Conserving natural and cultural heritage

Sydney Water owns and controls more than 200 heritage listed assets. We are committed to conserving and protecting heritage assets for future generations.

Under section 170 of the NSW Heritage Act 1977 we are required to maintain a Heritage and Conservation Register. This register lists our assets which have been identified as having State or local heritage significance. Many of the items on our register have been listed in other heritage registers, such as the State Heritage Register or on Local Environmental Plans. The State Heritage Register is maintained by the Heritage Council of NSW.

To help keep all our heritage items in good condition we have completed conservation management plans or strategies for assets listed on the State Heritage Register. The strategies and plans include historic photographs, plans and general research. They explain previous use of the site and can help with informing potential future use of the site. We report annually on the condition of our heritage items in the Heritage and Conservation Register (PDF - 192KB) .

In December 2007, the Heritage Council of NSW allowed Sydney Water to approve some of its own work under the Heritage Act 1977. This means we can approve work with minor impacts to heritage items and archaeological sites. We were the first non-heritage agency to be able to do this.

Aboriginal heritage

We assess the impact of our work on Aboriginal cultural heritage items before we start.

Where possible, we undertake construction in previously disturbed areas rather than natural areas. We liaise with Aboriginal representative groups to avoid damaging Aboriginal heritage objects or places.