RATEPAYERS DIRTY ABOUT LIQUID GOLD
GOLD Coast ratepayers want to know why their water bills have spiked up to $200 a quarter.
Dozens of residents have told the Bulletin charges increased markedly in the past quarter – doubling in some cases – even for those who weren’t stuck at home because of COVID-19 restrictions.
It comes as the state government increased its bulk water charge again this financial year.
Gold Coasters are now paying the state $3.122 per kilolitre (kl = 1000 litres) of water. This is nearly 50c more than the $2.68 per kl charged in 2015.
Ratepayers are also billed a water usage charge by the Gold Coast City Council at a rate of $1.09 per kl. This figure has not changed since 2015.
Overall, for an average family of five using 49kl over an 87-day period, with an average daily water usage of 563 litres, the daily cost of water is nearly $5. This results in a total water and sewerage bill of $425.15 per quarter. This is broken down into: Sewerage access charges ($1.98 per day) – $172.22.
State bulk water price ($3.122 per kl) – $149.08.
Water usage charges ($1.09 per kl) – $53.41.
Water access charges ($0.58 per day) – $50.43.
SEQ, the state’s water supply authority, said the drinking water supply capacity of the SEQ Water Grid as of August 7 was 62.2 per cent, a 0.3 per cent decrease from July 31. Hinze Dam, the main drinking water supply for the Gold Coast, is at 92.7 per cent.
Ratepayer Genevieve Dennis said she could not understand why the price of water on the Gold Coast was
“so darned expensive”.
“We’ve moved from Melbourne and I am gobsmacked that water is about three times more expensive and I have no idea why,” she said.
“I live in a resort so my bill is a dog’s breakfast. It seems they just read one master meter for 164 lots, so therefore no incentive to save water.”
Aroha Fanning said she did not realise ratepayers were slugged twice for water usage, and that the state government charged almost three times more than the council for water.
“It’s just ridiculous, I would love to know how they can justify doing this,” she said.
With a family of four, Emma Burmister said she could not understand how her usage went up so much compared with last year, from 556 to 820 litres per day.
“I’m paying over $30 a week for water. Last year it was more like $20,” she said.
“This is for two adults, two young kids with an average of two-three showers a day, and a front load water-saving washing machine.”
Apartment dweller Keratia Tahau Browne pays about $200 a quarter for two adults and one child, while Natalie Moloney said her family of five averaged 500-540 litres per day without a pool, so her bill was about $400 a quarter.
Sophie Beak said sewerage and other static charges were continually increasing and were about “$260 per quarter before you have even been charged for the water”.
Pacific Pines resident Christopher James used FB community page to share a “water usage alert” letter from the council asking him to check for leaks after his usage went from 467 to 901 in just three months.