Water is serious business in New South Wales, with reports Sydney Water have shelled out over $7 million just for a website, meanwhile the Minister for Finance and Services announces the allocation of $755 million worth of contracts to upgrade the Sydney Water network.

Greg Pearce, Minister for Finance and Services announced the massive funding awards, saying “Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra have a growing population and with that comes the need for efficient water and wastewater services in existing and developing suburbs and for business.”

Works are to include water-main renewal and sewer upgrades, after an extensive procurement process: “The selection of these contractors follows appointment last year of a program management advisor, a project management team, and four renewal delivery contractors to deliver a $1.3 billion investment in water infrastructure,” Mr Pearce said.

It seems the Sydney Water funding tap is fully open, with revelations from the state’s opposition that the board spent 4.5 per cent of its total budget over three years on its corporate website. Opposition water spokesman Walt Secord said the figure was unjustifiable, questioning a spend of  "$7 million when people are facing an average increase of $72 on their water bill," he said, "earlier this month we discovered they wasted $1.5 million telling people to drink tap water.”

Sydney Water Managing Director Kevin Young says the previous site did not provide its millions of customers with a reliable and efficient service, "Sydney Water established a new website earlier this year along with other IT capabilities at a cost of $7.1 million, which was 42 per cent lower than quotes received in the tender process...the website actually came in $0.7 million under budget."

Sydney water's multi-million dollar website is available here.