Water fees might drop

WITH water restrictions in force in many areas it is reasonable to assume that the cost of water usage by Defence Force members in service residences will fall. That’s the message to ADF members from Assistant Director of Housing Policy Peter Redston.

However, Mr Redston said it was not possible at this stage to determine with any accuracy the amount by which the use, and therefore the cost, would drop.

He said a more accurate picture of the effect on costs would emerge when the annual review of water charges was conducted next March-April.

“Many members have asked questions as to why they are paying ‘excess water charges’ during periods of water restrictions,” Mr Redston said. “There are two aspects to this matter: what the water charge covers and the probable effect of water restrictions on water usage.”

He said the MQ excess water deduction on members’ salary variation advices was recently amended to MQ water contribution.

“The reason for this name change is more than cosmetic. The title of the deduction now reflects the actual nature of the deduction,” he said.

When the flat-rate water usage charge was introduced for members occupying service residences in 1986, the deduction was based on the actual amount of excess water charges incurred by members. In recent years, however, most water supply agencies have moved to a user-pays system.

“Typically, water usage is now billed on a sliding scale of charges, with the amount payable increasing when water usage exceeds a set level,” Mr Redston said

“The Defence Housing Authority, as the owner/manager of service residences, pays all the water charges in the first instance and recovers only that amount from Defence that represents actual water usage by members.”

He said Defence recovered that amount by means of an averaged charge that reflected the water consumption in service residences nationally.

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