Water security assessments for regional urban areas

The Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers (DLGWV) works with councils and water providers to make sure there is enough water for growing regional communities.

Population growth, drought and ageing infrastructure mean water planning is more important than ever. Some local governments have asked for support to assess the reliability of their water supplies and plan for the future.

Urban water security assessment program

The urban water security assessment program is a partnership between the DLGWV and local councils.

It provides a shared understanding of:

  • how reliable each community's water sources are now
  • how well they can meet future population growth and needs
  • risks such as drought, climate change and water quality problems.

Hydrologic/simulation modelling is used to assess how well a water supply system works and how reliable it is.

Local governments and service providers are responsible for deciding what should be done and implementing actions to manage water supply risks and provide an appropriate level of water security for their communities.

Tools for councils and service providers

The Community water security guideline for assessments (PDF, 1.9MB) assists service providers to undertake their own water security assessment using similar methodologies and tools to those used for urban water security assessments, without needing hydrologic modelling.

Urban water security assessments

The map below shows completed water security assessments and assessments in progress.

Assessments completed and in progress

In progress  Completed

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