Mosman residents among top water wasters in Sydney. See who else made the list.

By ANNA USHER

Mosman residents use 23% more water in their homes than people living in Parramatta, and nearly 65,000 litres more than the average Sydney household per year, as water demand hit a five-year high this summer.

According to Sydney Water, Mosman, Hunters Hill and Ku-ring-gai are among the top five areas wasting the most water across the Sydney Water service network.

Woollahra, in the city’s Eastern Suburbs, tops the list, with a whopping 304,000 litres used (on average) per household.

From December 2024 to January 2025, Sydney Water supplied over 99 million litres of water across Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and the Illawarra—a huge increase of nearly five per cent, jumping from 95 million litres for the same period last summer.

Sydney Water’s Conservation Manager, Suhanti Thirunavukarasu, said while dam levels remain steady, it is essential to be smart with water usage at home during summer as people tend to use more water during hot weather.

“We are seeing an increase in water demand across nearly every area of Sydney Water services,” Thirunavukarasu said.

“Residents in the Mosman area average 267,000 litres per household annually, a stark contrast to the water-saving suburb of Kiama, which averages just 146,000 litres per household.

“The suburbs topping the water usage list are also recording yearly increases when it comes to water demand per household,” Thirunavukarasu said.

The data, which breaks down residential stand-alone properties by Local Government Area (LGA), significantly shows an increasing trend in overall water demand per household.

Woollahra’s water usage has increased by 3.1 per cent compared to 2023; this is the second year they have the highest number of water users across the network.

“This research is a good reminder to all Sydneysiders that while we’re sweating through another very warm summer, it’s important to be mindful of water wastage around the home,” Ms Thirunavukarasu said.

“Little things like leaving the hose running to top up the pool or having extra-long showers to cool down are guaranteed to spike your water usage.

“We are strongly encouraging all residents to be mindful of how they use water at home as Sydney’s water is a very precious resource,” Ms Thirunavukarasu said.

Sydney Water has developed a long-term capital and operating plan to see over $30 billion invested in the next 10 years to upgrade and expand our water and wastewater networks. This includes upgrades to the network and expansion to meet booming population growth.

Areas using the most water:

• Municipality of Woollahra – 9550 properties using 304,000 litres per property
• Hunter’s Hill Council – 3132 properties using 277,000 litres per property
• Mosman Council – 5482 properties using 267,000 litres per property
• Ku-ring-gai Council – 30,795 properties using 247,000 litres per property
• Strathfield Council – 6039 properties using 245,000 litres per property

Areas using the least water:

• Blacktown City Council – 111,765 properties using 206,000 litres per property
• City of Parramatta – 41,557 properties using 205,000 litres per property
• City of Penrith – 58,918 properties using 205,000 litres per property
• City of Campbelltown – 51,391 properties using 202,000 litres per property
• Inner West Council – 40,046 properties using 172,000 litres per property
• City of Blue Mountains – 31,732 properties using 160,000 litres per property
• Kiama Municipal Council – 7754 properties using 146,000 litres per property