Dams & Catchments

At Hunter Water, we supply water to over half-a-million people from six local government areas - Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, Port Stephens and Dungog. Over 200,000 properties are connected to our water supply network.

Water Sources

The Hunter Region's drinking water supply is drawn from a combination of surface storages and groundwater resources.

  1. Anna Bay Sandbeds

    Extracted water is treated at the Anna Bay and Glovers Hill Water Treatment Plants, each with a capacity to treat and deliver up to 12 megalitres per day.
  2. Chichester Dam

    Chichester Dam

    Location: Located at the top of the Williams River catchment

    Chichester Dam was constructed between 1917 and 1926 as the Hunter’s first dedicated drinking water storage system.
  3. Grahamstown Dam

    Grahamstown Dam

    Location: The Williams River area between Seaham and Raymond Terrace. Grahamstown Dam is located relatively close to the river at Raymond Terrace.

    Grahamstown Dam was constructed between 1955 and 1965 as the Hunter’s third water supply source and is the Hunter’s largest drinking water supply dam.

  4. Tomago Sandbeds

    The Tomago Sandbeds is an underground water source that provides about 20% of the lower Hunter’s drinking water. The sandbeds are parallel to the coast between Newcastle and Port Stephens.

Bulk water is supplied to small parts of Singleton and the Great Lakes area. We also have the capacity to supply up to 35 megalitres per day to the Central Coast.

Catchment Management

Protection of our water sources and catchments is important to us and is a cornerstone of the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Learn about our approach to catchment management.

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