Construction dewatering

The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW) has devised a geographical based triage to increase efficiency of developing General Terms of Approval (GTA) for construction dewatering in the Sydney Metro area.

The system uses a traffic light approach, with the Sydney Metro area divided into colour coded areas, green areas indicate low risk to groundwater system and dependent users and can be issued drained basement GTAs with the risk escalating to red, high risk areas where applicants should be issued tanked basement GTAs.  Development over the orange areas can be issued tanked GTA if the DA is for a tanked basement design, otherwise should be referred for hydrogeologist review as there is some level of risk.

This dataset supports the Housing Approvals Reform Action Plan in meeting housing targets across the Greater Metropolitan Region

Please refer to this Groundwater housing risk dataset webpage for access to the data and supporting information. The shape files can be found directly on the SEED portal.

Please note that the Minimum Requirements for Building Dewatering has been updated.  This update is designed to further improve efficiency by communicating the requirements of site characterisation and impact assessment by the applicant against the Aquifer Interference Policy, the previous version focused on the site characterisation and the acquisition of site specific data.

From 1 July 2026, the Development Coordination Authority (DCA) becomes the single front door for NSW Government inputs into the planning system.

They will coordinate and centralise state agency advice and approvals within the development assessment process.

For further information contact them at dca.inquiries@dphi.nws.gov.au or on 02 9228 2820.

• Council submits all documents to the Development Coordination Authority (DCA) via the NSW Planning Portal.
• DCA completes an initial review and if necessary refers to their Hydrogeologists for a hydrogeological assessment.
• DCA provides decision to Council including GTA’s if approved.
• Council then notifies the applicant of the general terms of approval (GTAs) (PDF, 114.78 KB).
• Read Dewatering information for councils and applicants (PDF, 938.64 KB) fact sheet for information about construction dewatering and which approvals may be required to authorise dewatering.

• Submit the following applications as required, noting that exemptions are in place for some approvals:
  • water supply works approval for construction dewatering (PDF, 354.37 KB) – see 'minimum requirements for building site groundwater investigations and reporting' for further information that may be required to support your application
  • water access licence (WAL) and source water if needed
  • assign share components between water access licences (PDF, 329.71 KB)
• WaterNSW issues approval(s)/licences with conditions.
• The dewatering information for councils and applicants (PDF, 938.64 KB) fact sheet provides information about which approvals may be required to authorise dewatering.

• Ensure metering is in place as per the dewatering management plan.
• Track water take and maintain records using the record of groundwater take form (PDF, 539.59 KB) for the completion report (PDF, 489.73 KB).
• If approved water take likely to be exceeded, contact WaterNSW immediately.
• Any suspected breaches of water law will be referred to the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR).

• Notify WaterNSW when dewatering is complete.
• If dewatering is not completed in two years, an application is needed for an extension (12 months).
• If planning to extend, an interim report is required in similar format to the completion report (PDF, 489.73 KB).
• WaterNSW notifies applicants 60 & 30 days ahead of the expiry date.

• Call WaterNSW to lodge a request to surrender a water supply work approval before the expiry date of the original approval.
• Ensure surrender is confirmed in the completion report. (PDF, 489.73 KB)
• On completion, prepare and submit completion report (PDF, 489.73 KB) to WaterNSW.
• WaterNSW certifies that the completion report satisfies all conditions.

• Use the WaterNSW acceptance of the completion report (PDF, 352.19 KB) to obtain an occupancy certificate.