About the water reforms
In 2006, the State Government announced it would review and reform Tasmania's water and sewerage industry to address:
- service issues
- poor asset management
- pricing and revenue issues
- the need for significant capital expenditure to improve intrastructure.
The review resulted in four new corporations which began operations on 1 July 2009:
- Southern Water – providing water and sewerage services in the south of the state
- Ben Lomond Water – providing water and sewerage services in the north of the state
- Cradle Mountain Water – providing water and sewerage services in the north-west of the state
- Onstream – providing common services to these corporations.
All of Tasmania’s reticulated towns – from Flinders Island to the Huon Valley – are now cared for by their new local water corporation.
Changes include:
- a separate water and sewerage bill (as most Tasmanians previously paid for their water and sewerage through their council rates)
- a different phone number to report faults, query bills or make enquiries
- while the same people are likely to be servicing their area, they will be employed by one of the new corporations.