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Sydney's tap water

Some of the world's best

Sydney Water has helped make Greater Sydney a liveable city for over 130 years. We’re passionate and proud of our role in shaping the lifestyle of Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra for generations to come by providing high-quality water for all.

Sydney has some of the best drinking water in the world - that’s because we are dedicated to making sure we always meet the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Sydney Water works to ensure that Australians in Greater Sydney have access to high-quality tap water that is safe and tastes great.

The source of Sydney's tap water, Warragamba Dam, found among unspoilt native bushland.

Sydney water supply

To ensure a reliable and sustainable water supply for generations to come, we take care in sourcing our tap water. Our main drinking water catchments are protected and monitored by WaterNSW before being filtered by Sydney Water.

Most of our drinking water is sourced from rainwater, which is collected in lakes and rivers in NSW that are surrounded by some of the most unspoilt native bushland in the region, including World Heritage National Parks. 80% of our water is collected in Lake Burragorang and is protected by the Warragamba Special Area.

Our desalination plant is part of the New South Wales Government’s plan to ensure a secure and affordable water supply system for Greater Sydney. Desalination is one of the ways we can meet water demand when we’re faced with a prolonged drought.

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Your water's quality

Sydney's tap water is some of the best in the world, filtered to ensure safe and great tasting drinking water.

Every drop of your drinking water is filtered to meet Australia’s health and quality guidelines – which are some of the strictest in the world. Quality checks, continuous monitoring and testing ensures our water quality remains high and safe for all of Greater Sydney. With almost five million Australians enjoying our water, we go to great lengths to ensure we provide great quality drinking water for all of Sydney.

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A scientist testing Sydney's water quality in a laboratory to ensure that it is safe for drinking purposes.
A black and white photo of some men working on building a Sydney water pipe in the Greater Sydney suburbs.

Sydney's water history

Sydney's water heritage begins from a small colony that has now grown to a global city of over five million people, all relying on water to survive and thrive in our great city.

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Tap water

Make the switch

Over five million Australians in Sydney are already drinking water from the tap every single day.

Our tap water is the most sustainable choice when it comes to quenching your thirst because there are no plastic bottles, no packaging, and no extra transport like some other options. Making the switch to tap water will provide you with safe and great tasting water with minimal impact on the environment.

Reduce your impact

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