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Media Release - Department of Water and Energy Date: 10 March 2009 NSW GOVERNMENT CUTS RED TAPE TO HELP LOCAL WATER UTILITIES PLAN FOR THE FUTURE The NSW Department of Water and Energy today announced some changes and released new information to make it easier for local water utilities to better integrate their water and sewerage networks and make better use of limited water resources.
The Government’s Integrated Water Cycle Management (IWCM) Guidelines 2004 assist local water utilities to take a strategic approach to water management.
“The Government has acted on feedback from water utilities and simplified some of its requirements,” the Department’s Director of Water Utilities, Colin McLean said.
“For example, utilities that are performing well or are already addressing their water and sewerage needs can instead prepare and submit a simplified plan to comply with Best Practice Management Guidelines.
“IWCM Plans can deliver significant benefits to the utilities and the communities they service, but can be resource-intensive to prepare and implement.
“The changes will make it easier and more cost-effective for local water utilities, such as councils, to develop integrated water cycle plans and make maximum use of our precious water resources.”
Mr McLean said new information sheets to provide simple, “how-to” planning advice for water utilities were now available online.
“The NSW Government is committed to helping local councils and water utilities to provide reliable, affordable and sustainable water and sewerage services to their communities,” he said.
“Under the $1.1 billion Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Program we already meet up to 50 per cent of the cost to develop IWCM Plans and have now made more information available and simplified funding requirements to further cut red tape.
“There is a large amount of support from local water utilities for the integrated water cycle management process. Of the 106 local water utilities, around 80 have already agreed to complete a study, have one underway or have already completed it.”
The IWCM process looks at the water supply in a holistic manner. It involves assessing the separate components of a water system, such as water, sewerage and stormwater infrastructure, and finding opportunities to better integrate these resources.
Mr McLean said that by adopting integrated water cycle management principles, local water utilities will provide better value for money for their local communities and achieve greater customer satisfaction.
To find out more about Integrated Water Cycle Management and to access the new resource information visit www.dwe.nsw.gov.au under the ‘urban water’ section.
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