Gladstone Area Water Board increases water charge for ratepayers connected to Lake Awoonga Scheme
Gladstone Area Water Board (GAWB) has made the decision to increase the cost of water by 16 per cent to water customers connected to the Lake Awoonga Scheme.
This increase will take the water price from $1.83 to $2.13 per kilolitre for residents in suburbs including Benaraby, Boyne Island, Calliope, Gladstone, Mount Larcom, Tannum Sands and Wurdong Heights.
Gladstone Region Mayor Matt Burnett said Council lobbied in the best interests of Lake Awoonga Scheme ratepayers, but the setting of water consumption pricing is not within Council’s control.
“GAWB charges Council a set price for the provision of bulk water services, which is then used as the pricing model for water use on rateable properties,” Councillor Burnett said.
“On 3 June this year, the Queensland Competition Authority published the pricing principles to be applied by GAWB for the 2020-2025 period, which were subsequently adopted by GAWB.
“Council prepared its 2020/21 Budget during extraordinary and challenging times and delivered a budget that resulted in Rural, Residential, Commercial and Light Industrial land categories (Rating Categories 1-16) not paying more in general rates or service charges than they did the previous financial year.
“It is disappointing GAWB have not come on this journey with us to assist ratepayers within the community who have their water sourced from Lake Awoonga.”
Council resolved at its 1 December General Meeting to write to Queensland’s new Minister for Water, Gladstone MP Glenn Butcher, to ‘request a COVID concession on the increase in water charge by GAWB to the Gladstone community and/or consider an impairment on Part B of the Queensland Competition Authority's recommendations to Gladstone Area Water Board’.
“I also took the opportunity to raise this issue with the Queensland Government Director General, Frankie Carroll, on Wednesday (2 December) and expect further discussions will be had,” Cr Burnett said.
Gladstone Region residents connected to the Miriam Vale/Bororen or Agnes Water/Seventeen Seventy water supply schemes will not experience a water consumption charge increase as Council remains committed to freezing those charges in the 2020/21 financial year.
Water consumption notices for the first half of 2020/21 will be issued to ratepayers and available to online users from 17 February 2021.
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