Council's water sales soar as resident demand increases

THE Toowoomba region’s thirst for water in dry conditions has far exceeded the council’s budget expectations.

The council is over budget for water sales due to increased demand.

THE Toowoomba region's thirst for water in dry conditions has far exceeded the council's budget expectations.

Water sales were one of the best-performing revenue drivers for the Toowoomba Regional Council, according to its monthly financial performance reports.

Finance and business strategy general manager Arun Pratap revealed "rates and levies" were above budget for May by more than $2 million, which he said was primarily because of increased water use.

"The vast majority of that has been in water sales, that is the consumption or demand for water, reflective of the very dry season we've experienced," he told the councillors at Tuesday's ordinary meeting.

"That is resulting into unbudgeted revenue for the organisation.

"Whilst that could be a positive from that perspective, it also raises a number of ongoing challenges that the community and council needs to deal with in regard to water sustainability."

Mr Pratap said the increased demand had prompted the council to turn on the Wivenhoe-Cressbrook pipeline, which was used to pump 3300mL in the 2018/19 financial year.

"It was the impetus for us to turn on the pipeline to pump more water up from Wivenhoe, to cater for that increased demand," he said.

"We might have generated more revenue in water sales, but we incurred more cost in electricity in pumping water up.

"The community is demanding more water, and we have a constant supply, but it comes at a cost."

Combined dam levels currently sat at just over 35 per cent as of June 30.

Originally published as Council's water sales soar as resident demand increases