South Australians to receive large water bills amid state’s highest water consumption in a decade

South Australians are reeling as sky-high summer water bills start to fill letterboxes — reflecting the state’s highest water consumption for the start of the year in more than a decade.

• Inquiry: SA paying $129m extra for water

Residents are reeling as sky-high summer water bills start to fill letterboxes, reflecting South Australia’s highest water consumption for the start of the year in more than a decade.

As people try to keep thirsty gardens alive in the extreme dry conditions, the increased water usage has been a boost of more than $29 million to State Government coffers.

And the dry conditions look set to continue as the Bureau of Metrology forecasts little sign of rain in the near future.

Adelaide’s West Tce has only recorded 16.4mm of rain this year, compared to an average of 64mm at the end of March and unless another 3mm falls before the end of April it will be the driest start to the year on record.

The South Australian Council of Social Service chief executive, Ross Womersley, urged households to seek any concessions available to deal with the incoming water bills.

“Anybody with a bill arriving in the next little while and particularly those households on low incomes are going to find it a major struggle,” Mr Womersley said.

The state’s water consumption from January 1 is already at 57,739ML, compared to a 10-year average of 49,545ML.

The increase means SA Water can expect a revenue bonus of $29 million, based on the highest price paid by householders of $3.65.

A money tap? Wishful thinking …

If extra water use was charged at the lowest of the three residential rates at $2.36, this would still yield a windfall of $19.3 million.

However, an SA Water spokesman said the Sunday Mail calculations do not include increased costs of pumping and treating the increased volumes of water.

“During summer, we use more water in our gardens. This year, we’ve had an extremely hot, dry summer, so customer bills are likely to reflect this additional use,” he said.

On average, 38 per cent of water use in the average household is attributed to the bath, shower and toilet, with around 37 per cent in the garden, 14 per cent in the kitchen and 11 per cent in the laundry.

While the state’s reservoir holdings are at 43 per cent, compared with 51 per cent at the same time last year, the Adelaide Desalination plant is unlikely to be ramped up.

The SA Water spokesman said the plant was forecast to produce 5.3GL for the 2018-19 financial year, in line with previous years.

He said they would continue to assess reservoir levels, water storages and River Murray quality to ensure it could meet customer’s water drinking needs to “protect affordability for our customers by using lower cost sources of water first”.

Customers having difficulty paying their water bill can contact SA Water on 7424 1650.