Water costs up, but many don’t link it to shrinking finances

The rise in water costs over the past 15 years is a direct hit on household finances and may give Australians a nasty surprise.

Water, water everywhere is flowing from devastating floods in eastern and southern Australia, but it won’t make it cheaper to turn on your tap this summer.

While electricity prices are dominating consumer worries about utility bills, water and sewerage costs have climbed almost 95 per cent in the past 15 years, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics inflation data.

Ahead of the biggest water-usage period of the year, households are being urged to seek savings.

Chris Philpot, CEO of The Water Conservancy, says people can live sustainably while not breaking the bank.

“Taking a moment to think about the water that’s coming out of our taps is a great thing for us all to do as it helps us value water more,” he says.

There are several simple ways to lower the cost of household water bills. Picture: iStock

“There are easy ways to save money on household water and energy bills, for example taking shorter showers, turning off taps when brushing teeth, and using a full load in the washing machine.

“Our individual small actions all add up to make a huge difference.”

Sort My Money founder David Rankin says water and other utility bills are often discussed with clients, but it is not usually high on their list of priorities.

“That’s a good reason to highlight it,” he says.

“Saving water is about saving water, rather than saving money, for most people. But it’s a good way of saving money all year round.”

Rankin says people can consider watering gardens and washing cars less, and using eco settings on appliances.

“A lot of people do not realise they have water-saving settings on their shower heads – that’s really common these days,” he says.

Sort My Money founder David Rankin says water bills are not often a high priority.

A majority of households pay water bills of about $1000 a year, and government water authority websites share plenty of ways for people to save, including:

• Try to cut shower times to under four minutes, as showers can use up to 45 litres of water per minute.

• Use watering cans and trigger nozzles in the garden.

• Putt 7-10cm of mulch around plants to save up to 70 per cent of water lost through evaporation.

• Only run washing machines and dishwashers when they are full.

• Fix leaks quickly, as a tap losing one drip per second can waste more than 6000 litres of water a year.

• Scrape dishes before washing, instead of rinsing, and use eco washing cycles where possible.

• Consider upgrading to water-efficient appliances, and check if your state government offers rebates, subsidies or incentive schemes.