Sydney Water has joined forces with Penrith Olympic Gold medallist Jess Fox to launch a new campaign, ‘Water is Our Life’, to show the value of water and emphasise the vital role it plays in everyone’s life.
Each day Sydney Water supplies its 5.4 million customers with 1.5 billion litres of clean, safe drinking water for drinking, cooking, showering, washing and other everyday tasks.
What most people don’t know is that Sydney Water monitors water quality every two seconds and conducts over 330,000 tests a year before that water reaches your tap.
Fox said the campaign aims to personalise the journey of water for Sydneysiders to shift their perception and embody the importance of water in everyday life.
“Water is Our Life’ is not about Sydney Water, it’s about Sydney and the people who live and visit here. It’s about ensuring people understand Sydney Water’s commitment to providing the highest quality drinking water for its customers to use every day,” she said.
As part of its commitment to providing clean, safe and reliable drinking water, Sydney Water has embarked on an innovative trial using drone technology. This new approach could revolutionise water quality management and become a routine part of testing.

The trial involves six cutting-edge drones which can access the most challenging locations like cliffs, headlands, and dense terrains to collect samples. This unique capability ensures comprehensive monitoring and sampling, enhancing water quality management.
Some samples need to be collected from areas with a ten-metre drop. Using a drone allows collection safely and also minimises environmental impact. The drones can also conduct rock algae surveys or inspect the intertidal rock platform as well as inspecting the condition of water reservoirs.
About 80 per cent of Sydney’s drinking water supply comes from Warragamba Dam, with the rest coming from other dams, including the Hawkesbury–Nepean River and the Desalination Plant at Kurnell.
No matter the source, Sydney’s drinking water is filtered, treated and tested at one of nine water filtration plants and the desalination plant to ensure it’s of excellent quality, clean and safe to drink.
Sydney Water Managing Director Roch Cheroux said the campaign uses humour to help customers as they learn about the water journey.
“People don’t often think about where their water comes from, but it is a complex process to ensure customers receive the highest quality, safe drinking water every time they turn on the tap,” Cheroux said.
“Our teams work around the clock to ensure we produce enough clean, safe water for our 5.4 million customers. Each water filtration plant’s online monitoring system assesses and samples your water every two seconds as it makes the journey to your tap.
“We want our customers to know they are at the heart of the water we supply – it is not about Sydney Water, it’s about the vital role water plays in all our lives now and for generations to come,” Cheroux said.
Sydney Water also has a team of water quality scientists available 24 hours a day to answer customers’ questions or concerns about drinking water quality on13 20 90.
The Water is our Life campaign is now airing across various media platforms.

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