Accelerating water metering compliance

New South Wales is taking practical steps towards smarter water metering and better resource management. NSW DCCEEW Executive Director Operations and Resilience Ashraf El-Sherbini shares highlights from the journey.

2025 is an exciting year for New South Wales water users, who will see landmark metering reforms make huge strides towards achieving nearly full coverage across the state.

Over the next 19 months, we expect to see 95 per cent of all licensed water taken from our inland regional river systems accurately measured and metered, ensuring this incredibly precious resource is extracted fairly, equitably and according to the rules.

That equates to 8500 metered sites across the state, all fitted with state-of-the-art, tamper-evident, near-real-time telemetry.

It’s a big win for both licence holders and the environment, who will be better protected from water theft and over-extraction while helping the water regulator ensure those who do the wrong thing are held accountable.

The New South Wales Government is now rolling out practical changes to make it easier for water users to get the required equipment installed, up and running and compliant.

We’re focusing on larger, higher-risk water users first. Since a relatively small number of larger users make up most of the licensed water take in New South Wales, it makes sense to concentrate our efforts on this cohort. This will give us far better outcomes when considering our waterways and groundwater systems. When we launched metering reform in 2018, we set ambitious targets and timelines, and we know there have been bumps in the road to reaching them.

The vast majority of the community and industry are doing the right thing when taking water. They raised concerns over how quickly this nation-leading reform could be implemented.

We’ve listened.

After a rigorous review launched in 2023, which included close consultation with hundreds of stakeholders, we’ve heard first-hand accounts about the legitimate hurdles preventing water users from becoming compliant.

Issues ranged from a statewide shortage of qualified meter installers to inconsistent or inflexible metering rules, challenges with emerging technologies, and high costs for smaller users.

Last year, we developed a suite of recommendations to ease these barriers and fast-track metering uptake. In November and December, we invited stakeholders to give us feedback on proposed regulatory changes to implement those recommendations.

In March, we amended the Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 to include important reforms, so that the work to streamline the metering roll-out can get well underway.

We have now:

Offered fully-funded telemetry devices and installation to over 2500 sites over the next two years, thanks to $10.5 million in Commonwealth funding
Introduced new mandatory telemetry and local intelligence device requirements for larger groundwater users
Expanded the meter installation workforce to include skilled tradespeople, such as plumbers and electricians, and improve their training opportunities and resources
Simplified metering requirements for smaller water users with entitlements less than 100 megalitres (ML)
Extended compliance deadlines for large coastal water users until December 2026, and smaller water users with entitlements less than 100 ML to 2027, or until their works approval renewal date
Extended the first date to revalidate a meter to 10 years after installation, and every five years thereafter
Established a classification system for work approvals to clarify which works take licensed water and require metering and those that don’t
Applied small works metering exemptions across all groundwater sources
Made floodplain harvesting measurement more practical and water use more flexible, while ensuring all take is appropriately measured.

WaterNSW has also launched its DQP Concierge Program, a service available to meter installers who may need support or guidance while in the field.

By addressing the hurdles and progressing real solutions, New South Wales continues to lead the way in measuring water and improving the standard, scope, and transparency of its metering network.

We know most water users do the right thing, and these practical and effective initiatives will ease their path towards compliance. They will help ensure that water resources can be managed responsibly and sustainably for the benefit of everyone, now and in the future.

Measuring the vast majority of water taken has never been more critical as we face less predictable rainfall and climate extremes. Transparency and accountability are the bedrock of our approach. We’re excited to see these changes take hold as we work towards 95 per cent licensed measurement.

Free telemetry for large water users in the Murray-Darling Basin – get compliant and save money. Regulated water users are now also urged to register. Visit water.nsw.gov.au/telemetry-uplift-program