Concern is brewing in the community over the growing cost of water use, with Coliban Water bills the second highest in the state.
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An average annual water bill for owner-occupier Coliban customers is $1367, but can be much higher for prolific waterers.
President of Bendigo Garden Club Keith Woods said some members were being charged close to $2000 per year.
“Some people are cutting back on their garden area, and if people start letting their gardens go it will be a real shame,” he said.
Mr Woods said water bills tended to fly under the radar, when compared to energy prices, which are highly politicised.
An average household electricity bill can range between $1800-$2200.
An Essential Services Commission water performance report shows water use had increased in the Coliban region by around eight per cent in 2017-18.
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Bills have risen around $60 since 2016-17, due to inflation and increased water consumption.
The average household used an extra 15 kilolitres in 2017-18 due to the dry winter and summer.
The actual price of water, unlike electricity, has not increased.
The ESC’s director of price monitoring and regulation Marcus Crudden said Coliban’s prices had been among the highest in the state for the past five years .
“Coliban was hit hard by the millennium drought and a lot of infrastructure like the Goldfields Super Pipe was built,” he said.
He said during the ESC’s community consultation sessions ahead of Coliban Water’s price review this year, residents were concerned about water affordability.
“There's also a lot of concern about the security of water, there were several years of severe water restrictions in central Victoria,” he said.
Mr Crudden said he didn’t believe water bills had flown under the radar.
“There are concerns, probably not as strong as energy, but they’re there,” he said.
Coliban Water’s prices have begun to drop from July this year.
In mid-2018 the ESC approved a five-year pricing plan by the water organisation, which will see prices drop $26, or 1.9 per cent in 2018-19.
In 2022-23 the typical annual bill is forecast to be $1276, before inflation, and most prices will reduce, on average, around 1.3 per cent each year before inflation.
Coliban Water Chief Financial Officer Peter Leersen said the increase in 2017-18 was driven by water usage in a hot and dry year.
Since 2013-14, our average household bill has only increased with inflation and water usage, he said.
“During the millennium drought we had to borrow to build large infrastructure assets like the Goldfields Superpipe and recycled water infrastructure. At the beginning of July 2018 our total debt was $381 million which we are repaying. As we continue to repay our debt, our interest charges have been slowly decreasing,” he said.
“We forecast this is set to continue and put us in a position where we pass these savings back to our customers,” he said.
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