Account charges explained - Residential water pricing
Yarra Valley Water provides water and sewerage services to over 1.6 million people living and working in Melbourne's northern and eastern suburbs. The following is an explanation of our charges for the provision of these services.
The charges reflect the present cost of providing such services, and are also an important source of revenue for investment in the infrastructure, which supports them.
Customers connected to water and sewer pay:
Fixed service charges for the provision of water and sewerage services.
Usage charges based on the volume of water and sewage that you use as measured by your property meter.
Other charges - the Waterways and Drainage Charge / Waterways Charge and Parks Charge are collected on behalf of other authorities.
View the Account Charges (PDF 431KB) applicable from 1 July 2008.
It is important to not only understand your account charges, but also recognise your water consumption. Click here to follow simple steps on how to determine why you are using the volume of water as shown on your account.
Fixed service charges
The fixed service charges for residential customers are:
These charges are billed every three months along with your water usage charges.
Usage charges
Usage charges consist of two separate charges - Water Usage and Sewage Disposal. They are charges for how much water you use and how much sewage you dispose of.
Water usage - the block tariff system
In line with Our Water Our Future, the State Government's action plan to secure our water supplies for the next 50 years, Yarra Valley Water uses a three tier block tariff to encourage customers to become more water efficient. The word block used here relates to the pricing tariffs applied to your water use, it has nothing to do with actual property or house block.
An example of how this works:
If you use less than 440 litres per day you will pay $1.0192 per kilolitre on that amount of water.
If you use over 440 litres per day you will move up into the next block of pricing and will pay $1.1957 per kilolitre over 440 litres until you reach 880 litres a day.
When your water use increases beyond 880 litres per day, each litre of water in this block will be billed at $1.7666 per kilolitre. The diagram below also illustrates this block tariff system.
You can see that the more water you use, the more expensive the water becomes. There are many simple and very effective ways to save water click here to visit the saving water page.
Block tariffs are seen as the fairest and most effective way to price water to encourage conservation, while recognising the need to provide water for essential domestic use at an affordable price.
The amount of water that you use is calculated by reading your meter. This occurs approximately every three months.
| 1 |
0 - 440 |
$1.0192 per kilolitre |
| 2 |
440 - 880 |
$1.1957 per kilolitre |
| 3 |
More than 880 |
$1.7666 per kilolitre |
Sewage Disposal Charge
Sewage is much more than what gets flushed down the toilet. It includes everything that goes down the kitchen, laundry and bathroom sinks as well as trade waste from industry.
The residential sewage disposal charge is $1.3181 per kilolitre. The charge is for the estimated volume of sewage that is disposed into the sewerage system.
What does the Sewage Disposal Charge cover?
The sewage disposal charge covers the transport, treatmeant and disposal of sewage, which is an extensive and costly process. Once sewage reaches a treatment plant, any waste products other than domestice sewage such as grease or oils must be separated.
These waste products must be pumped out and relocated to a registered waste disposal site. The remaining sewage is treated biologically, and then filtered over a bed of sand or stones, then finally disinfected using ultra-violet light.
Why not physically meter the volume of sewage discharged?
It is technically difficult to meter the volume of sewage discharged, and it is also very expensive. Therefore we estimate the volume based on the amount of water supplied to your property as measured by your water meter, minus a percentage estimated for water used outside.
Waterways and Drainage Charge
Melbourne Water is responsible for the management of waterways, drainage and floodplains. To date these services have been funded through a drainage rate. For existing customers this is now called the Waterways and Drainage Charge and is billed by Yarra Valley Water on Melbourne Water's behalf.
Some customers will see the charge on their account for the first time as Melbourne Water's area of responsibility has been extended. For these customers it will appear on the account as the Waterways Charge.
Both charges are levied on property owners and the funds are used to protect and improve our catchments and to upgrade the drainage infrastructure.
Catchments are geographic areas that drain rainwater run-off from land into a river or stream. Eventually, these drain into the ocean, or, in the case of Melbourne, into Port Phillip Bay or Western Port.
No matter where a property is located, the run-off from its surfaces inevitably ends up in the drainage system and our rivers and creeks.
Land development, such as clearing properties and constructing houses, roads and other impervious surfaces, alters the stormwater run-off within an area. This, in turn, puts added pressure on drains and waterways to cope with increased flows over shorter periods of time and can further lead to erosion and flooding problems. In addition, increases in litter, chemical, nutrient and sediment loads in waterways can be attributed to development within a catchment.
Therefore, all properties in the catchment pay a contribution towards the maintenance of this system, which is the fairest approach given that everyone in the catchment benefits.
The Waterways and Drainage Charge / Waterways Charge is not for supplying drainage services to individual properties. This is typically a local council or landowner responsibility.
The revenue is used to protect and improve our rivers, creeks and bays. Major projects include:
- the construction of wetlands to improve the health of Port Phillip Bay
- riverbank re-vegetation
- improving habitat for native fish, platypus and frogs
- managing and improving larger, regional drainage infrastructure
- flood protection including flood mapping and reducing flood risk
- infrastructure to service urban growth
- works to protect and improve water quality through improved storm water management
How is the rate set?
There have been changes to how this rate is calculated as well as an expansion of the area in which it applies.
For properties within the Urban Growth Boundaries the charge will be called the Waterways and Drainage Charge.
The Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) clearly defines where development can and cannot occur. It supports the orderly development of land, discourages the unnecessary extension of infrastructure and helps preserve the highly valued open spaces, farming, conservation and recreation areas.
Properties outside the UGB are considered rural and will be called the Waterways Charge. The difference in name is to reflect the different levels of service received.
Rateable properties in the new area and all rural properties are subject to a flat charge based on occupancy. The amount of the charge depends on whether properties are classified residential, non-residential or rural.
| Residential (inside UGB) |
$0.83 in $NAV (minimum $62.08) |
| Non-residential (inside UGB) |
$0.87 in $NAV (minimum $81.38) |
| Rural (outside UGB) |
$38.89 |
Are there changes to the charge basis for existing areas?
Yes, but not until 2012/13.
The Waterways and Drainage Charge for property owners in the existing area will continue to be based on the Net Annual Value of properties until that time. The rate in 2008/09 is $0.83 cents per dollar of NAV.
The majority of residential customers in the existing area pay the minimum amount of $62.08 a year.
Beginning 2012/13, the charge basis will be as follows:
Residential properties
Melbourne Water will apply occupancy charges for all residential properties within the existing boundary area from the beginning of the financial year 2012/13. Therefore, Yarra Valley Water will retain the basis we currently apply for billing Waterway and Drainage Charges to existing residential properties until the end of the financial year 2011/12.
Non-residential properties
Melbourne Water plans to retain property values as the basis for charging non-residential properties within the old boundary area for the duration of the 2008 Water Plan period until 2013. Therefore there is no change to the way non-residential properties within the old boundary area are to be charged.
Rural properties
Residential properties
The occupancy based charge applies for residential properties built after 1 July 2008.
Non-residential properties
Consistent with charging arrangements for existing non-residential properties, the current basis used by Yarra Valley Water to bill Waterway and Drainage Charges will be retained over the 2008 Water Plan period and applied to new non-residential properties within the existing boundary area.
Rural properties
All new rural properties will pay the minimum rural charge from 1 July 2008.