Coober Pedy Council calls on private sector to fix its ailing water system
Coober Pedy Council has called on the private sector to rebuild a water system that leaks as much as half of what it carries, in a bid to address huge price inequities in the Outback town.
SA Business
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Coober Pedy Council will look for businesses to build, own and operate a revamped or new water supply service in a bid to address the town’s huge charges.
Water bills went up by an average of $390 for residents and $1187 for businesses this year when the council stopped subsidising the cost of its supply as a measure to reduce debt.
Administrator Tim Jackson said after so far fruitless attempts to get State Government help to upgrade the ailing 1970s-built system, and subsidise costs in the meantime, the council was looking to the private sector.
The system is losing about 30-50 per cent of its water to leakage, and needs a major upgrade costing about $10m.
The council, which has about $10m in debts, has called for expressions of interest from companies interested in taking on the job of rebuilding and operating the service, and Mr Jackson said the council had already discussed the issue with two firms.
He said if a tender process was unsuccessful, it would seek help from the Government to underwrite the project’s cost, or fund SA Water to carry out the upgrade.
“We can’t finance it because at the moment our finances are not in a good enough shape to obtain finance from a lender,” Mr Jackson said.
“No-one is going to lend the council that kind of money ($10m) in its current financial state.”
Coober Pedy’s residents are paying about three time the amount for water as their Adelaide counterparts.
A Government spokesman said it was working Mr Jackson to fix the town’s water supply problems.
“Consistent with this, Coober Pedy Council should not rely entirely on State Government taxpayer interventions and we understand they are investigating alternative water providers,” he said.
“Unfortunately, Coober Pedy residents have suffered for far too long across a range of issues due to council’s mismanagement and the upkeep of the water assets is no different.”
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