com.au 

Meat and Livestock 

Australia’s Water 


www.mla.com.au 

Water Use It Wisely 

www.wateruseitwisely.com 

Talking Water: an 

Australian Guidebook 

for the 21st Century 

www.hunterwater. 

com.au 

www.savewater.com.au 

2.3 Being Waterwise 

at School 

Sources: 

Community 



Annual Report 



Resource Plan 


Hints on How to be 

Waterwise 



28

introduction to wastewater & stormwater 

Wastewater and Stormwater 

Hunter Water provides wastewater 

services to residents, businesses and 

industries across the Lower Hunter. 

Wastewater is transported through a 

network of about 4,160km of sewer 

pipes and 341 pumping stations to 17 

wastewater treatment works. Treated 

effluent is discharged to waterways or 

reused where it is economical and where 

there are environmental benefits for the 

community. 

Local councils manage the majority of 

the Lower Hunter’s stormwater systems 

- while Hunter Water manages some 

drains in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and 

Cessnock. 

Compared with wastewater, the quality 

of stormwater is largely unmanaged 

and variable. Stormwater is not formally 

treated for two reasons: it flows in huge 

volumes that would be costly to treat and 

it is relatively unpolluted compared to 

wastewater. 

Wastewater and stormwater are affected 

by both human activities and natural 

processes. They are also important 

resources we can utilise - as we grow to 

appreciate the scarcity and great value of 

our water resources, strategies for 

making use of effluent and stormwater 

are being developed. Effluent and 

biosolids recycling, residential collection 

and use of stormwater and water 

sensitive urban design are growing 

across the Lower Hunter. 

Wastewater and stormwater 

management are an important step 

towards sustainable management of 

the region’s water resources: they are 

the responsibility of Hunter Water, local 

Councils, local communities, business 

and industry. 

Learning Opportunities 



local and regional water issues into 

their curriculum. A range of issues are 


• Understanding wastewater and 

stormwater and how they can be 

sustainably managed 

• Environmental, economic and 

social impacts of wastewater and 

stormwater in the Lower Hunter 

• Wastewater treatment and how 

our personal actions increase or 

reduce the volume and impacts on 

the process 

• Case studies on wastewater 

treatment works 

• Water sensitive urban design and 

community action to improve 

stormwater quality 






1

Links with THE Syllabus 


worksheets from this section address 

the following syllabus outcomes: 





Science and technology 3 PSS3.5 - Products and services 


UTS3.9 - Using Technology 



COS3.1 - Communicating 




Geography 4* 4G2 - Global environments 





Geography 5 





4.7 - Properties of substances using scientific models and theories 

4.11 - Natural Resources 

4.12 - Technology 









4.21- Use of creativity and imagination to solve problems 



5.7 - Properties of elements, compounds and mixtures related 

to scientific models, theories and laws 

5.10 - Ecosystems 

5.11 - Resource use and conservation 









5.21 - Use of creativity and imagination to solve problems 



2

introduction to wastewater & stormwater 

What is wastewater? 

We use water for many activities, most 

of which contaminate the water in 

some way, ie by using detergents to 

wash clothes and soap in the bath. This 

contaminated water is called wastewater. 

It comes from homes, shops, schools, 

hospitals and factories. After wastewater 

has been treated, it is commonly known 

as effluent. 

Wastewater is broken down by microorganisms 

in an aeration tank 

Wastewater Composition 

Wastewater contains approximately 

99.9% water and 0.1% solids. Expressed 

in another way, every 1000kg (or 1000L) 

of wastewater contains about 1kg (or 

1L) of solids. The solids are organic and 

inorganic compounds and are suspended 

in the wastewater. 

Volatile solids are about 70% of the 

wastewater solids and give the water its 

unpleasant characteristics. The majority 

of the solids - carbohydrates, fats and 

proteins - are broken down during 

treatment into more stable inorganic 

compounds by bacteria and other microorganisms. 

Wastewater also contains some 

compounds that are resistant to normal 

treatment processes, including: 

• Organics - fats, oils, grease, 

carbohydrates, pesticides, 

herbicides, insecticides, phenols, 

proteins and surfactants 

• Inorganics - chlorides, heavy 

metals, nitrogen, phosphorus and 

sulphur 

• Gases - hydrogen sulphide, 

methane and oxygen 

Impacts of wastewater 


The economic impacts of wastewater 

include the cost of treating and cleaning 

wastewater. If care is taken by water 

consumers to reduce the waste that 

enters the sewerage system, the 

wastewater treatment process becomes 

less costly - smaller dosages of 

chemicals can be used and the treatment 

process may be carried out more rapidly. 

Another major cost is managing 

environmental impacts. For instance, 

raw sewage may enter the environment 

through leaking pipes or illegal 

disposal. Clean up of these sites 

includes rehabilitation to address any 

contamination, which can be very costly, 

such as removing large volumes of soil. 

Environmental management costs also 

come from the need to protect the 

waterways that receive treated effluent. 

Hunter Water works in partnership 

with government and community 

organisations to revegetate and protect 

targeted waterways and to carry out 

regular monitoring of effluent discharges. 

Environmental impactsLiving 

organisms such as plants and animals 

(including humans) are linked through 

the water and nutrient cycles. A series 

of small impacts in one area can 

accumulate and potentially result in 

large scale negative impacts. 

Wastewater can contain high levels 

of nutrients such as phosphorus. In 

slow flowing waterways nutrients can 

become concentrated and cause algal 

blooms. These blooms can kill fish and 

produce toxins that make the water 

unsafe for swimming. Algal blooms 

from effluent nutrients are more likely 

in rivers than in the ocean. 

In the late 1980s Hunter Water began 

a major upgrade of its Wastewater 

Treatment Works (WWTW), including 

improved treatment, disinfection 

at inland WWTWs, reusing treated 

effluent and situating ocean outfalls 

1km offshore. Since completing 

these upgrades the impacts on local 

waterways have been greatly reduced. 

Today, poor water quality at beaches, 

rivers, harbours and lakes is usually 

caused by polluted stormwater 

during heavy rain and flooding, not by 

wastewater. 

Managing wastewater in the 

LOWER Hunter 

Hunter Water uses two main methods 

to manage wastewater: treatment and 

recycling. 

Wastewater treatment 

Wastewater must be treated to remove 

pollutants before it can be recycled or 

released into waterways or the ocean. 

This is done to minimise any negative 

environmental impacts. 

Hunter Water’s WWTW use naturallyoccurring 

bacteria to break down 

wastewater into safer substances. The 

further removal of phosphorus may involve 

the use of chemicals. The disinfection 

stage generally uses ultraviolet light, 

chlorine (chlorinated water is later 

dechlorinated by using sulphur dioxide), or 

natural ultra-violet rays from the sun. The 

disinfected effluent is returned to creeks 

and rivers. At Hunter Water’s coastal 

WWTWs, saltwater and sunlight further 

purify the effluent. 

Sludge is dewatered to become a ‘biosolid’ at 

Boulder Bay WWTW 

The sludge and biosolids produced 

during treatment are further treated, then 

dewatered and recycled in local industrial 

projects. These projects include minesite 

rehabilitation, industrial landscaping, 

native woodlots and co-composting 

facilities. 

All recycling of water and biosolids 

must comply with guidelines set by 

the Department of Environment and 

Conservation, and all discharges from 

WWTWs are licenced by this department. 


3

These controls specify the quality and 

quantity of treated wastewater that can 

be released to rivers and the ocean. The 

effect of effluent on water quality and 

aquatic life is monitored to identify and 

respond to any impacts on ecosystems. 

Hunter Water has upgraded all of its 

WWTWs over the past 15 years and this 

has succesfully reduced the impact of 

effluent on our waterways. 

Water recycling 

To meet the principles of sustainability 

and address environmental issues, 

there have been increased efforts to 

develop and implement new systems 

for re-using wastewater. 

We now have the information and 

technology to effectively collect, treat 

and re-use water in our homes, offices, 

factories and farms. 

The benefits of recycling wastewater 

include: 

• Reduction in the volume of 

potable water used for purposes 

other than drinking. Recycling 

wastewater helps to reduce water 

supply and treatment costs, and 

reduces the need to build more 

dams to cater for increased 

water demand. 

• Reduction in the volume of 

stormwater and effluent discharges 

which minimises the impact on 

our waterways, and sewerage and 

stormwater infrastructure, eg pipes, 

pumping stations, wastewater 

treatment works. 

• Using wastewater as a resource 

for productive purposes. This 

makes sensible use of the water 

and nutrients in wastewater. 


4

3.2 wastewater treatment in the hunter 

WHERE ARE THE treatment 

works LOCATED? 

Hunter Water manages 17 WWTW in the 

Lower Hunter. These WWTWs process 

the wastewater of about 500,000 people 

every day. 

The smallest serves 700 people and the 

largest 204,000. Three WWTWs are on 

the coast and have offshore outfalls, and 

two others link up to Belmont WWTW. 

Another three are near Lake Macquarie 

and Newcastle Harbour, and nine 

WWTWS are inland. 

Hunter Water operates 17 WWTWs 

throughout the Lower Hunter 

Burwood Beach WWTW is the Hunter’s 

largest treatment facility 

THE Wastewater TREATMENT 

PROCESS 

The level of treatment in WWTWs around 

the world can range from ‘primary’ 

(filtering and screening) through to ‘tertiary’ 

processes. Most of Hunter Water’s 

WWTWs operate to a tertiary level. 

PRIMARY 

1 Screening 

Non-biodegradable solids/objects are 

removed from wastewater by selective 

screening. These screenings are usually 

compressed and sent to a landfill site. 

2 Grit removal 

Grit and sand is separated from the 

wastewater in a small vortex tank, which is 

designed to permit only the heavier solids 

(grit) to settle. The grit is collected, washed 

and then sent to a landfill site. 

3 Flow balancing and odour 

control 

Flow equalisation tanks provide a means 

of smoothing out fluctuating flows and 

limiting the maximum flows entering 

the treatment works, especially during 

wet weather. The inlet works are usually 

covered to contain odours. These odours 

are then directed to a soilbed filter. 

SECONDARY 

4 Biological treatment 

Biological processes break down organic 

matter into simpler chemical substances 

such as carbon dioxide, methane and 

nitrates. The processes are carried out by 

micro-organisms, which obtain food from 

the organic matter in the wastewater. 

5 Clarification 

Biological solids settle out from the 

effluent in large concrete clarifiers (tanks). 

The solids are often recycled back to the 

bioreactor and the clear effluent flows on 

to the disinfection system. 

TERITARY 

6 Disinfection 

Potentially harmful pathogens are killed 

through a disinfection process involving 

high intensity ultraviolet (UV) lights or 

additions of chlorine to the effluent or in 

maturation ponds. 

7 Discharge effluent 

The effluent is either discharged via 

pipelines to waterways or may be reused, 

eg watering golf courses and woodlots or 

by nearby industries. 

8 Sludge treatment 

The sludge resulting from the settling 

process is further treated and then 

dewatered to form a biosolid that can be 

reused in suitable industrial rehabilitation 

projects. 

wwtw population communities daily volume 

Burwood Beach 204,000 Newcastle, Dudley, Wallsend 43 megalitres 

Belmont 

Edgeworth 

Morpeth 


91,000 Charlestown, Dudley, Windale, Valentine, 

Belmont, Swansea 

60,000 Cardiff, Glendale, Elermore Vale, West Wallsend, 

Edgeworth 

50,000 Beresfield, Thornton, Ashtonfield, Tenambit, 

Morpeth, East Maitland 

30 megalitres 

20 megalitres 

20 megalitres 

Toronto 34,000 Fassifern, Blackalls Park, Awaba, Rathmines, Toronto 15 megalitres 

Boulder Bay 30,000 Salamander Bay, Nelson Bay, Shoal Bay, 

Fingal Bay, Anna Bay 

Shortland 28,000 Fletcher, Wallsend, Marylands, Shortland, 

Sandgate, Hexham, 

Farley 26,000 Maitland, Lorn, Oakhampton, Tenambit, 

Thornton, Beresfield 

15 megalitres 

14 megalitres 

14 megalitres 

5

wwtw population communities daily volume 

Cessnock 26,000 Pokolbin, Aberdare, Kearsley 12 megalitres 

Raymond Terrace 25,000 Medowie, Heatherbrae, Raymond Terrace 12 megalitres 

Kurri Kurri 19,000 Weston, Kurri, Heddon Greta 9 megalitres 

Dora Creek* 17,000 Morisset, Wangi, Bonnells Bay, Silverwater, Dora Creek 9 megalitres 

Tanilba Bay 6,000 Lemon Tree Passage, Mallabula, Tanilba Bay 5 megalitres 

Branxton 5,000 Greta, Rothbury, Lochinvar 1 megalitre 

Karuah 2,000 Karuah 0.6 megalitres 

Kearsley 1,000 Kearsley 0.3 megalitres 

Paxton 700 Paxton 0.1 megalitres 

* All effluent from this plant is re-used at Eraring 

Power Station 

CALCULATING THE POPULATIONS 

SERVED 

To reflect the true wastewater load on 

both catchments and WWTWs, the 

populations quoted in the table above are 

calculated as the Equivalent Population 

(EP). The EP measures the number of 

people served in addition to an estimate 

of the wastewater produced by business 

and industry; converted to population. 

For example, you may have 1,000 actual 

people in a community plus a school, 

shops and a restaurant. In this instance 

the EP would be calculated by: 

(a) determining the wastewater 

flows expected from the school, shops 

and restaurant; 

(b) converting this flow to the 

number of people it would represent if it 

was coming from houses; 

(c) adding this ‘equivalent’ number 

of people to the actual number of real 

people in the community. In this case the 

EP might be estimated at 1,100 people. 

EP is used because without it, the 

population numbers on their own do not 

match the daily volumes of wastewater 

produced, as the daily volumes also 

include flows from business and industry. 

How you can help with 

wastewater 

We all have a responsibility to reduce 

the impact of our wastewater. You can 

help reduce the volume of wastewater 

produced and contaminants in 

wastewater by following these simple tips: 

• Reduce water use in the kitchen 

by only using the dishwasher when 

its full or washing up items in the 


sink instead. 

• Use the specified amount of 

detergent and choose detergents 

that are low in phosphorous. 

• Minimise your water use in the 

bathroom by turning off the tap 

when you brush your teeth, taking 

shorter showers, use a watersaving 

showerhead and use a 

dual-flush toilet. 

• Wash your hands quickly at school 

and don’t leave the tap running or 

dripping. 

• Choose cleaning products that are 

environmentally endorsed - these 

aim to have a smaller impact on 

the environment. 

• Do not dispose of products that 

contain chemicals down the sink 

or drain. If you have old chemicals 

or oils that need to be disposed of, 

contact your local council who can 

advise you on the best method of 

disposal. 

• Minimise your water use and 

understand where your water 

goes after you have used it. 

Explain to family and friends 

how reducing the amount of 

wastewater produced benefits the 

environment. 

Maximising the Benefits of 

Recycled Water 

The Karuah water recycling scheme 

began in November 2002 and provides 

420 properties in Karuah with a modern 

reticulated sewerage system. 

The sewerage scheme provides significant 

benefit by eliminating poorly performing 

septic tanks that had the potential to 

overflow and to the Karuah River. 

A priority of the design was ensuring 

the system’s impact on the local oyster 

industry was minimised. This was 

achieved by reusing the effluent from the 

Karuah wastewater treatment works to 

avoid discharge from the plant into local 

waterways. 

The Karuah plant has been specially 

designed to minimise the discharge of 

treated effluent off-site. It is predicted that, 

on average, there will be no discharge 

of effluent off-site for three out of four 

years. It is estimated that 98% of effluent 

produced by the works will be used onsite 

to grow fodder crops and trees. 

Sewerage is treated to a secondary 

standard in a conventional activated 

Irrigating feed crops with recycled water 

at the Karuah WWTW 

sludge treatment plant. The treated 

effluent is then disinfected using ultraviolet 

light prior to discharge into a 100 megalitre 

effluent storage dam. The effluent is 

stored until it can be used to irrigate the 

crops and trees. 

The effluent reuse area consists of a 100 

hectare property containing two centrepivot 

irrigators each covering 20 hectares 

of fodder crops. 

The Karuah water recycling scheme 

provides a great example of what can be 

achieved in the Hunter region to recycle 

water in an effective and environmentally 

sustainable manner. 

6

3.3 raymond terrace WWTW 

Raymond Terrace WWTW 

Raymond Terrace WWTW serves about 

25,000 people in Raymond Terrace and 

Medowie. 

Control and monitoring 

The entire wastewater treatment process is 

automatically controlled by a series of 

computers that are linked to Hunter Water’s 

main computer system in Newcastle. 

Department of Environment and 

Conservation licence parameters. Hunter 

Water also submits an annual report to 

this department to confirm that the facility 

has been operating within its licence. 

The upgraded Raymond Terrace WWTW 

The new Inlet Works is completely covered 

to control odour 

The original facilities were constructed 

in 1980. An upgrade was carried out to 

improve the quality of effluent produced 

at the facility and cater for the area’s 

population growth. To plan for this 

upgrade an Environmental Impact 

Statement was prepared and publicly 

exhibited, with approval for the upgrade 

granted by the state government. 

The upgraded Raymond Terrace WWTW 

is capable of treating an average flow 

of over 6.5 million litres per day, with 

the capacity to serve a population of 

approximately 29,500 people. Provision 

has been made in the design of the plant 

to allow for an upgrade to 35,000 people 

if required. 

Benefits of the Raymond Terrace 

WWTWThe Raymond Terrace 

WWTW was designed and built to 

treat wastewater to a high standard 

and to have a minimal impact on the 

environment. This has been achieved 

by collecting wastewater from houses, 

business and industry via pipes and 

pumping stations, and directing it to the 

WWTW. The wastewater is treated to 

a high standard, disinfected and then 

discharged into Grahamstown Drain 

which then flows into Windeyers Creek 

and the Hunter River. 

Where it is economically viable, treated 

wastewater is recycled and used in 

activities such as the irrigation of golf 

courses and for industrial purposes. The 

collected residual solids (or dewatered 

sludge) are called ‘biosolids’ and are 

reused for activities such as minesite 

rehabilitation. 

To ensure that the facility is operating 

efficiently, sampling and testing are 

conducted on the holding tanks and 

discharge waters. The results are 

analysed to ensure the treatment 

processes continue to meet the 

Wastewater treatment at Raymond Terrace 

Inlet Works 

The inlet works receive wastewater through four sewer mains. The inlet works 

house the step screens and the grit tank.This area is covered and kept under 

constant vacuum to contain odours, which are then passed through a soilbed filter. 

Soilbed Filter 

The organic soilbed filter consists of layers of gravel, soil, peat and bark chips. This 

soilbed allows the growth of natural bacteria which breakdown and disperse odours. 

Step Screen 

Large objects and solids present in the wastewater are removed using two fine 

automatic step screens. The bars on the two screens are 5mm apart and can treat 

up to 1000 litres per second. The screenings are washed and dewatered and then 

disposed to landfill 


7

Grit Tank 

Inorganic grit material in the raw sewerage is removed using centrifugal grit chambers. 

The settled grit is dewatered and stored in a 1 cubic metre bin for disposal to landfill. 

Bioreactor 

A new bioreactor has been constructed to provide the additional non-aerated zones required to enhance the plant for biological 

phosphorus removal. The naturally forming bacteria are fed with the wastewater/sewage and then moved to the carousel for 

further treatment. 

Carousel Tank 

The carousel tank provides both aerated zones and unaerated zones. 

The suspended solids, organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus are further broken down by naturally occurring bacteria 

into simple gaseous and solid particles. 

Clarifiers 

The wastewater from the bioreactor flows into four clarifiers where the biological solids settle from the clear effluent. The solids are 

recycled back into the bioreactor. Clear effluent overflows from the clarifier and flows on to the disinfection system. 

DISINFECTION AND DISCHARGE 

The clear effluent is subjected to a bank of concentrated ultraviolet light to kill potentially harmful pathogenic organisms. The final 

effluent is released into Grahamstown Drain, which then flows into Windeyers Creek and the Hunter River. 

Sludge TREATMENT 

The sludge remaining from the main process is aerobically digested to stabilise the sludge. This reduces odour potential and pathogens. 

After digestion the solids are separated from the liquid using a belt filter press and dewatered biosolids are reused in agricultural 

and minesite rehabilitation projects. 


8

3.4 morpeth wastewater & wetlands 

Wastewater to wetlands 

The decommissioned treatment ponds 

at the old Morpeth WWTW have been 

transformed into a wetland sanctuary for 

local and migratory birds. 

The original WWTW was constructed in 

1940. During 2001 a new $20M treatment 

works was constructed to cater for 

population growth in the area and reduce 

nutrients entering local waterways. 

The old plant’s maturation ponds have been 

converted to wetlands 

The WWTW used a series of shallow 

ponds to allow direct sunlight to kill 

bacteria in the effluent. The new facility 

uses artificial ultraviolet light in a 

disinfection tank. 

During planning for the new treatment 

works, Hunter Water became aware 

that the old maturation ponds had 

An aerial photo of the new Morpeth WWTW 

and wetland sanctuary 

become habitat for local and migratory 

birds. With this knowledge Hunter 

Water committed to retain the open 

water ponds and rehabilitate them as a 

wetland area for birds. 

The rehabilitation project 

Over 100 tonnes of concrete and soil 

waste were recycled on-site instead of 

being disposed to landfill. This recycling 

involved the creation of beaches, islands 

and shallow ponds to attract a variety of 

wading birds. 

The rehabilitated wetlands generated 

great interest among bird watchers 

and the local community. A team of 

environmental workers and Hunter Water 

employees planted hundreds of native 

trees and shrubs around the wetland. The 

aim was to recreate a ‘natural’ wetland 

ecosystem. 

High quality treated effluent from the 

new plant is only pumped into the 

wetlands when natural water levels fall 

too low to sustain the ecosystem. This 

constant source of water has supported 

the survival of local and migratory birds 

during periods of drought. 

Treating wastewater at Morpeth 

Morpeth WWTW serves about 50,000 

people who live and work primarily in 

Morpeth, Metford, Thornton, Tenambit, 

Ashtonfield, Beresfield and East Maitland. 

The WWTW has the capacity to treat an 

average flow of 14 million litres per day, 

or about 60,000 people. The facitility has 

the capacity to be upgraded to serve 

80,000 people in the future - subject to 

planning approval. 

The new plant was built to minimise 

impacts on the surrounding environment. 

Wastewater is collected from houses and 

industry via pipes and pumping stations, 

and treated to a high standard that 

includes a disinfection stage. 

The final treated effluent is recycled where 

possible or otherwise discharged into 

the Hunter River. During dry conditions 

some effluent is diverted to the wetland 

ponds. Recycled wastewater is used to 

irrigate golf courses and woodlots. The 

remaining sludge (solids) is treated and 

dewatered to become biosolids, and 

reused in agricultural activities and mine 

rehabilitation on the site. 

Protecting the Lower Hunter catchment 

By 2006 all of Hunter Water’s WWTWs 

will have been completely upgraded. 

The focus of these upgrades, which in 

turn reduces negative impacts on local 

waterways where effluent is discharged. 

In achieving higher levels of treatment 

however, some trade-offs have had to be 

made, including: 

• higher costs for construction and 

operation of new plants compared 

to older plants 

• more atmospheric emissions from 

power stations associated with 

higher power usage at plants 

• increased transport needs through 

recycling greater quantities of 

biosolids 

A water quality report on the Hunter 

River indicated that lowering nitrogen 

and phosphorus levels in effluent would 

protect and improve downstream water 

quality. Levels of nitrogen have been 

reduced from 15 to 7 milligrams and 

levels of phosphorus reduced from 6 to 3 

milligrams per litre. 

Reductions in phosphorus and nitrogen 

beyond this, however, were considered 

to be of little impact as Morpeth WWTW 

only contributes 2% to 3% of the total 

nutrient load in the river. 


9

3.5 stormwater management 

What is stormwater? 

Stormwater is runoff produced by rainfall 

that flows into drains or directly into 

waterways, wetlands and eventually the 

ocean. In urban areas, rain that falls on 

houses or runs off paved areas such 

as driveways, roads and footpaths, is 

carried away through a system of pipes 

separate from the wastewater system - 

this is called the stormwater system. 

Stormwater management 

Hunter Water’s role in the management 

of stormwater is to maintain stormwater 

channels and culverts in the Newcastle, 

Lake Macquarie and Cessnock local 

government areas. This includes 

preventing the accumulation of rubbish. 

Hunter Water’s stormwater infrastructure 

comprises large scale, concrete trunk 

drainage systems constructed to collect 

and transport large urban stormwater 

Hunter Water helps councils manage 

stormwater in the shaded areas 

flows into receiving waters. The 

stormwater infrastructure controlled 

by local councils includes the street 

drainage (inlet pits and pipes) that 

drains into this system, and the 

less formalised ‘natural’ channels 

throughout areas upstream and 

sometimes downstream of Hunter 

Water’s systems. 

The majority of Hunter Water’s 

stormwater assets are located within 

the Newcastle area, in the major urban 

catchments of Throsby Creek and 

Cottage Creek. Stormwater treatment 

structures in the Throsby Creek system 

include a sediment trap with floating 


boom at Tighes Hill and trash racks in 

Lambton and Adamstown. 

In Lake Macquarie, Hunter Water 

operates stormwater assets in the 

Winding Creek catchment, and in 

Cessnock stormwater assets are 

situated through the urbanised 

sections of Black Creek. 

Stormwater pollution 

There are three main types of 

stormwater pollution that are 

discharged to our waterways: 

• litter, eg cigarette butts, cans, 

paper, plastic bags 

• chemicals, eg detergents, oil, 

fertilisers 

• organic materials, eg leaves, 

garden clippings, animal 

droppings 

Stormwater treatment 

Unlike wastewater, stormwater is not 

treated at a wastewater treatment 

plant. This means its quality is largely 

unmanaged and variable. In some 

situations it passes through pollution 

traps, usually located at the end of the 

stormwater pipe system. 

However, pollution traps only filter large 

pieces of litter from the water. These 

traps do not remove dissolved solids, 

nutrients, sediment, greases and oils 

that are often found in stormwater. 

Since Hunter Water’s upgrade of 

wastewater treatment works in the 

Lower Hunter, the major cause of poor 

water quality at beaches is polluted 

stormwater after heavy rainfall. 

We can all help reduce the volume of 

stormwater entering waterways and 

minimise its pollution. It is more cost 

effective to prevent stormwater pollution 

than to have to deal with it once it has 

occurred. 

What affects stormwater 

pollution? 

The volume and severity of stormwater 

pollution is affected by: 

The timing and 

intensity of 

rainfall 

building density 

and land uses 

within the 

catchment area 

the extent of 

vegetation cover 

the cleanliness 

of streets 

Activities that cause 

stormwater pollution 

Some examples of activities that can 

cause stormwater to become polluted 

are: 

Stormwater impacts 

local practices, eg 

street sweeping 

and chemical use 

washing cars in 

the street lets 

detergents enter 

drains and 

waterways 

dropping litter 

where it will be 

swept into drains 

the next time it 

rains 

cleaning paint 

brushes into 

street drains 

Environmental impacts 

Since stormwater is not treated before 

it enters local waterways, it is often 

very polluted and can have many 

adverse impacts. 

10

Some of the environmental impacts 

associated with stormwater include: 

• Sediment in the water reduces 

light penetration and affects the 

photosynthesis of plants. 

• When green waste (grass 

clippings, leaf litter) decays in 

water it uses up oxygen, reducing 

the oxygen available to aquatic 

plants and animals. 

• Sediment makes waterways 

cloudy and can suffocate fish by 

clogging their gills. 

• Litter obstructs waterways and 

can release toxins into the water 

when it breaks down. It impacts 

on the health of birds, fish and 

other aquatic animals and plants. 

Animals can mistake floating 

plastic objects for food and 

ingesting the object can cause 

suffocation. 

• The appearance of our waterways 

is affected by stormwater 

pollution, making them less 

enjoyable and attractive for both 

locals and visitors. 

The social and economic impacts of 

polluted stormwater are often flowon 

effects from the environmental 

impacts. They include: 


• Organisations that manage 

stormwater, such as Hunter 

Water and local Councils, must 

contribute increased funds for 

clean-up efforts and installation of 

pollution traps. 

• Water that has been polluted 

cannot be readily used by the 

community for local projects or in 

the home. 

High quality drinking water 

continues to be used for tasks 

such as watering the garden. 

Stormwater would offer a more 

sustainable and cost-effective 

alternative to using potable 

water, if it was relatively free from 

contaminants. 

Social impacts 

• People are less likely to visit or 

enjoy local waterways if they 

are polluted. 

• Social activities such as surfing, 

rowing and water skiing can 


become threatened by high water 

pollution levels. 

Prevention of stormwater 

pollution 

Many local Councils have put 

stormwater pollution traps at the end of 

stormwater drains. These help reduce 

waste entering creeks, rivers and 

wetlands. Pollution devices are regularly 

emptied and their contents disposed of 

at local landfill sites. However, pollution 

traps cannot remove all stormwater 

contaminants. The most effective way 

to reduce stormwater pollution is to 

prevent it occurring in the first place. 

Examples of pollution devices: 

artificially 

constructed 

wetlands 

oil and litter 

booms 

gross 

pollutant 

traps 

trash traps 

sediment traps 

Three ways to prevent 

stormwater pollution 

Litter disposal 

Make sure that litter cannot blow or fall out 

of garbage bins or recycling containers. 

Washing cars 

Wash cars on the grass to prevent soapy 

water from entering gutters. The nutrients 

in detergents contaminate waterways and 

can lead to algal blooms. 

Dog droppings 

Place dog droppings in the bin to prevent 

bacteria and nutrients from entering local 

waterways. 

Water Sensitive Urban 

Design (WSUD) 

Water Sensitive Urban Design refers to the 

integration of water cycle management - 

drinking water, stormwater, wastewater, 

waterway health, recycling - into urban 

planning and design. WSUD aims to 

address the principles of Ecologically 

Sustainable Development. 

Figtree Place 

A number of development projects 

that incorporate WSUD have been 

completed in the Lower Hunter over the 

last decade. These projects demonstrate 

the practicalities of WSUD, and provide 

the opportunity to monitor and assess 

their performance as a water management 

scheme. One such project is Figtree Place 

in Newcastle. 

Figtree Place is a 27 unit community 

housing project in Newcastle 

Figtree Place is a community housing 

development of 27 units. It incorporates 

on-site stormwater harvesting and storage 

in underground aquifers. 

The WSUD objective is to retain 

stormwater on-site and reduce potable 

water consumption. The site is designed 

to contain all runoff for rainfall events up to 

and including a 1 in 50 year flood event. 

The stormwater from roof surfaces is pretreated 

in sediment traps prior to storage 

in underground rainwater tanks. Runoff 

from roads and other impervious surfaces 

at the development is filtered through the 

base of a dry detention basin and then 

stored in underground aquifers. 

The stored stormwater is pumped from 

the aquifer and used to irrigate garden 

beds and open spaces, and wash vehicles 

at the adjacent bus depot. Harvested 

stormwater is also used to supply hot 

water to each unit for indoor use. Overall 

the water management scheme reduces 

the demand on high quality potable water 

by about 60%. 

11

3.6 managing stormwater with sqids 

Lake Macquarie City Council 

has designed an Adopt-a-SQID 

program to engage the community in 

environmental monitoring, reporting 

and community education. 

SQID - Stormwater Quality 

Improvement Device - refers to a 

constructed stormwater treatment 

device such as a wetland, retention 

basin, sediment/silt trap or a gross 

pollutant trap. 

Objectives for adopt-A-SQID 

Three main objectives helped to 

guide the design of the Adopt-a-SQID 

program: 

• Encourage Lake Macquarie 

residents to get to know how 

their local SQID works through 

environmental monitoring and 

reporting 

• Educate the community about 

protecting stormwater and local 

waterways so that groups can 

implement education programs 

tailored to water quality issues in 

their own sub-catchments 

• Identify how effectively 

SQIDs were working, so the 

environmental quality and health 

of downstream waterways could 

be improved 

How can you adopt-a-SQID? 

The main aspects of the program 

involve water quality monitoring and 

education activities. 

Across Lake Macquarie 29 Adopt-a- 

SQID groups have been formed with 

about 750 participants. Volunteers 

attended training sessions on 

stormwater issues, occupational health 

and safety, water quality monitoring 

and community education. 

Schools and community groups 

such as Landcare have also become 

involved with the project. Volunteers 

are trained to deliver community 

education with the support of staff 

from Council and Waterwatch. 

The community education activities 

undertaken by local SQID groups 

included drain stencilling and 

participation in local community events 

to promote the program. 

To activate the Adopt-a SQID program 

and maintain its momentum, various 

resources were developed: 

• a workshop to share data and ideas 

• a webpage at www.lakemac.com.au 

• group manuals to guide monitoring, 

reporting and education activities 

• site signage to raise awareness 

of stormwater issues and their 

management 

• promotion of local water bug 

surveys to the broader community 

• educational posters such as the 

Adopt-A-Squid as previewed 

Adopt-A-Squid poster 

What can be achieved by 

adopting a SQID? 

A community survey indicated that the 

Adopt-a-SQID program has helped 

improve understanding and behaviour 

among residents in the catchment. 

SQID groups continue to be recruited 

by Council, and these groups provide 

training for new and interested people 

in the local community. The Adopt-a 

SQID program has been a success 

and become the central focus of Lake 

Macquarie City Council’s stormwater 

education program. 


12

investigating wastewater treatment 

worksheet 1 

1 Use the internet and factsheets in Section 3 of this Water Kit to discover the meaning of the following 

wastewater terms: 

a) Vortex: 

b) Effluent: 

c) Disinfection: 

2 What does ML mean? 

3 Which wastewater treatment works in the Hunter region: 

a) serves the largest population? 

b) serves the smallest population? 

c) treats the smallest volume of water on a daily basis? 

4 Calculate the volume of water (in litres) treated per person per day for each of the Hunter’s wastewater 

treatment works (WWTW): 

wastewater treatment works 

litres of wastewater treated per person per day 

Belmont: 

Burwood: 

Morpeth: 

Karuah: 

Shortland: 

5 Consider the communities that each WWTW services and suggest some reasons for any major differences 

in the volumes of wastewater treated: 

6 The main reason for treating wastewater is to ensure that it has a minimal impact when it is released into 

the environment. The treatment process uses naturally occurring bacteria to decompose carbohydrates, 

proteins and fats. As as a result, methane and carbon dioxide gases are released. 

a) Identify a potential environmental impact of the process of wastewater treatment: 


13

) Suggest strategies that might be used to reduce this impact: 

c) Identify the main environmental costs and benefits of wastewater treatment in the Hunter: 


14

the drain is just for rain 

worksheet 2 

Stormwater drains collect stormwater and transport it through pipes and canals to a variety of sites in the local area. Some 

stormwater first flows into stormwater detention ponds, where the water slows down and allows some pollutants to settle out 

In the end all stormwater is discharged to local creeks, rivers or wetlands. 

Depending on the size of your school grounds it may have a large number of stormwater drains, with a network of stormwater 

pipes buried beneath the ground that links each of the drains. This stormwater drainage system helps to keep the ground’s 

surface free from large puddles of water or muddy areas during wet weather. 

1 Before this investigation take a guess at how many drains there are in your school: 

. 

2 Go into your school grounds and take notes on the stormwater system for your school. 

Investigate how many drains there are and what state they are in. 

Are they clogged with rubbish? Are they located in sensible positions or do they create a potential hazard? 

types of drains number description 

Small round drains at the 

bottom of down pipes of roofs 

Long thin drains running 

across paths or playgrounds 

Small square drains in 

concrete areas 

Large square drains with 

a grate across the top 

Open drains that may be 

grassed or concrete lined 

Large drains built into 

the gutters in roads 

Other drains 

3 How many stormwater drains are there in your school grounds? 

Is this what you expected? 

4 Next time it rains, observe and describe what happens to the stormwater: 

Is the stormwater flowing into the drains or just making puddles? 


15

Does it transport rubbish down into the drain and out to sea? 

How can you improve the school grounds to improve the environment? 

5 If you could capture some of this stormwater in a tank, how would you use it? 

6 Is stormwater from your school grounds likely to be polluted? If so, by what kinds of pollutants? 

7 What are the options for minimising pollution of stormwater in your school grounds? 


16

stormwater in your school 

worksheet 3 

Stormwater is water that falls as rain and then flows across the ground and into gutters, drains and 

stormwater pipes. When it rains at school it falls on the roofs of buildings, concrete or asphalt paths and 

playgrounds or on grassy areas like playing fields. But what happens to it next? 

1 Use the space below to draw a map showing your school’s buildings, playgrounds, gardens, ovals etc. 


17

stormwater in your school 

worksheet 3 

2 Use a coloured pencil to show all the places where stormwater flows around your school. Use thick 

arrows to show heavy flows of water and thin arrows to show light flows of water. 

3 Does some of the stormwater form pools in your school grounds? If so, shade the affected areas in blue. 

4 Use a brown pencil to show where stormwater leaves the school. Does it flow onto the road or go down 

drains? 

5 What does the stormwater look like as it leaves your school? Is it clean and clear water, or muddy water 

with rubbish? Give your stormwater a rating from 1 to 10 and place numbers around the school (1 being the 

least polluted areas and 10 for the most most polluted areas). 

6 Does the stormwater in your school cause any damage? For instance, does it cause any erosion or flow into 

buildings? Mark any damaged areas in red. 

7 What could be done to improve the quality or reduce the volume of stormwater at your school? 

8 Research: Find out where the stormwater goes once it leaves your school grounds. How does it get to the 

sea? Which creeks or rivers does it flow down? What sort of pollutants does it pick up along the way? And 

where does it all end up? 


18

improving wastewater 

worksheet 4 

1 Using the fact sheet Managing Stormwater with SQIDS, outline the key elements of the SQID initiative: 

a Formal title of this initiative: 

b 

The names of the organisation/s involved: 

c 

The aims of the project: 

d 

The benefits of the project for the community: 


19

improving wastewater 

worksheet 4 

2 Investigate a local person, community group or government organisation that is working to improve our 

local waterways or water systems. Identify what work they are doing, how many people are involved in the 

project and what benefits this work will bring to the local community and environment. 

To get started, do a search on the internet for the following websites: 

www.hunterwater.com.au Hunter Water www.lakemac.com.au Lake Macquarie City Council 

www.hcr.cma.nsw.gov.au Hunter-Central Rivers CMA www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au Port Stephens Council 

www.wetlands.org.au The Wetlands Centre www.maitland.nsw.gov.au Maitland City Council 

www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au Newcastle City Council www.cessnock.nsw.gov.au Cessnock City Council 

a 

What is the project? 

b 

What organisations/individuals are involved? 

c 

What are the aims of the project? 

d 

How are these aims being achieved? 

e 

List the benefits of the project to the local community and local environment: 

benefits to the local community 

benefits to the local environment 


20

wastewater treatment 

resource list 

3.1 The Hunter’s 

Wastewater 

Sources: 

Australian Museum 

www.amonline.net.au 

Burwood Beach WWTW 

brochure 


Hunter Water Community and 








Port Stephens Council 

www.portstephens.nsw. 

gov.au 

Dept. Health 

www.health.nsw.gov.au 

CRC for Waste Management 

and Pollution Control 

www.crcwmpc.com.au 

Melbourne Water 

www.melbournewater.com.au 

Environment Protection 

Authority (Vic) 

www.epa.vic.gov.au 

Environmental Protection 

Agency (Qld) 

www.epa.qld.gov.au 

3.2 Wastewater 

Treatment in 

the Hunter 

Sources: 

Annual Report 


Belmont WWTW brochure 


Shortland WWTW 

brochure 


Burwood Beach WWTW 

brochure 


Karuah WWTW brochure 



Yeend, 2003 

3.3 Raymond Terrace 

WWTW 

3 . 4 M o r p e t h W a s t e w at e r 

. and wetlands 

3.5 Stormwater 

Management 

Sources: 

Melbourne Water 

www.education.melbourne. 

com.au 

www.wsud.melbournewater. 

com.au 







www.lakemac.com.au 


www.portstephens.nsw.gov. 

au 

Water Sensitive Urban Design 

in the Sydney Region 

www.wsud.org 

Dept Environment and 

Conservation 

www.environment.nsw.gov.au 

Environment Protection 

Authority (Vic) 

www.epa.vic.gov.au 

Stormwater Industry 

Association 

www.stormwater.asn.au 

Commonwealth Department 

of Environment and Heritage, 

Urban Stormwater Initiative 


3.6 Managing stormwater 

with SQIDs 



stormwater management 


Stormwater Quality 

Improvement Devices 

www.stormwater.org.au 


21

support material 

This section contains useful 

information about contacts, grants and 

publications for teachers and students 

looking to delve deeper into water 

issues in the Lower Hunter. 

This section can be used to set 

research projects, start environmental 

initiatives in your school or plan 

field trips. 

We also suggest that it is used to 

store brochures, worksheets and other 

resources that you collect or develop 

during your studies. 

4.1 environmental 

websites 

4.2 CONTACTING OTHER 

organisations 

4.3 NATIONAL GRANTS AND 

AWARDS 

4.4 HUNTER GRANTS AND 

AWARDS 

4.5 GLOSSARY 

4.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 


1

4.1 environmental websites 

AUSTRALIAN WEBSITES: 



Information on water resources and 

management issues in the Lower 

Hunter, including the role of Hunter 

Water in conserving water as follows: 

• Water-related news for the 


• Environmental news and initiatives 

• Facts on the Lower Hunter’s 

water supply 

• Information on how to 

conserve water 

• Services and contact options for 


• Corporate reports and community 

newsletters 

Sydney water 


This site includes the popular ‘Every 

Drop Counts’ curriculum material. 

Follow the links to ‘Saving Water’ 

and ‘In Schools’. The document is 

downloadable and ideal for Stage 3. 

WATER SERVICES ASSOCIATION OF 

AUSTRALIA 

www.wsaa.asn.au 

This is the peak body of Australian 

urban water utilities. Its members 

provide water and wastewater services 

to about 14 million Australians. 

Australian Water Association 

www.awa.asn.au 

Provides information about 

responsible management of water and 

its related resources. 

HUNTER Waterwatch 

www.waterwatch.nsw.org.au 

Waterwatch is a student friendly site 

committed to helping communities 

care for their local catchments. It is a 

storage portal for data collection and 

allows schools and community groups 

to store information about the water 

quality of their local waterway. 

It also showcases an extensive library 

and includes a Hunter component. 

WATERAID AUSTRALIA 

www.wateraid.org.au 

Wateraid Australia is an international 

non-government organisation dedicated 

to the provision of safe domestic water, 

sanitation and hygiene education of the 

world’s poorest people. 

WATER ON THE WEB 


Sponsored by Hunter Water, Newcastle 

City Council’s Water on the Web 

site provides a local perspective on 

urban water management issues and 

initiatives. 

Eco’tude 

www.powerhousemuseum.com 

Run by the Powerhouse Museum 

this site will help you work out the 

environmental footprint of your school. 

It also has background information and 

hints for sustainable living. 

Savewater.com.au 

www.savewater.com.au 

This site aims to create a more 

sustainable environment by promoting 

the minimisation of water use. It 

provides information on ways to save 

water and advocates water efficient 

products. 

Waterwise on the Farm 

www.agric.nsw.gov.au 

Information and links relating to water 

developed by NSW Agriculture and 

specifically designed to help farmers 

minimise water use. 

Department of the Environment 

and Heritage 

www.ea.gov.au 

This site aims to promote, support 

and implement water conservation 

and ecologically sustainable use of 

our inland waters. It has information 

on wetlands, rivers, groundwater and 

freshwater creeks. 

Irrigation in Australia 

www.irrigation.org.au 

This site has been developed by the 

Irrigation Association of Australia to 

provide information on the irrigation 

industry and practices in Australia. 

Australian Virtual Engineering 

Library 

www.avel.edu.au 

This site covers Australian engineering 

and information technology resources. 

Caring For Our Natural 

Resources: Water 


The NSW Department of Infrastructure, 

Planning and Natural Resources 

information storehouse about water 

resources and water management 

in NSW. 

Centre for Ecological 

Economics & Water Policy 

Research 

www.une.edu.au 

Formerly the Centre for Water Policy 

Research, it was established in 1987 as a 

national focus for research into Australia’s 

water and water-related resources. The 

website includes an water policy portal 

and contains technical information and 

recent research. 

Cooperative Research Centre for 

Water Quality AND Treatment 

www.waterquality.crc.org.au 

The Centre focuses on issues relating 

to water quality management and 

health risk reduction, from catchment 

and reservoir management and water 

treatment to the distribution of drinking 

water to consumers’ taps. Includes 

links to other resources. 

Ozestuaries Database 

www.ozestuaries.org 

Contains data collected in an 

Australian Geological Survey 

Organisation National Land and Water 

Resources Audit on the condition of 

Australian estuaries in 2000. 

State of the Environment 

Reporting 

Most local and state government 

websites will have State of the 

Environment reports with information 

relevant to your catchment and water 

resources. 


2

International WEBSITES: 

Ecoschools - England 

www.eco-schools.org.uk 

An abundance of information and 

games relating to environmentally 

sustainable practices. 

Hydrology Web 

www.hydroweb.com 

This site has numerous links to 

hydrology and hydrology related 

resources. 

WaterWeb 

www.waterweb.org 

Promotes the sharing of information 

concerning water and the earth’s 

environment. It focuses on providing 

technical information for organisations 

that are involved in water research, 

conservation, and management. The 

website provides an extensive database 

of water and environmental websites. 

US Water News 

www.uswaternews.com 

An electronic journal covering topics 

on water quality, water supply and 

conservation. 

Saving Water - Seattle 

www.savingwater.org 

This useful site also has an informative 

and fun game for primary school 

students called ‘Bert and Phil’s water 

buster game’. 

USGS Water Resources of the 

United States 

www.water.usgs.gov 

US Geological Society’s National 

Water Information Centre disseminates 

water resource information to all levels 

of government, academia, the private 

sector and the general public. 

Universities Water Information 

Network 

www.ucowr.siu.edu 

This site includes a directory of water 

resource experts, information on the 

National Institutes for Water Resources, 

databases, archives and links. 

Water in the School 

www.waterintheschool.co.uk 

A step-by-step guide for those serious 

about obtaining baseline data and 

creating a management plan to reduce 

water use in schools. 

Water Environment Federation 

www.wef.org 

This organisation has a vision of 

preservation and enhancement of the 

global water environment. Their site 

contains several resources including 

the newsletter, ‘This Week Worldwide’, 

a weekly compilation of water quality 

issues being discussed around the world. 

Water Research Network 

www.nml.uib.no 

The University of Bergen, Norway, the 

Norwegian Research Council, and the 

Government of the Netherlands have 

collaborated to produce a database of 

research, researchers, and institutions 

dealing with fresh water issues all over 

the world. This site invites researchers 

to submit information about their water 

research projects. 

The World’s Water 

www.waterworld.org 

Provides up-to-date water information, 

data, and web connections to 

organisations, institutions, and individuals 

working on a wide range of global 

freshwater problems and solutions. 


3

4.2 contacting other organisations 

AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS 

www.abs.gov.au 

AUSTRALIAN GREENHOUSE OFFICE 

www.greenhouse.gov.au 

jane.harriss@greenhouse.gov.au 

Jane Harris - Manager Communications 

T 6274 1859 

AWABAKAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION CENTRE 

www.awabakal-e.schools.nsw. 

edu.au 

awabakal-e.school@det.nsw.edu.au 

Sue Saxby, Teacher 

T 4944 7203 

CESSNOCK CITY COUNCIL 

www.cessnock.nsw.gov.au 

council@cessnock.nsw.gov.au 

T 4993 4100 

COASTCARE 

christ@huntercouncils.com.au 

Chris Tola, Regional Coastcare 

Facilitator 

T 4978 4026 

CONSERVATION VOLUNTEERS 

AUSTRALIA 

www.cva.org.au 

newcastle@cva.org.au 

Leonie Koshoorn 

Regional Manager Newcastle 

T 4926 2103 

DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT & 

CONSERVATION 

www.dec.nsw.gov.au 

Sustainability Programs DIVISION 

michaeld.mcfadyen@environment.nsw. 

gov.au 

T 4908 6844 

National Parks & Wildlife Service 

www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au 

T 4984 8200 

DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, PLANNING 

AND NATURAL RESOURCES 


T 4929 4346 Newcastle 

T 4937 9300 Maitland 

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT & 

HERITAGE 


T 6274 1111 

DUNGOG SHIRE COUNCIL 

www.dungog.nsw.gov.au 

shirecouncil@dungog.nsw.gov.au 

T 4992 1224 

EARTHCARE PARK & EDUCATION 

CENTRE 

www.earthcare.asn.au 

Amanda Burns 

T 4934 9838 

ECOEDGE NETWORK INC. 

cmanhood@lakemac.nsw.gov.au 

Craig Manhood 

T 4921 0245 

ECOHOME 

ecohome@dodo.com.au 

67A Hobart Road, Lambton 

Birgit Walker 

T 49 574 717 

ECONETWORK - PORT STEPHENS INC. 

econet@nelsonbay.com 

Darrell Dawson 

T 4981 0170 

FISHERIES NSW 

www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au 

T 4927 6548 Newcastle 

T 4982 1311 Port Stephens Research 

Station 

GREENING AUSTRALIA - HUNTER 

REGION 

www.ga.org.au 

gahunter@hunterlink.net.au 

James Felton-Taylor, Project Manager 

T 4950 0055 

HUNTER BIODYNAMIC GROUP INC 

hmccall@onaustralia.com.au 

Helen McCall 

T 4938 5308 

HUNTER BIRD OBSERVERS CLUB 

www.hboc.org.au 

Tom Clarke, Secretary 

T 4951 3872 

HUNTER-CENTRAL RIVERS CATCHMENT 

MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY 


hcr@cma.nsw.gov.au 

T 4930 1030 

HUNTER COUNCILS 

www.huntercouncils.com.au 

admin@huntercouncils.com.au 

T 4978 4040 

HUNTER ENVIRONMENT LOBBY INC. 

Jan Davis, President 

info@calli.com.au 

T 6571 1208 

HUNTER REGION BOTANIC GARDENS 

hrbg@idl.net.au 

Brian Hanks, Marketing Officer 

T 49871 655 

HUNTER REGION LANDCARE 

NETWORK INC 


Julie Maccallum, Executive Support 

Officer 

T 4955 0792 

HUNTER WATER 

brock.harrison@hunterwater.com.au 

Brock Harrison, Communications 

Officer 

T 4979 9645 

LAKE MACQUARIE CITY COUNCIL 


council@lakemac.nsw.gov.au 

T 4921 0333 

Rachel Honnef, Environmental Officer 

rhonnef@lakemac.nsw.gov.au 

T 4921 0259 

LAKE MACQUARIE LANDCARE 

NETWORK 


iro2@kooee.com.au 

Glenn Hamilton, Community Support 

Officer 

T 4959 5080 


4

LOWER HUNTER CENTRAL COAST 

REGIONAL 

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 

STRATEGY 

www.lhccrems@nsw.gov.au 

enviro@huntercouncils.com.au 

Meredith Laing, Director 

T 4978 4022 

MAITLAND CITY COUNCIL 

www.maitland.nsw.gov.au 

Duncan Jinks, Environmental Health 

Officer 

duncanj@maitland.nsw.gov.au 

T 4934 9700 

MAITLAND LANDCARE 

amandab@maitland.nsw.gov.au 

Amanda Burns, Landcare Coordinator 

T 4934 9838 

NATIONAL PARKS ASSOCIATION NSW 

www.npansw.org.au 

hunter@npansw.org.au 

Ernie Walpole, President 

T 4957 4209 

NATIVE ANIMAL TRUST FUND 

www.users.bigpond.com/natf 

natf@bigpond.com 

T 0500 502 294 

Grants & Sponsorship 

mdillon@ncc.nsw.gov.au 

Maretta Dillon 

T 4974 2849 


smorley@ncc.nsw.gov.au 

Su Morley 

T 4974 2847 

PORT STEPHENS COUNCIL 

www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au 

council@portstephens.nsw.gov.au 

T 4980 0255 

SOCIETY OF FROGS AND REPTILES 

sofar@hunterlink.net.au 

Robert Wood, Secretary 

T 4952 6483 

STATE FORESTS NSW 

www.forest.nsw.gov.au 

carmenp@sf.nsw.gov.au 

Carmen Perry, Education Officer 

T 4927 0977 

SURFRIDER FOUNDATION 

www.surfrider.org.au 

christola@kooee.com.au 

Chris Tola, Director 

M 0414 648 848 

Jenny Robinson, Education Manager 

T 4969 1500 

UNITED RESIDENTS GROUP FOR 

ENVIRONMENT 

urgelakemac@iprimus.com.au 

Peter Morris, President 

T 4965 9649 

WATERWAYS AUTHORITY 

johnf@waterways.nsw.gov.au 

John Fisher, Manager 

T 4940 0198 

WETLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL 

EDUCATION CENTRE 

www.wetlands-e.school.nsw. 

edu.au 

wetlands-e.school@det.nsw.edu.au 

Christine Prietto, Teacher in Charge 

T 4955 8673 

YAMULOONG INC 

www.yamuloong.com.au 

contact@yamuloong.com.au 

Sean Gordon, CEO 

T 4943 6877 

While this list of contacts is not 

exhaustive, it is a good starting point for 

your school water program. 

NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL 

NSW 

www.nccnsw.org.au 

ncc@ncc.nsw.org.au 

Brooke Flanagan, Executive Officer 

T 9279 2466 

NATURE WATCH DIARY PROJECT PORT 

STEPHENS 

www.geocities.com/ 

liveattentively 

Kevin McDonald, Regional Coordinator 

kevinmcdonald@hotkey.net.au 

T 4988 6471 

NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL 

Environmental Education 

Mim Buchorn / Fran Beilby 

lduff@ncc.nsw.gov.au 

fbeilby@ncc.nsw.gov.au 

T 4974 2848 

THE WETLANDS CENTRE 

www.wetlands.org.au 

twc@wetlands.org.au 

Tara Ure, CEO 

T 4951 6466 

THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY 

www.wilderness.org.au 

newcastle@wilderness.org.au 

Claire Dunn, Branch Coordinator 

T 4929 4395 

TOCAL AGRICULTURAL CENTRE 

www.tocal.nsw.edu.au 

tocal@agric.nsw.gov.au 

Cameron Archer, Director 

T 4939 8888 

TREES IN NEWCASTLE 

tin@bravo.net.au 

Gordon Patrick, Manager 


5

4.3 national grants & awards 

agency project focus amount contact details 

Australian Government 

Capital Grants Projects 

Often working with P&C Associations, these help 

schools with major capital works programs. 

Eureka Awards 

Australia’s pre-eminent Science Awards: 

Up to $1,000,000 

www.dest.gov.au 

Sustainability Education Prize 

Encourages excellence in the design, implementation 

and evaluation of sustainability education programs. 

$10,000 

Australian Museum 

Schools Science Prize 

Encourages secondary school students with a 

passion for science and for communicating ideas 

to tell a scientific story via a short video piece. The 

idea is to communicate a scientific concept in a 

way that is accessible and entertaining to the public 

as a whole while painlessly increasing their science 

knowledge. 

$11,000 

T 9320 6039 

www.austmus.gov.au 

Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences Prize 

Design of a webpage by Year 10-12 students 

(other years may be considered) that demonstrates 

excellence in the investigation and study of Planet 

Earth and the interrelationships of its physical and 

biological systems. 

$11,000 

Australian Water 

Association 

Banksia Environment 

Foundation 

Dept of Environment 

and Conservation 


and Conservation 


and Heritage 

Dept of Prime Minister 

and Cabinet 

Keep Australia 

Beautiful 

Australian Junior Water Prize 

Individuals or small groups of senior high school 

students carry out an innovative water science 

project. 

Banksia Awards 

This recognises and reward individuals, community 

groups, businesses and government organisations 

for leadership and excellence in protecting Australia’s 

environment, and the ecological services it provides. 

Eco Schools Grants 

Small grants to help schools develop and implement 

environmental management projects. 

Environmental Trust 

Designed to support community groups to 

undertake environmental restoration and 

rehabilitation and environmental education 

throughout NSW. 

Environmental Education Grants Program 

Funds activities which support the community’s 

capacity to protect the environment, especially where 

this will act as a catalyst for national change. 

Australian Communities Water Fund 

Provides community grants to support the wise use 

of water through practical on-the-ground work. 

Environmental Programs 

Grants and programs for community and school 

education projects, including Tidy Towns Awards, 

Metropride Awards, Clean Beach Challenge and 

Waste Watchers. 

Cash prize T 9413 1288 

www.awa.asn.au 

Prize money is 

set each year 

T 03 9684 4667 

www.banksiafdn.com 

Up to $2,500 T 8837 6093 

www.epa.nsw.gov.au 

$5,000 to $100,000 T 8837 6093 

www.epa.nsw.gov.au 

No maximum limit. 

In recent years grants have 

ranged between $3,000 to 

$45,000 

Up to $50,000 

Variety of grants 

and awards 


www.dpmc.gov.au 

T 9633 3380 

www.kabnsw.org.au 


6


National Landcare Awards 

Presented biennially to groups and individuals 

involved in Landcare practices. There are specific 

categories for schools. Groups and individuals must 

first compete in their respective State awards. 

Landcare Australia 

Awards 

Landcare Education Award 

Recognises excellence in raising awareness, 

knowledge and understanding of Landcare amongst 

students and/or the community, and implementing 

Landcare practices on its own property or within the 

local community. 

No cash prizes; but high level 

of promotion and recognition 

T 1800 151 105 


com.au 

Rivercare Award 

For a community-based group that has made a 

significant contribution to sustainable management, 

rehabilitation and conservation of a waterway. 

Landcare Australia 

Funding 

Australia Post Grants 

Mitre 10 Schools Grant 

Bi-Lo Schools Grant 

Bundaberg Rum Waterways Grant 

Up to $3,300 

$500 

$500 

$5,000 

T 1800 151 105 


com.au 

Mercy Foundation 

Environmental Grants for Schools 

Run annually, schools may apply for funds to assist 

in environmental education and site rehabilitation 

activities. 

Up to $1,000 T 9699 8726 

www.mercyfoundation. 

com.au 

Natural Heritage Trust 

University of NSW 

Volvo 

Envirofund Grants 

A comprehensive grant scheme delivered at many 

different levels and often linked to local environmental 

issues. Community groups and schools that have 

established their own incorporated group are eligible. 

Sustainable Living Competition 

Annual competition that rewards high school 

students for sustainable living projects undertaken 

in the classroom, individually or by entire school 

communities. 

Volvo Adventure Award 

This international award recognises environmental 

achievements by young people and encourages 

environmental activism across the world. 

Up to $50,000 T 1800 065 823 

www.nht.gov.au/ 

envirofund 

Over $30,000 in prizes T 9385 4979 

www.sustainableliving. 

com.au 

See website 

www.volvoadventure. 

org 


7

4.4 hunter grants & awards 



Community Grants 

Awarded annually as a contribution to community 

based ‘grass roots’ activities. Examples include 

school environmental awards, school water audits, 

rainwater tanks, promotional materials, Waterwatch 

testing kits, ‘Catchment Crawls’ and open days. 

Up to $1500 

T 4979 9647 

Cessnock City Council 

Hunter Central Rivers 

Catchment 


Landcare Assistance Fund 

Administered by the Hunter Region Landcare 

Network, grants are for environmental or catchment 

management projects by Landcare and Landcare 

associated groups. 

Community Grants 

This scheme is open to schools and encourages the 

implementation of sustainable living practices. 

Education Grants 

Up to $1,500 

Negotiable T 4993 4234 

T 4930 1030 

Up to $25,000 

Lake Macquarie City 

Council 

Environmental Education Grants 

Offers support to schools, including grants for 

schools that have an environmental program linked 

to the curriculum. 

Up to $3,000 

T 4921 0259 

School Environment Awards 

Recognises and prizes for environmental initiatives. 

$300 or $500 

Maitland City Council 

School Environment Program 

Each year financial and in-kind support is offered 

to eligible school projects in the Maitland Local 

Government Area. 

Negotiable T 4934 9838 


Newcastle Environmental Achievement Awards 

These awards invite entry from Hunter schools, 

environment and community groups who 

demonstrate excellence in environmental 

management. 

$500 or $1000 

T 4974 2848 

Environmental Small Grants Program 

This program is funded by Environmental Levy 

monies, and 

is for community programs, not schools. 

Total funding pool 

of $50,000 

T 4974 2836 


Grants 

These are offered at the beginning of each year. 

Schools 

are invited to apply for grants of up to $300 for their 

environmental programs. 

T 4980 0170 

Environmental Prizes 

At the end of the year the Council awards prizes for 

both small and large schools in different categories. 


8

4.5 glossary 

Aerate 

To charge or treat with air or gas. 

Algal bloom 

Rapid growth of algae in surface waters 

often due to increases in temperature 

and nutrients such as nitrogen and 

phosphorus. 

Amplification 

Enlargement or increase in capacity. 

Aquifer 

Underground geological formations 

containing water supplies. 

Assets 

Resources of a person or business such 

as property and machinery. For water 

agencies like Hunter Water this includes 

dams, pipelines, pumping stations, and 

water and wastewater treatment plants. 

Auditing 

Examine an organisation’s records of 

performance to see if they reflect their 

actual performance. 

Beachwatch 

Responsible for reporting ocean beach 

water quality. 

Biodiversity 

The diversity of plant and animal life. 

Biosolids 

Solids generated during the biological 

treatment of wastewater. This is 

primarily the micro-organisms that 

have been using the wastewater as a 

food or energy source and converting 

the wastewater into simpler and safer 

substances. 

Blue-green algae 

Aquatic plants which form a green or 

blue slime in water. This algae can 

produce toxins that can negatively 

affect humans and animals. 

Bore 

A narrow, lined hole drilled to monitor or 

withdraw groundwater from an aquifer. 

Catchment 

An area of land that water travels 

through to reach its lowest point, 

usually a lake, river or ocean. Also 

refers to areas that feed into dams, or 

to areas that are served by a sewerage 

or stormwater system. 


Cleaner production 

A business and industry program to 

reduce energy and water consumption 

and waste production through better 

management strategies or altering 

production methods. 

Coagulation 

Adding a chemical to water/sewage to 

remove tiny suspended particles. 

Coliforms 

Non-pathogenic bacteria that often 

indicates microbiological water 

contamination. 

Condensation 

The process of water vapour in the air 

turning into liquid water. Water droplets 

on the outside of a cool glass are 

condensed water. 

Conservation 

Management and protection of 

resources so they are not degraded, 

depleted or wasted and are available 

on a sustainable basis for present and 

future generations. 

Contaminants 

Pollutants entering and mixing with 

water or wastewater, which may require 

further treatment before providing 

drinking water or disposing of effluent 

to waterways. 

Demand 

The total quantity of water that 

individuals, homes, businesses 

and industries seek to consume at 

prevailing water prices. 

Demand Management 

Strategies to reduce consumption of 

water and the need for new sources. 

Dewatering 

The removal of water from sludge, 

the dewatered sludge is then called a 

Biosolid. 

Disinfection 

Destruction of pathogenic organisms 

that can cause infectious disease. 

Drought 

Periods of less than average precipitation 

over a certain period of time. 

Ecologically Sustainable 

Development 

Using, conserving and enhancing 

community resources so that the 

ecological processes on which life 

depends are maintained. 

Ecology 

The relationship between organisms 

and their environment. 

Effluent 

Final wastewater product after the 

purification process is complete. 

Environmental Impact 

Statement 

Detailed report outlining the likely 

impacts of a proposed development 

and ways to minimise any impacts. 

Environmental releases 

A release of water from a dam or weir 

needed to maintain all aquatic biota 

and ecosystem processes. 

Erosion 

The process where the surface of the 

earth is worn away by the constant 

action of running water, wind and waves. 

Estuary 

An enclosed or semi-enclosed coastal 

body of water having an open or 

intermittently open connection to 

marine waters and fresh input from land 

runoff which reduces salinity. Water 

levels vary in response to ocean tides 

and river flows. 

Evaporation 

Sunlight heats liquid water and converts 

it into an invisible gas which rises into 

the atmosphere. 

Extended ocean outfall 

A submarine pipeline to carry treated 

wastewater away from the coast into 

deep ocean waters to be diluted and 

dispersed. 

Faecal coliform 

Bacteria in the intestines and faeces of 

humans and other mammals. FC can be 

used to detect sewage pollution. 

Filtration 

A process for removing particles from a 

solution by passing it through a porous 

structure or medium, such as a screen, 

membrane, sand or gravel. 

Global warming 

The gradual heating of the earth due 

to increasing concentrations of certain 

gases in the atmosphere. 

9

Greenhouse effect 

The natural warming of the earth’s 

atmosphere due to a concentration of 

trace gases in the atmosphere which 

retard the escape of heat radiation. 

The enhanced greenhouse effect refers 

to the expected rise in the earth’s 

temperature due to the increase 

in greenhouse gas concentrations 

released because of human activity. 

Greenhouse gas 

Atmospheric gas which enhances the 

natural greenhouse effect, including 

carbon dioxide, methane, and 

chlorofluorocarbons. 

Grey water 

The wastewater from your shower, bath, 

basin, laundry and kitchen, but not your 

toilet waste. 

Groundwater 

All sub-surface water, such as artesian 

basins and sandbeds. 

Harvesting 

The collection of water from 

catchments for transportation 

to treatment works; followed by 

distribution to customers. 

Healthy Rivers Commission 

The Healthy Rivers Commission was 

established in 1995 as part of the NSW 

Government’s water reforms, which 

aim to improve the health of the state’s 

waterways. The Commission defined a 

healthy river as one whose conditions, 

as indicated by a broad range of 

environmental, social and economic 

characteristics, enables it to support 

the natural ecosystems, commercial 

activities and social amenity desired by 

the community. 

Heavy metals 

Occur naturally in the environment, ie 

iron, copper, nickel, mercury, etc. 

current generation, and that the current 

generation should conserve and protect 

resources for future generations. 

Intra-generational equity 

The distribution of wealth and 

consumption of resources between 

individuals, regions and countries at a 

particular point in time. 

Kilolitre 

1kL = 1,000 litres. 

Maturation ponds 

Large shallow ponds that naturally 

disinfect wastewater by exposure to 

sunlight, especially UV lightwaves. 

Megalitre 

1ML = 1,000 kL or 1,000,000 litres. 

Nutrients 

Compounds needed for growth by all 

plants and organisms, often refers to 

phosphorus and nitrogen. 

Phosphorus 

Plant nutrient naturally found in 

waterways, soils and excrement, and 

added to some cleaners, detergents 

and fertilisers. 

Potable 

Fit or suitable for drinking. 

Precipitation 

Any solid or liquid water particles 

falling to the earths’ surface from the 

atmosphere, this includes rain, snow, 

hail and sleet. 

Pristine 

Having its original purity. 

Uncontaminated. 

Rainwater tank 

A storage vessel used to collect 

rainwater from roofs for domestic or 

industrial use. 

Infrastructure, Planning & Natural 

Resources to control an area’s 

development in a sustainable way. 

Reticulation 

Separate networks of pipes that supply 

water to and remove wastewater from 

the properties of customers. 

Reservoir 

A storage tank built near consumers 

to receive bulk supplies of water from 

water treatment plants before final 

distribution to homes, institutions and 

industry. 

Retrofit 

The replacement of water and energy 

appliances with more efficient devices. 

Riparian 

Of or near the bank of a river or other 

body of water, a healthy riparian 

zone helps filter runoff before it enter 

waterways. 

Runoff 

Rainwater (or other precipitation) which 

runs over land to enter a waterway. 

It is usually associated with heavy 

downpours and is able to transport 

pollution into local creeks, rivers, lakes 

and harbours. 

Sandbeds 

Deep sand containing groundwater. 

Secondary treatment 

Biological wastewater treatment 

processes to remove fine dissolved 

organic solids. 

Septic 

Condition caused by low oxygen levels 

that produce odorous gases. 

Septic tank 

Underground tank for treatment of 

wastewater via bacterial activity. 

Hydrology 

Study of water and its behaviour eg 

flow characteristics in channels, pipes, 

waterways and aquifers. 

Infiltration 

Water entering the sewerage system via 

cracked pipes or faulty joints. 

Inter-generational equity 

The concept that future generations 

of people should be able to enjoy a 

quality of life as good or better than the 


Receiving water 

A stream, river, lake or ocean that 

receives wastewater discharges or 

stormwater flows. 

Recycling 

Using water again for the same or 

another process, after a small form 

of treatment of purification has been 

completed. 

Regional Environment Plan 

Strategy developed by Dept. 

Sewage - see Wastewater 

Sewer 

Pipes transporting wastewater to 

wastewater treatment plants. 

Sewerage system 

Network of pipes, pumping stations 

and treatment works used to collect, 

transport, treat and discharge sewage. 

10

Shoreline outfall 

Disposal of treated effluent by pipe 

into the surf zone of a beach, or from a 

headland. 

Sludge - see Biosolids 

Soilbed filter 

Reduces odours by filtering through 

layers of soil and pinebark mix. 

Stormwater 

Rainwater that runs off land and flows 

directly into creeks, rivers, lakes, 

harbours and oceans. 

Surcharge 

Sewage that overflows from pipes, 

manholes and pumping stations. 

Sustainability 

The ability of a system to replenish 

itself, see Ecologically Sustainable 

Development 

Total Catchment Management 

Ecologically sustainable management 

of land, plants, water in catchments. 

Trade waste 

Liquid waste from business/industry 

that requires special treatment. It can 

contain food residues, greases, oils, 

toxic substances and metals. A trade 

waste policy between Hunter Water and 

business/industry customers restricts 

toxic and other potentially harmful 

liquid substances being discharged to 

the sewerage system. The policy sets 

charges and limits the discharge of 

such waste to the sewer system. 

Transpiration 

Water loss from plants into the 

atmosphere. 

Trunkmain 

A large water main or sewer pipe. 

Wastewater 

The spent or used water from a home, 

community, farm, or industry that 

contains dissolved or suspended 

matter is called sewage or wastewater. 

Sewage from homes, business and 

industry can be discharged to the 

sewer (wastewater transport system) or 

to septic tanks. This includes sewage 

from toilets, kitchens, bathrooms and 

laundries. 


Pure water is a colourless, odourless 

liquid that is a compound of hydrogen 

and oxygen. Natural water in the 

environment is never pure, but contains 

a variety of dissolved substances. 

Sea water, for example, is a solution 

of sodium chloride and other salts; 

rainwater can be acidic because of 

the carbon dioxide it contains and the 

water in rivers may include minerals 

dissolved from the rocks over and 

through which it has flowed. Water can 

exist as a solid (ice), liquid (water), or 

gas (water vapour) and changes readily 

from one to the other, either releasing or 

taking up energy as it does so. 

Water Conservation Labelling 

A scheme similar to the five-star 

energy rating to identify water efficient 

appliances. 

Water cycle 

The circulation of water around 

the earth through evaporation and 

transpiration, condensation into clouds, 

precipitation as rain, ice or snow, runoff 

into waterways before beginning again. 

Water Management Licence 

A licence issued to water authorities 

including Hunter Water by the 

Department of Infrastructure, Planning & 

Natural Resources for the extraction and 

use of water from rivers and aquifers. 

Water quality 

The definition of water quality varies 

depending on the proposed use. Water 

intended for irrigation or industrial 

purposes does not have to meet the 

same standards as water intended for 

drinking. However, there are factors that 

determine water quality whatever the 

use - these are its physical, chemical 

and biological properties. 

Water Sensitive Urban Design 

Design of building and landscaping to 

create low-impact developments that 

mimic natural catchment hydrology 

functions ie discharge, frequency, 

recharge and volume. 

Weir 

A dam in a river or stream. 

Wetland 

A low-lying area that is periodically 

covered with water, which supports a 

diverse ecosystem. 

Woodlot 

A tree plantation that is irrigated by 

treated effluent, ie recycled water. 


11

4.6 acknowledgements 

copyright 

Publication title 

Water Kit 

An Education Resource for Lower 

Hunter Schools 

Published 

June 2005 


PO Box 5171 

HRMC NSW 2310 

Copying 

Primary, secondary and tertiary 

educators and environmental groups 

have no limits on copying the Water 

Kit for legitimate education purposes, 

providing that the copy meaning is 

unchanged and that Hunter Water is 

acknowledged. Other users and uses 

must be approved by Hunter Water’s 

Communications Unit. 

Concept 

The Water Kit has been produced to 

assist schools, teachers and students 

understand the local context of the water 

cycle, especially in regard to human 

requirements and intervention. It supports 

curriculum objectives and outcomes, 

including the knowledge, skills and 

values of students. It also relates water 

cycle interventions to economic, social 

and environmental issues. 

Disclaimer 

No guarantee, whether expressed 

or implied, is made with respect to 

the data reported or the information 

provided in the Water Kit. All reasonable 

steps have been made to ensure that 

the information is correct at the time 

of publication. It may be updated in 

the future and readers should make 

appropriate enquiries to determine 

whether new information is available on 

a particular topic 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Content development 

Kylie Yeend 

The Wetands Centre 

Kim Gill 


Design and layout 

Brock Harrison 


Special thanks 

Alan Jones 

DIPNR 

Mark McLuckie 

Grossmann High School 

Colin Hastie 

Hunter-Central Rivers CMA 

Colin Mondy 


Ingrid Berthold 


Nicole Holmes 


Debra Santosa 


Bruce Petersen 


Rachael Warner 

Kotara High School 

Susan Woodhouse 


Stephen Yates 

Maitland High School 

Paul Baird 

Retired teacher 

Catherine Baird 

The Wetlands Centre 

Helen Aitchison 


Leanne Cherry 


Tara Ure 


Carolyn Gillard 

Wetlands Env Education Centre 

Christine Prietto 

Wetlands Env Education Centre 


12

Water Kit - Hunter Water

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