The 2025 water use results showed higher than average rainfall across the Hunter catchment, with 1,688 GL of water entering the Hunter River System.

94.6% of the water that entered the system remained in the river and flowed past Singleton.

Farmers, businesses and residents extracted 4.8% (80.5 GL) of the water from the river, while mining companies extracted 0.6% (10.7 GL).

Throughout 2025, the Upper Hunter mining industry used 118.8 GL of water from various sources. The majority was sourced from onsite rainfall and runoff (51.1%) or deep aquifers (19.6%) that have limited use for other water users due to their high salinity.

The mining industry reused 43.8% of its water onsite and discharged 3.9 GL back into the Hunter River.

Water lost through evaporation from Hunter River storage dams was 3.4 times greater than the amount of water extracted by mining companies.