An expert is investigating a pledge to guarantee access to safe, reliable water in the NSW constitution.

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns' promise to enshrine the right to safe, reliable water access in the state's constitution has garnered mixed reactions from experts and regional councils. 

In the lead-up to last month's election, Minns raised concerns that the coalition government intended to privatise Sydney Water, which sparked a Labor promise to amend the constitution to protect Sydney Water and Hunter Water from being sold. 

This conversation also opened up discussions about the protection of water access rights.

Water expert Stuart Khan, a Professor at the University of NSW's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, says that he was excited to hear water talked about as a “high-profile” issue, stating that it sounded “visionary”.

However, he also emphasised that the definition of the right to water access is critical. 

“Certainly, there are supplies of water in regional and remote NSW that either all the time or from time to time do not meet the requirements of the Australian water guidelines,” he said. “Contaminants we have dealt with include things like uranium, arsenic, and sodium in water.”

Dozens of local governments manage water supply outside of the Sydney and Hunter water services. 

Khan said that other states, such as Tasmania, had unified water utilities to take the burden off councils. 

“Tasmania was notorious for boiled water alerts, water quality and quantity concerns, and there have been clear improvements since the establishment of TasWater through economies of scale,” he said.

Minns's statement about constitutional protection for water access has also received a mixed response from regional councils. 

Mayor Paul Hauville of Kempsey Shire Council said that while councils were already providing safe and reliable water and dealing with issues through the alert system, he would need to see the detail of the plan before endorsing it. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Paul Harmon of Inverell Shire Council viewed the statement with scepticism, emphasising the need for strong clarification around what it means.

The Premier's office now says that the comment was made in the context of the major metro water utilities, and that the government would amend the NSW Constitution to safeguard the public ownership of the state's critical public assets, starting with Sydney Water and Hunter Water.