Water rate notices are issued during April and October. From the date of the notice, you have 33 days to pay or enter into a payment arrangement with us. A 10% discount is applied to the water infrastructure charge if the water rate notice is paid by the due date. 

Each year, Council reviews its pricing schedule to ensure there are adequate funds to support the ongoing maintenance of the comprehensive water supply network. The Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) assists Council in this price determination process.

How your water rate notice is calculated

The charges on your notice can look complex and be difficult to understand. So to help you, we've provided an explanation about the standard items that make up your notice and how these are calculated to get your total amount.

Your water rate notice is split into two different types of charges; a water consumption charge and a water infrastructure charge. These combined charges cover the costs related to water supply such as operating costs, maintenance, upgrade and expansion costs and depreciation. This pricing approach is widely used by Councils.

  1. Water consumption charge: To encourage responsible use of water, consumption is scaled so that the more water you use, the more you pay. Consumption is charged per kilolitre and divided into two tiers each 6 month period. The water consumption charge not only recovers the variable cost of operating the water network, including water treatment and delivering water to your property, but also contributes to funding the fixed costs to establish, operate, maintain, plan and upgrade our large network of water infrastructure. 
  2. Water infrastructure charge: The water infrastructure charge is a fixed charge and is charged each 6 month period. It applies to all properties within the defined water area. This charge contributes to funding the fixed costs to establish, operate, maintain, plan and upgrade our vast network of water infrastructure in providing water supply services to the community. More information about infrastructure projects can be found on our water & waste projects page. 

We have two main water supply schemes; bulk water supply scheme and non-bulk water supply scheme. These schemes receive water from different sources. Because of this, the cost of operating the supplies is different, and this is reflected in our water rates pricing (residents using the non-bulk water supply scheme pay less for the water service).

The bulk water supply scheme uses a complex water system with unique challenges and our water costs reflect this (e.g. the need to pump water uphill and supply a vast Council area).

  1. Bulk water supply scheme. This includes the City of Toowoomba as well as the towns and localities of Birnam, Blue Mountain Heights, Cabarlah, Cawdor, Charlton, Cotswold Hills, Crows Nest, Geham, Glenvale, Goombungee, Gowrie Junction, Gowrie Mountain, Grapetree, Hampton, Highfields, Hodgson Vale, Jondaryan, Kingsthorpe, Kleinton, Lilyvale, Meringandan, Meringandan West, Merritts Creek, Mount Rascal, Oakey, Pechey, Preston, Spring Bluff, Top Camp, Torrington, Wellcamp, Westbrook, Woolmer, Wyreema.
  2. Non-bulk water supply scheme. This includes a variety of services in Cambooya, Cecil Plains, Clifton, Greenmount, Haden, Kulpi, Millmerran, Nobby, Pittsworth, Vale View and Yarraman.

Visit where our water comes from for more information. 

All properties in the water area have been categorised as residential or non-residential and the price you pay for water will depend on the type of property you have. Residential properties include dwellings, flats, home units and vacant land. Non-residential properties include shops, warehouses, office blocks, schools, hotels and shopping centres.

We have included an example of half-yearly pricing for a household with a 20mm diameter meter below. Larger water meter sizes e.g. 25mm, 30mm, 40mm etc. are charged higher water infrastructure charges but also have a higher first tier maximum consumption limit. 

The prices for all water infrastructure and water consumption charges can be found in the Special Meeting to consider the Adoption of the 2024/25 Operational Plan, Budget and Revenue Statement.

Residential

Non-bulk water supply scheme

Normal water service connection size: 20mm

Infrastructure charge: $261.34 (half year), before discount

First tier maximum consumption limit: 100kL (half year)

Tier charges:

  • First tier: $2.26/kL
  • Second tier: $3.84/kL

Bulk water supply scheme

Normal water service connection size: 20mm

Infrastructure charge: $373.06 (half year), before discount

First tier maximum consumption limit: 100kL (half year)

Tier charges:

  • First tier: $2.99/kL
  • Second tier: $5.09/kL

Non residential

Non-bulk water supply scheme

Normal water service connection size: 20mm

Infrastructure charge: $287.48 (half year), before discount

First tier maximum consumption limit: 100kL (half year)

Tier charges:

  • First tier: $2.49/kL
  • Second tier: $4.22/kL

Bulk water supply scheme

Normal water service connection size: 20mm

Infrastructure charge: $410.35 (half year), before discount

First tier maximum consumption limit: 100kL (half year)

Tier charges:

  • First tier: $3.29/kL
  • Second tier: $5.60/kL


FAQs

 

If your water usage is higher than expected, it may be due to one of the reasons below. Receiving your water notice is often a good prompt to review your water use habits. Check out our water-saving tips to help reduce your water consumption, and save money!

Number of days of water usage

Your water rate notice may vary slightly each half-year due to the number of days in between meter readings. You can calculate your daily usage by taking the number of kilolitres used and dividing that by the number of days in the billed period (check the dates on your bill). You can then do the same for the previous bill to compare if there has been a change in water use.

The season

Water use may increase during the warmer, drier months particularly if you have been watering a garden or lawn. Keep this in mind when comparing your current daily usage to the usage during the previous billing period.

Change in household size

If the number of people in your household has changed since the last billing period, your water use will probably change too. Even short term visitors can cause a variation in water usage.

Automatic watering

It's easy to forget your automatic watering system and it could be using water that is not required.

Home renovations or improvements

During building renovations or other home improvements such as a newly laid lawn, your water consumption may increase.

New appliances or fittings

Your water use might have increased if you have installed new appliances or fittings such as a dishwasher, washing machine, evaporative air-conditioner, irrigation, shower heads or taps.

Leaks

Leaks can occur anywhere on your property and may not always be able to be seen. Find out more about how to identify leaks and how to do a water meter leak test in our 'Water leaks' article.

 

Once all necessary paperwork for the sale of the house has been processed by the solicitors,the documents are lodged with Titles Qld to change the name on the title deed for the property. Titles Qld will then inform us of the change of ownership.

The solicitors should organise for the meter to be read at the time of settlement to allow for adjustments to be made for water usage. This allows for the calculation of the proportion of water rates (made up of water consumption charges and infrastructure charge) that should be adjusted on settlement day.

Water rates on change of property ownership

In most cases when a property goes through settlement the solicitors will do an adjustment to accommodate water charges. We do not adjust water consumption charges, and the current property owner will always receive the notice, even when the usage was from the previous owner. This is why in most cases, dependent on the solicitor, an adjustment is made at settlement. These adjustments can usually be found in the settlement statement. Otherwise, you can contact your solicitor to discuss the breakdown of water charges.

Sometimes when settlement occurs during the rates issue period the notice is issued to the previous owner. If this occurs, contact us and we can check the status of the change of ownership.

If you are interested in learning more about the technical aspects of water pricing, the following white papers are available for review.

Water pricing - explaining water charges

Water pricing - how are water charges reviewed?


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