Drought recovery

During 2017 to 2020, large areas of NSW faced severe water shortages. Between January 2017 and December 2019, NSW temperatures were the warmest and rainfall was the lowest on record. During this time, river valleys were managed under the drought stages in the Extreme Events Policy.

All major river valleys in the state are now in Stage 1 of the Extreme Events Policy – Normal Operations.

As the state recovers from drought, the NSW Government is committed to earlier communication with communities when conditions indicate that we may be approaching drought. Clear and early communication will allow landholders and water users to better prepare for potential restrictions and ensure that applications for groundwater approvals and drought infrastructure are in place early.

The 2017-20 Drought

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Drought stages and measures implemented.

Key drought recovery actions

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Information on managing first flows and water quality issues after the drought.

Allocations & availability

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Summary of water Allocations and the latest Water Allocation Statements.

Temporary restrictions

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Information on temporary water restrictions in NSW.

Drought information sessions

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Information about our public drop-in sessions

Extreme events policy

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Our principles for managing water sources under severe water shortages and the different water shortage stages.

Critical Water Advisory Panels

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These advisory panels provide advice on managing critical water supplies during drought.

Water Sharing Plan suspensions

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Provides details of water sharing plan suspensions, the area impacted by the suspension and what it means.

Drought and water quality information

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Additional drought and water quality information resources for water users.

Critical town water supply

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Delivering emergency water supplies to certain towns and localities under the Water Supply (Critical Needs) Act 2019...