Sydney Water's residential drinking water usage charge rose to A$3.41 a kiloliter on July 1, 2026, from A$3.17 in the nine months before, an increase of 7.6%. Sydney Water now puts a typical house using 50 kL over a 92-day quarter at A$387.03.
A drought price is already set
The 2026-27 schedule includes a second usage rate. If Greater Sydney dam levels fall below 60%, the usage charge moves to A$3.84 a kiloliter, 12.6% above the standard rate. The quarterly water service charge for unmetered homes rises from A$181.56 to A$200.93 under the same trigger. The standard wastewater service charge is A$189.88 a quarter.
A lower typical bill than in FY 2016-17
On the Bureau of Meteorology's measure, a typical residential water and wastewater bill was A$1,163.44 in FY 2024-25, 15.8% lower than the A$1,381.24 of FY 2016-17, before adjusting for inflation. Sydney Water states that running the Sydney Desalination Plant cost the average household A$22.04 a year for the 12 months to March 2025.
The forecast behind the prices
The 2025–30 price period began in FY 2025-26. Sydney Water's Statement of Corporate Intent forecasts revenue of A$3,969m in FY 2025-26, rising to A$5,323m in FY 2027-28, an increase of 34.1%. Operating expenses are forecast to rise 12.3% over the same years, and net profit after tax to grow from A$528m to A$1,101m. Net debt is forecast to reach A$24,828m by FY 2027-28, while capital budgets average more than A$3.3 billion a year.
Which projects that capital is paying for, what Sydney Water's licenses require and which milestones fall before 2030 are set out in the full profile. The full report, Utility Intelligence Profile: Sydney Water, is available for USD 99 at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/reports/sydney-water-utility-intelligence-profile. For a free overview, read the Sydney Water Utility Snapshot at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/utilities/sydney-water.