AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2011
FED:Urban water bills climb 10% a year
CANBERRA, April 14 AAP - Urban water bills in Australia have risen by 10 per cent a
year on average over the past three years, a new report shows.
The hip-pocket hit has come as water industry profits have gone up and capital spending
has dipped.
A new report by the National Water Commission, released in Canberra on Thursday, found
the biggest price rises occurred in South Australia, Brisbane and the Yarra Valley of
Victoria.
Only four small utilities - Riverina Water, Orange, Bunbury and Goldenfields in southwest
NSW - reduced their bills in real terms from 2008/09 levels.
While the typical annual bill in cities of over 100,000 people rose from $756 in 2008/09
to $837 in 2009/10, households in smaller towns of 10,000 to 20,000 people now faced average
bills of $976.
The report showed water utility profits had bounced back from the slump of 2007/09,
but capital spending had dipped by $500 million over the year to 2009/10.
The commission used the report to argue for a new focus on water recycling, which it
says has environmental benefits such as reducing the amount of nutrients being discharged
into waterways.
Most major cities have set targets for recycling waste water, with Sydney reporting
savings of 33 gigalitres a year of the 235 gigalitres saved across the nation.
The commission said while the issue of drinking recycled waste water was "controversial",
advances in science and improved regulation had "created an environment in which those
risks can be managed to a safety level equivalent to those of other supply sources".
The main use to date for recycled water has been in agriculture (38 per cent) and commercial
and industrial (25 per cent), while only two per cent is used in homes for gardens and
toilet flushing.
But the commission said recycling water often came at a higher cost than other options.
AAP pjo/sb/jl
KEYWORD: WATER BILLS
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