Water Treatment

Essential Water is continuing to optimise the Broken Hill Water Treatment Plant, automating chemical dosing and flow rates using instantaneous water quality analysis to reduce raw water quality variations. The program will continue as new technology and processes are developed.

New Wastewater Treatment Plant

Designs for a replacement Wastewater Treatment Plant for Broken Hill were completed in September 2025. The detailed construction estimate of $80 million is $5 million higher than the preliminary estimate and more than double the original estimate provided in 2019, due to rising construction costs. Construction is expected to commence in late 2026.

Meter to Cash

The new Meter to Cash (M2C) system is being developed to streamline water metre readings, billing and payments for Essential Water customers. M2C will manage meter and smart meter data, meter asset information, customer information and billing operations. It will eliminate manual processes and enhance the customer experience while ensuring continued regulatory compliance and cyber security, when implemented in the first half of 2025– 26. See ‘Pillar 5: Digital transition’.

Pricing

Essential Water prepared its 2026–31 pricing proposal for IPART, which was submitted in September 2025. The proposal is reviewed by IPART who will make their determination for prices to commence from 1 July 2026. The pricing proposal included forecasted operational and infrastructure investment requirements for the five years from July 2026 to June 2031. The existing price determination for July 2022 to June 2026 remains in effect.

Water consumption and operations works

Customers experienced below average rainfall and average temperatures across 2024–25.

In 2024–25 Essential Water delivered 5,060ML of potable water to customers, a decrease of 199ML compared with the previous year. Delivery of raw water rose by 34ML to 1,042ML.

The Operational Works Program included:

• 939 metres of water mains renewed
• 30,138 metres of sewer mains rodded
• 20 mains bursts repaired
• No water extracted from Stephens Creek Reservoir.

Essential Water continued to provide safe and reliable water and sewerage services during the Far West NSW windstorm major power outage (see ‘Severe weather events’) in October 2024. Generators were in place to ensure uninterrupted service to customers.

Customer service performance

During 2024–25, we received 4,998 customer calls, including 23 customer complaints, which were all responded to according to our customer enquiries response processes.

Essential Water’s profit before interest and tax was $3.6 million, against a target loss of $11.1 million. This result was driven by:

• depreciation and impairment favourable $10.3 million due to below target delivery in the capital program
• operating expenditure unfavourable $3.6 million due to timing of bulk water supply agreement (BWSA) expenses ($1.6 million) and higher operational costs due to lower capital expenditure.

Essential Water invested $7.7 million in capital programs in 2024–25 including works.

Essential Water has 63 full-time equivalent employees (as of 30 June 2025). During the year, nine new employees joined Essential Water across all business areas. Succession planning and recruitment remains a key focus, as around 20% of the Essential Water workforce is aged over 60 years.