Sydney Water has released data that shows which suburbs are wasting the most water as the utility sees its highest summer usage spike in five-years.
Woollahra residents use 33 per cent more water in their homes compared to people living in Blacktown and nearly 100,000L more than the average Sydney household per year.
From December 2024 to January 2025, Sydney Water supplied more than 99ML of water across Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra – a huge increase of nearly five per cent, jumping from 95ML for the same period in summer 2024.
Woollahra, Hunters Hill, Mosman, Ku-ring-gai and Strathfield are the top five areas wasting the most water across the Sydney Water service network.
Sydney Water Water Conservation Manager, Suhanti Thirunavukarasu, said while dam levels remain steady, it is important to be smart with water usage at home during summer as people tend to use more water during hot weather.
“We are seeing an increase in water demand across nearly every area Sydney Water services,” Ms Thirunavukarasu said.
“Residents in the Woollahra area average 304,000L per household annually, a stark contrast to the water-saving suburb of Kiama, which averages just 146,000L per household.
“The suburbs topping the water usage list are also recording yearly increases when it comes to water demand per household.”
A significant finding from the data, which breaks down residential stand-alone properties by local government area (LGA), is the increasing trend in overall water demand per household.
For Woollahra, there has been a 3.1 per cent increase in water usage compared to 2023 and it is the second year the suburb has the highest number of water users across the network.
“This research is a good reminder to all Sydneysiders that while we’re sweating through another very warm summer, it’s important to be mindful of water wastage around the home,” Ms Thirunavukarasu said.
“Little things like leaving the hose running to top up the pool or having extra-long showers to cool down are guaranteed to spike your water usage.
“We are strongly encouraging all residents to be mindful of how they use water at home as Sydney’s water is a very precious resource.”
Sydney Water has developed a long-term capital and operating plan, which will see more than $30 billion invested in the next ten years to upgrade and expand its water and wastewater networks. This includes upgrades to the network and expansion to meet booming population growth.
Consumption per property by Local Government Area
Areas using the most water:
- Woollahra
Number of properties: 9550,
Consumption per property: 304,000L - Hunters Hill
Number of properties: 3132
Consumption per property: 277,000 - Mosman
Number of properties: 5482
Consumption per property: 267,000L - Ku-ring-gai
Number of properties: 30,795
Consumption per property: 247,000L - Strathfield
Number of properties: 6039
Consumption per property: 245,000L
Areas using the least water:
- Blacktown
Number of properties: 111,765
Consumption per property: 206,000 - Parramatta
Number of properties: 41,557
Consumption per property: 205,000L - Penrith
Number of properties: 58,918
Consumption per property: 205,000L - Campbelltown
Number of properties: 51,391
Consumption per property: 202,000L - Inner West
Number of properties: 40,046
Consumption per property: 172,000L - Blue Mountains
Number of properties: 31,732
Consumption per property: 160,000L - Kiama
Number of properties: 7,754
Consumption per property: 146,000L
