In August 2019, The Guardian reported that the New South Wales government had started early planning to raise output at the Kurnell desalination plant as dam levels kept falling. Back in operation since January, its second restart since 2012, the plant had, according to water minister Melinda Pavey, had run at full capacity since late July, two months earlier than planned. It delivered 250,000 m³/day, about 15 percent of Sydney's needs. The Labor opposition gave its support in principle.
The report showed how the long drought was turning the Kurnell plant from a standby asset into a fixed part of Sydney's supply, with backing across party lines.
Source: The Guardian