A 2021 analysis by the Productivity Commission (PC) also warned that the expected 11 million increase in Australia’s metropolitan populations “present significant risks to the security of Australia’s water resources”.

“In major cities where readily-available supply sources have already been accessed, ongoing population growth is likely to create significant pressure on water supplies”, the PC warned.

Sydneysiders are about to experience these costs. In September, The SMH reported that households face a $168 increase in water bills next year, with a total increase of over 34% expected by 2030.T

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) said the bill increase was “vital” to ensure that “services and infrastructure keep pace with Sydney’s growth”.

The bill increases would provide Sydney Water with $13.2 billion to spend on capital infrastructure, IPART said, to help expand water supplies to the city’s growing population.

The decision follows a Sydney Water board meeting last year, which warned of the strain on infrastructure in the city’s outer suburbs, which accommodate a higher share of new migrants.

“The biggest drivers behind Sydney Water’s planned investments are growth and renewing existing infrastructure”, the meeting minutes stated.

“Most of this investment will support growth in both new and established areas—especially in western Sydney, where development is booming and where population growth is pushing existing water and wastewater systems to their limits”.

Aside from massive immigration-driven population growth, Sydney’s water supplies are also facing an assault from the proliferation of data centres.

Australia already has 260 datacentres operating and dozens more in the offing. Technology companies, including Open AI and Atlassian, are pushing for Australia to become a hub for data processing and storage.

Sydney Water has estimated up to 250 megalitres a day would be needed to service the data centre industry by 2035, which is a larger volume than Canberra’s total drinking water.

Huge volumes of 24-7 electricity would also be required at the same time as Australia’s baseload coal-fired generators are scheduled to close.

A network of expensive and energy-intensive desalination plants will also be required, heightening the vulnerabilities.

The upshot is that residential and commercial water and power prices will climb to accommodate the increasing demand via immigration and data centres, which will disproportionately hurt lower-income households.

Sydneysiders face water shock