Charges Explained

City West Water bills are made up of various charges and are usually issued approximately once every 90 days, or four times per year.

From 1 July 2012, City West Water will implement new prices in its service area.

There will be no increase to prices for water, sewer and trade waste.  Prices for land development, and miscellaneous fees and charges will rise in accordance with the price endorsed by our price regulator, the Essential Services Commission.

Prices for water, sewer and trade waste reflect the decision to cancel increases of 9.6 per cent, which had been planned to take effect from 1 July 2012. By freezing prices, this will have the effect of returning money collected for the Victorian Desalination Plant to customers.

Your City West Water bill may include fixed charges for water and sewerage services, and water and sewerage charges that are based on the amount of water that you use.

If you are a tenant, you will only be billed for water and sewerage charges, provided that the property you live in has its own water meter.

We also collect the Drainage and Waterways Charge on behalf of Melbourne Water and the Parks Charge on behalf of Parks Victoria.

The charges are as follows:

Residential Charges	Price
Water Service Charge	$42.60 every 3 months
Sewerage Service Charge	$54.29 every 3 months
Water Usage Charge -Step 1 (0-440 litres per day)	$1.7854 per kilolitres
Water Usage Charge -Step 2 (440-880 litres per day)	$2.0950 per kilolitre
Water Usage Charge -Step 3 (more than 880 litres per day)	$3.0952 per kilolitre
Sewage Disposal Charge	$1.7374per kilolitre

• Why do I pay a water service charge?

  The water service charge contributes to our maintenance of the water supply network, including water mains, pumping stations and meters, to ensure a high-quality and reliable supply of water to our customers. 

• Why do I pay a sewerage service charge?

  The sewerage service charge contributes to our maintenance of the sewerage network including sewer mains, pumping stations and emergency relief structures, to ensure we can reliably transport sewage from our customers to a treatment plant for treatment and disposal.

• How do you calculate the water usage step charges?

  The amount of water that you are charged for using is caluclated using readings obtained from your water meter approximately once every 90 days.

  The amount of water recorded through the meter is divided by the number of days in the reading period to work out, on average, how much water is consumed every day.

  The first 440 litres per day are charged at the lowest step, water used between 440 and 880 litres per day is charged at the middle step and any water used over 880 litres per day is charged at the highest step.

  For example: If you used 100 kilolitres of water in 100 days, that would mean that you would be charged for 44 kilolitres at the lowest step, 44 kilolitres at the middle step and 12 kilolitres at the highest step.

• How do you calculate the sewage disposal charge?

  The sewage disposal charge is for the water that you discharge to the sewer, including water that you dispose down any inside drains, sinks, toilets, troughs and any other drains that connect to the sewer.

  The sewage disposal charge is based on the amount of water recorded through your meter, just like the water usage charge. A formula is used to calculate what percentage of the total water used, was discharged to the sewer. 

• What is the Melbourne Water Waterways and Drainage Charge?

  The Waterways Charge is billed by City West Water on Melbourne Water’s behalf and contributes to their management of waterways, drainage and floodplains. From 1 July 2012, this will increase to an annual charge of $85.08 for residences. For more information about the charge and Melbourne Water's services and projects in your local area visit www.melbournewater.com.au.

• What is the Parks Victoria Parks Charge?

  City West Water bills and collects the annual Parks Charge on behalf of Parks Victoria. This charge helps fund the purchase, development and maintenance of Melbourne’s major parks, gardens and waterways. This amount is usually charged in the July-September quarter and may be why your account, for that period, seems higher than normal. The charge for 2012-2013 is $66.80.

  For further information on the Parks Charge, call Parks Victoria on 131 963 or visit http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/.

• When do prices increase?

  Prices for water and sewerage services and consumption increase on 1 July each year.

  The money generated from these price increases will go towards funding important projects such as the desalination plant, sugarloaf pipeline and recycled water projects, that will help secure Melbourne’s water future.

  Our prices are determined by the Essential Services Commission, and have been set until 2013. See www.esc.vic.gov.au for more information.

  Our Pricing Handbook also provides more information on our pricing structure.