Celebrating World Water Day 2026 – From ocean to tap – where Sydney Desalination Plant fits into Sydney’s water story

When Sydney turns on the tap, most people don’t think about the journey water takes to get there. But that journey matters.

On World Water Day 2026, we’re celebrating the value of safe, reliable drinking water and the infrastructure, and people, that help keep it flowing.

This year’s theme, “Where water flows, equality grows,” is focused on the deep connectivity between water and gender equality. Around the world, when water is unsafe or hard to access, women and girls are often most affected.

That’s why water security matters. It supports health, dignity, resilience and opportunity.

The United Nations is calling for us to centre women and girls in water solutions, not only as users but as leaders, engineers, scientists and changemakers.

The people behind the Sydney Desalination Plant

Earlier this year, we shared the story of our very own Rumbidzai Shamhu in our blog.

Rumbi is one of the engineers helping ensure the Sydney Desalination Plant remains reliable, safe and ready to support Sydney’s water supply when needed.

She encourages young people to get involved in engineering, commenting on how women and girls should consider careers in water infrastructure: “It’s meaningful work. You’re contributing to something essential while enhancing your technical skills, leadership, and problem-solving in a tangible, real-world environment. There is space for different strengths, different pathways, and the opportunity to continuously learn and grow while working on projects that truly matter.”

Her story also reflects an important part of this year’s World Water Day message. Women are helping lead the solutions to water security as engineers, operators and decision-makers around the world.

So, this year, we ask everyone in our community – what does water equality mean to you? And what can you do to make a difference?

So, where does the Sydney Desalination Plant fit in?

The United Nations highlights the importance of water services being built to withstand climate change and meet everyone’s needs.

In Sydney, it takes a connected network to make that happen.

Most of Sydney’s drinking water comes from the city’s network of dams, where rainwater is collected, treated and supplied through Sydney Water’s distribution network.

The Plant plays a different but critical role in diversifying the system to protect Sydney’s water source from climate related uncertainty.

Located at Kurnell in southern Sydney, the Sydney Desalination Plant is Sydney’s only major rainfall-independent source of drinking water. Instead of relying on rainfall and dam catchments, the Plant draws on a secure source that is always available, the ocean.

SDP can produce up to 15% of Sydney’s drinking water needs, helping support the wider water network during periods of drought, extreme weather, water quality challenges, or planned maintenance elsewhere in the system.

From ocean to tap: how it works

Here’s the water journey in simple terms:

• Seawater is sourced from the Tasman Sea off the coast of Kurnell
• The seawater is desalinated and treated to drinking water quality
• It is then transferred via an 18km pipeline under Botany Bay
• The water enters the Sydney Water network at Erskineville
• From there, it is blended with other drinking water supplies and delivered to homes and businesses across Sydney

Why rainfall-independent supply matters

Sydney is growing, and water networks everywhere are under pressure from population growth, climate change and more extreme weather events.

That makes resilience more important than ever.

Because the Sydney Desalination Plant operates in a fully flexible arrangement with Sydney Water, it can increase production when needed and help reduce pressure on other parts of the system.

That flexibility gives Sydney another dependable source of high-quality drinking water, one that doesn’t depend on rainfall.