The NSW Government is undertaking one of the largest wastewater infrastructure upgrade programs in its recent history to support the fast-growing communities in Sydney’s southwest and help protect the city’s famous beaches.
The Malabar System Investment Program, estimated at $3 billion over the next 10 years, will reduce the volume of wastewater that needs to be treated and discharged via the Malabar deep ocean outfall.
The Malabar Wastewater Treatment System was identified as the likely source of debris balls that washed up on beaches across Sydney, the South Coast and Central Coast in late 2024 and early 2025. It currently services almost two million people between Fairfield, Campbelltown, Liverpool and Malabar, making it one of the largest wastewater systems in Australia.
“Sydney is a rapidly growing city and no one wants to see debris balls washing up on our beautiful beaches again – but the truth is our wastewater system needs an upgrade to keep pace with the population,” said Minister for Water Rose Jackson.
“This is a major plan to deliver critical wastewater system upgrades in a sensible, staged way, ensuring that major investments are funded over time and Sydney Water users don’t face sudden bill shock.”
Staged upgrades over the coming decade will improve the performance of the Malabar system to support population growth in Sydney’s southwest and reduce the likelihood of debris balls forming again.
The program will be delivered across key facilities in the Malabar system, including Glenfield, Liverpool and Fairfield Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs).
For the first stage of the multi-billion program, Sydney Water is partnering with the Malabar System Alliance (Acciona Construction, Acciona Agua, SMEC) to deliver major upgrades to the Glenfield and Liverpool WRRFs.
Work will include refurbishing and expanding primary treatment processes and a new secondary treatment process at Liverpool WRRF, with on-site works to begin in coming months.
“Appointing the Malabar System Alliance is a significant step towards improving the long-term performance and resilience of the critical wastewater asset and reducing the increasing strain on the ageing coastal plant,” said Sydney Water CEO Darren Cleary.
“This program of works is a clear demonstration of our commitment to building a more resilient system over the coming decade and to protecting our beaches, which are so important to Sydney’s way of life.”
In the short-term, Sydney Water is continuing to work with the NSW Environment Protection Authority and the independent Wastewater Expert Panel on limiting further debris balls incidents.
Sydney Water has increased cleaning and inspection of ocean outfall screens, is tightening trade-waste controls for high-risk customers, and is expanding its fats, oils and grease education campaign to reduce problematic material from entering the network.
