Water Kit - Hunter Water

Hunter Water’s move to a pay-foruse
pricing structure has resulted in
a sustained reduction in overall water
consumption in the Lower Hunter.
Water conservation
Conservation encourages the
community to use less water through
public relations strategies such as
community education and incentive
schemes.
Hunter Water launches a water saving
campaign each summer when the
demand for water increases and the
climate conditions can cause water
supplies to decrease. During this time
various methods are used to raise
awareness of the importance of water and
promote simple ways to conserve water.
The promotion of water conservation
is undertaken by Hunter Water at
community events and through
partnering on-ground projects that result
in better management of land and water.
Hunter Water also subsidises retrofit
programs where water saving devices
are installed in local homes.
Benefits and costs
There are benefits and costs for both of
these management options. For instance,
regulation can be scaled up or down
according to different situations that
affect water use (eg the consumer group,
level of water storage), but it may also
discourage high water use companies
from establishing new facilites in the
Lower Hunter.
Conservation initiatives may prove
effective during low water levels, but
once rain arrives people can slip back to
wasteful water use habits, so changes
may only be temporary. However, simple
things such as fixing leaking taps and
replacing inefficient appliances can
achieve ongoing savings.
Combining pricing and conservation
Hunter Water uses both pricing and
conservation measures to reduce water
usage. In terms of regulating prices,
Hunter Water implemened its user-pays
system in 1982. This system involves a
small fixed charge based on the size of
the water pipe ($25 per year for standard
20mm residential connections), and a
usage charge based on how much water
is consumed (about $1 per kilolitre).
Hunter Water recovers most of its costs
through this pricing structure.
Over the years Hunter Water has slowly
increased water usage charges to
convey a strong conservation message.
Even before the Think Twice campaign
in the summer of 2003-04, Hunter Water
customers already used 24% less than
other urban water users in Australia.
Community awareness of water
conservation has been an important
priority for Hunter Water, especially since
the introduction of user-pays pricing
which provided an incentive for change
in behaviour. Supported by the IWRP,
Hunter Water’s community awareness
campaign has involved public relations
activities such as media, marketing,
advertising, events promotion,
publications and education.
The challenge now is for Hunter Water to
continue to involve the whole community
in the management of water resources
into the future.
Water kit . ssS . 001 . april 2010
5