Owners of Nailsworth units in three-year fight over high water usage

A five-unit complex has been slugged thousands of dollars for high water use – at times enough to fill 100 bath tubs – but plumbers couldn’t find a leak.

Owners of a Nailsworth unit complex say they have each been unjustly slugged $3000 in high water use bills – with water usuage some days enough to fill 100 bathtubs.

The complex of five units, with little to no garden, was at times using up to 16,000 litres a day, prompting a three-year campaign by the strata’s presiding officer, Brenton Newell.

“It’s been very frustrating and I pursued it because I could see the injustice of it and people have had to pay out a fair bit of money,” Mr Newell, who is a landlord, said.

“I think SA Water just hope people give up, but until I can get a proper explanation I think they’ve ripped off five customers and creamed a fair bit of money off.”

Owners of a Nailsworth unit complex say they have each been unjustly slugged $3000 in high water use bills – with water usuage some days enough to fill 100 bathtubs. Picture: Supplied.

The complex received a high water use notice in 2021 – which equated to a quarterly bill of about $800 each – and two plumbing companies determined there were no leaks.

Another high water notice in 2022 resulted in the owners taking daily readings of the meter, which fluctuated from 2000 litres a day up to 16,000 litres a day.

The average SA Water customer uses 180 kilolitres per year, which equates to 500 litres a day.

They applied to have the meter replaced – which took another year – and usage dropped to about 1500 litres a day with bills the following quarter around $200 each.

“Once we saw the huge difference, we paid SA Water to check the old meter and they said there was nothing wrong with it,” Mr Newell said.

Owners were taking daily readings of the meter, which they claim fluctuated from 2000 litres a day up to 16,000 litres a day. Picture: Supplied.

The SA Water customer advocate and an Energy and Water Ombudsman representative both concluded there were no irregularities, Mr Newell said.

Unit owner Sanka Piyaratna said his partner owned two regional properties – much larger than his two bedroom unit – and had bills that were significantly less.

“During the peak we were looking at bills closer to $1000 per unit, that’s ridiculous,” he said.

Mr Piyaratna said a further insult was that he recieved high water use bills over an 18 month period while he was overseas caring for his sick mother.

“When there is unfairness you have to make some noise,” he said.

An SA Water spokesman said independent testing of the meter found it to be accurate, which he said was supported in an investigation by the ombudsman’s office.

“Usually, higher water use tends to be caused by a leak on a property’s internal pipework, irrigation, appliances or fixtures and fittings,” he said.

“In this case, existing leaks to one of the property’s hot water services, taps and cistern were identified prior to the meter’s replacement.”