The desalination plant at Kurnell is just days away from being switched on to boost rapidly falling water supplies.
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Wollongong and Sydney dam storage was at 60.3 per cent on Tuesday, with Woronora Dam falling to 51.4 per cent.
The trigger for the desalination plant being restarted is total dam storage falling to 60 per cent.
This could see the desalination plant switched on before or over the Australia Day weekend.
Households will pay up to $35-a-year extra on their water bills to cover the plant’s operations.
Opened in 2010, the facility has never operated beyond maintenance needs.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said, due to contractual arrangements, once the plant began operating it would stay on for 14 months.
Sydney Water says the plant will be able to produce drinking water within three to four months of being switched on and will take six to eight months from switch-on to reach maximum output.
Once operational, the plant will keep running until the reservoir levels return to 70 per cent full.
The facility was badly damaged by the 2015 Kurnell tornado, and repairs were completed only late last year.
The public is urged to follow the Water Wise rules as promoted by Sydney Water. These include avoiding watering lawns and gardens between 10am and 4pm, only cleaning cars, boats or buildings using a bucket, high-pressure cleaning equipment or a hose filled with a trigger nozzle.
