Water prices double in dry
IT’S GOING TO BECOME UNVIABLE FOR PEOPLE TO BUY IT, BUT THEY’VE GOT NO OTHER CHOICE. COLIN JACKSON
WITH much of Southwest Queensland waiting for rain, people are struggling with the cost of buying in water.
Residents in the Toowoomba Regional Council area have been shocked to find prices have more than doubled since July 1.
In the new water year, Colin Jackson who runs Colin Jackson Water Services, said prices at the Wyreema filling point had risen from $2.24 per kilolitre to $4.70 per kilolitre.
He said the Oakey and Highfields filling points had gone up to $3.79, with plans for all the filling points to go up to $5.93 in July 2021.
Mr Jackson said business had quadrupled with more people needing to buy drinking water during the drought.
“When they’re getting between 9 and 12 kilolitres per load, it’s an extra $30,” he said.
“People normally get one to two loads a year and now people are up to four to six. Some people are a lot more than that.
“It’s not like they’re getting one load and an extra $30 a year. When they’re getting a load every eight weeks it’s a lot of extra money.”
Mr Jackson carts water as far west as Dalby, north to Crows Nest, east to Laidley and south to Warwick.
He said it was an extra cost many people couldn’t afford as they were already struggling in the drought.
“It’s disappointing for me as a small businessperson and for the poor buggers who have nothing,” he said.
“The council has just come up with this figure.
“It’s going to become unviable for people to buy it, but they’ve got no other choice.
“If there’s no water in their tanks, there’s no showers. Some people won’t even be able to water their dog.”
In his 15 years of business, Mr Jackson said he had never seen such a large jump in price.
He said there had been no warning that the prices were increasing so substantially.
“It usually goes up by between 40 and 70c every couple of years. I’d like the council to explain to us why it’s been a bigger increase,” he said.
“I see people who are taking money away from their kids’ education to pay water bills.
“If they put it up 40—70c, most of the water carters would have worn the cost themselves, but this is beyond our financial capability.
“Six major water carters of drinking water, and not one of us had an email to say our water charges would be going to that.”
TRC water and waste committee chair, Councillor Nancy Sommerfield, told Rural Weekly the increased prices reflected a change in water supply at Wyreema filling point.
“The standpipe in Wyreema was previously connected to a bore but due to issues with water quality, council made a decision to connect the standpipe to the Toowoomba Bulk Supply,” Ms Sommerfield said.
“Council understands the importance of being able to consistently deliver quality drinking water to all residents throughout the region.”
Water at the Wyreema filling point is sourced from the Mt Kynoch Water Treatment Plant, which extracts water from the region’s three dams. The council is also extracting water from Wivenhoe Dam.
TRC general manager water and waste, Damian Platts, said the council sets water charges that “reflect the true cost of operating, maintaining and replacing water infrastructure.”
“The operational costs of pumping water from the Toowoomba Bulk Supply to Wyreema means the pricing structure has been adjusted accordingly,” Mr Platts said.
“Council is assessing the pricing structure of water standpipes in other parts of the region to ensure there is consistent application of the cost recovery approach.
“We are also reviewing usage at each standpipe and reviewing the capacity of the network to service that demand.”
Mr Platts said although there was no formal notification sent to individuals of the change in Wyreema, fees and charges were reviewed annually and made available on the council’s website.