Frequently Asked Questions
These are some of the questions most frequently asked of us by customers. If the information below doesn't fully answer your question, or you have any other questions about your account or Southern Water's services, please contact our Customer Service Centre on 13 MYWATER (13 6992)
Contents
1. Why are prices for water and sewerage so high when water is free?
2. What will my bill look like after 1 July 2012?
3. Why have I received two accounts less than three months apart?
4. When will we know prices for 2012-13?
5. Why am I being charged for water and sewerage when I don't have a water connection?
6. I haven't signed a formal contract with Southern Water, on what authority does Southern Water send me accounts?
7. Is the landlord or tenant responsible for water and sewerage charges?
8. Why haven't I received a water and sewerage account for my property?
The water that comes from the sky is free but getting that water fit for domestic use and to your tap comes at a cost.
These costs are associated with storing, treating and delivering the water to your property (including the cost of electricity for pumping, treatment to ensure it is fit for you to drink, and fixing and upgrading infrastructure). Maintaining all of the pipes, pump stations, reservoirs and treatment plants across all of southern Tasmania is actually a very expensive process.
Further, one of the reasons for the water and sewerage reforms was that many customers in Tasmania did not have access to water and sewerage services which met acceptable standards. Extensive investment in treatment and reticulation systems is needed to remedy this situation. In 2010/11, our capital expenditure on new works was $55.8 million. Over the next three years we have $180 million of further improvements planned, and over the next decade an investment of half a billion dollars will be needed.
Don’t forget, the largest part of your bill is likely to be the fixed cost for your sewerage service. As you can imagine, treating sewerage and wastewater so that it can be safely used for irrigation or restored to the environment is a complicated and expensive process.
Most of the 48 Sewage Treatment Plants Southern Water inherited from Councils do not comply with regulatory requirements and require significant investment to bring them up to the appropriate standard. We also have over 300 pump stations, many of which require investment to prevent failures and spills of raw effluent. Over the next three years Southern Water will invest approximately $100m in improving performance and capacity issues in sewage treatment and conveyance.
From 1 July 2012 a two-part pricing system will be in place for all Southern Water residential customers. By this date each property should have a water meter installed to enable the actual water use from your property to be recorded.
When two-part pricing begins, the account for each residential customer with a water and sewerage connection will have:
- A fixed charge for sewerage covering the first to the last day of the quarter;
- A fixed charge for water covering the first to the last day of the quarter;
- A volumetric charge based on the water usage since the last meter read.
In most cases the water usage charge will be for a period of approximately 90 days (3 months), with the exception of the first account after 1 July 2012, where volumetric charges will only apply from 1 July until the date of the meter read.
For example, the fixed charges on every 2012/13 Quarter 2 bill will be for October 1-December 31. If your meter reading for Quarter 2 was taken on November 15 and had been last read for Quarter 1 on August 15, the volumetric charges will be for August 16-November 15 (91 days).
Southern Water’s pricing objectives are to:
- Minimise price shocks for customers;
- Introduce two part pricing on 1 July 2012;
- Commence the transition to equitable pricing; and
- Make progress towards unwinding cross subsidies.
Southern Water issues one account per quarter: a total of four accounts covering each financial year. Accounts are issued for:
- July-September (Quarter 1)
- October-December (Quarter 2)
- January-March (Quarter 3)
- April-June (Quarter 4)
Quarter 1 of 2011-12 was the first quarter in which Southern Water was obliged to provide quarterly accounts. Previously one annual account was issued, payable in four equal instalments. Instalment reminder notices were sent to customers towards the end of each quarter.
The change to issuing of quarterly accounts is important in preparing for the introduction of two-part pricing from 1 July 2012. Southern Water is required by legislation to implement two-part pricing from this date. Two-part pricing is a fairer system of charging for water and sewerage services and is made up of a fixed charge for infrastructure and a usage (volumetric) charge for the amount of water used. Every customer’s water meter will be read quarterly in order to issue accounts. Customers in different parts of the region will have their water meters read at a different time during the quarter as it isn’t possible to read all water meters on the same day.
Our aim is to improve our timing so that in future the mail out of accounts is staggered in line with our new meter reading program. This means customers will receive accounts at different times throughout the quarter, as occurs with the issue of electricity accounts.The issuing of accounts will reflect the meter reading cycle.
The process of issuing accounts at different times throughout each quarter began with the issuing of Quarter 2 accounts for the 2011-12 financial year. Unfortunately this has meant that some customers received their quarter 2 account a short time after receiving and paying their Quarter 1 account. This has caused inconvenience and confusion for many customers. Unfortunately it is an unavoidable impact of the transition to two-part pricing.
This should be a one-off impact. Once the billing cycle has been adjusted customers will have their meter read and account issued as close as possible to 3 months after the date of the last meter read.
We have provided our Price and Service Plan to the Tasmanian Economic Regulator who will determine if the charges we have proposed for our water and sewerage services are justifiable.
The Regulator has made a draft pricing determination available to customers for comment until 16 April 2012. The final determination is due in May 2011.
As most customers would be aware, prior to 2009 ratepayers paid for water and sewerage infrastructure as part of their council rates.
When the Water and Sewerage corporations began operation in July 2009, councils no longer collected revenue for water and sewerage services and customers began to receive a separate water and sewerage bill from Southern Water, with charges calculated using exactly the same formula that local councils previously used.
Before receiving a separate bill for these services, many property owners did not realise they were already paying these charges as part of their council rates. Customers who do not have a water connection in place may have been especially unaware that they had always contributed to the costs of the necessary infrastructure.
Ratepayers with a property (including vacant land) within 30 metres of water pipes or sewer drains can be charged for water and sewerage, even when the services are not connected. This authority was granted to councils under the Local Government Act 1993 and transferred to Southern Water under the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008. This ‘30 metre rule’ recognised that where water and sewerage infrastructure runs past a property, that property has the ability to easily and cheaply connect to water and sewerage services at any time, and that the ability to connect to clean water and safely dispose of sewage also increases property value.
Properties previously charged under this rule by council will continue to be charged in the same manner. However, Southern Water will not apply this charge to any new properties.
Southern Water will bear the cost of the extension for those customers that are currently charged a service charge under the 30 metre rule charge, and the customer shall be liable for applicable property service connection charges.
Southern Water is required by legislation - Tasmanian Water and Sewerage Industry (Pricing and Related Matters) Regulations 2011, sections 15 (2) and 17 (1) and (2) - to send all water and sewerage accounts to the owner of the residential property.
Southern Water will also apply this same principle to all non-residential properties.
For rented properties, this means that the landlord, and not the tenant, will receive water and sewerage accounts and are responsible for paying the related charges to Southern Water.
Landlords and tenants should refer to their Residential Tenancy Agreement as to whether the landlord can collect from tenants any applicable volumetric charges for their dwelling.
There have been delays in issuing new accounts for properties where a customer has created an allotment or newly subdivided a piece of land, or undertaken either a development or building work which would substantially change the Assessed Annual Value (AAV) of the property. In these circumstances Southern Water needs to reassess the water and sewer charges on the property.
As a result of this delay in issuing these accounts we are not requesting payment of any new charges from the 2009/10 financial year.
All accounts issued following a property revaluation are now being calculated using a methodology that reflects two part pricing.
It is expected that these outstanding accounts will be issued to customers prior to the end of December 2011.
If you believe you should have received an account and you haven’t please contact our Customer Service Centre on 13 MYWATER (13 6992).