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Water
Stormwater, Drinking Water and Sewerage Charges in Sydney (and Annandale)
Drinking water and sewerage services in Annandale are provided and billed by Sydney Water. The prices are set periodically by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales (IPART).
Leichhardt Council manages and bills for Stormwater Mangement.
19 February 2012: Sydney drenching highlights desal folly: "Households could end up paying almost $100 a year for a plant that is turning sea water into fresh water that then runs back into the ocean.
"The plant will keep producing 90 million litres of water a day as part of the 'proving period' well after the dams could be overflowing.
"If the weather return to its February 2010 pattern, then up to $140 million worth of water could be wasted as the plant continues to operate while the dams are full....more
Stormwater Management Service Charge Guidelines, Department of Local Government July 2006
...
Under the Local Government (General) Regulation the upper charge limit
for urban residential land is $25. Urban business land can be charged
up to $25 per 350m2 of land area, or part thereof. This acknowledges
the often greater area, proportionately, of impervious surfaces on urban
business land as compared to urban residential land.
The charge amount levied by a council must also not exceed the
anticipated cost of providing the new/additional stormwater management
service to land subject to the charge. If the anticipated cost is estimated
to be less than the $25 cap, then councils may only levy this lesser
amount (as this reflects the cost of service provision)....
Source: Stormwater Management Service Charge Guidelines, Department of Local Government July 2006 (304kb PDF viewed 7 Jan 2011)
Summary of IPART’s decisions for Sydney Water
IPART has decided to:
- Set prices for the period from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2012 to generate expected total revenue of $8,323 million
(in $2008/09). This is the amount that IPART has assessed as being required for Sydney Water to provide water,
sewerage and stormwater services in an efficient manner over the determination period. These prices reflect
significant increases in Sydney Water’s forecast expenditure which are largely driven by costs associated with
the desalination plant and major recycled water projects, as well as changing financial conditions (including an
increase in interest rates).
- Increase the usage price of water to all customers to reflect the marginal cost of supply. This involved phasing
out the two-tiered inclining block tariff and introducing a single usage charge set at the long run marginal cost
of supply (estimated as $1.93/kL in $2008/09) by 2011/12. The usage charge will increase from the current
(2007/08) first tier price of $1.38/kL ($2008/09).
- Increase the fixed charge for water by $58.65 a year (plus inflation) over the determination period. The fixed
charge acts as a balancing item to allow Sydney Water to recover the remainder of its efficiently incurred costs.
The increase in the fixed charge is also partly in response to the desalination plant. The plant acts as an
insurance policy against future water shortages arising from droughts, because the desalination plant is likely
to have surplus capacity over the medium term and could increase water supplies when dam levels are low.
- Increase the sewerage service charge for residential customers by $75.80 (plus inflation) from $419.19 in
2007/08 to $494.99 in 2011/12 ($2008/09). The usage charge (applicable to non-residential customers that
discharge over 500kL per year) will increase by 3 per cent (real) so that it is $1.37 per kL ($2008/09) in each year
of the determination period....
Source - NSW Water Fact Sheet 4
Review of Prices for Sydney Water
Corporation’s water, sewerage and
stormwater services
From 1 July 2008 (66.4KB PDF viewed 7 Jan 2011)