Sydney Water fails water conservation test - goes for cash
Thursday, 13 June 2002 10:00
Sydney Water is reaping a financial bonanza from the public as a result failing to meet crucial water conservation targets which would stop a new dam on the Shoalhaven River, latest information from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) reveals.
Total Environment Centre (TEC) Urban Campaigner Leigh Martin said "Sydney Water's performance in promoting water conservation is scandalous. Their failure to adequately reduce demand for water in Sydney is undermining the State Government's decision not to build the Welcome Reef Dam which would devastate the environment of the Shoalhaven River and cost up to a billion dollars of taxpayer funds".
Crucial demand management targets enshrined in Sydney Water's Operating Licence require the Corporation to ensure that daily per capita water consumption is reduced from 506 litres in 1991 to 364 litres in June 2005 and 329 litres in June 2010.
The targets, to be met through a combination of water saving measures such as fixing leaking water mains, promoting water efficiency and increasing the use of recycled wastewater, would eliminate the need for a new dam. Sydney Water's own figures, however, show that, following a fall in usage to 401 litres in December 1999, water consumption has risen sharply to 421.9 litres in February this year.
Alarmingly, demand From October to December 2001 was the highest for the last 10 years.
"Rather than reducing demand to meet the targets the trend is in exactly the opposite direction. It is clear that Sydney Water has dropped the ball on demand management. No doubt the Treasury are pleased, but it is short term gain, for large environment and future capital expenditure pain. To add insult to injury Sydney Water are proposing that they should not be set any demand management target for 2015", Mr Martin said.
Water prices determined by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) in 2000 were set at a level needed to ensure Sydney Water recovered its costs and remained a viable business, assuming they sold only as much water as their demand management targets required. IPART now estimates that by selling water far in excess of these targets they will receive between $35M and $72M in surplus revenue.
"That's $35-72M in revenue directly from the public that Sydney Water doesn't need. Had IPART known how much water Sydney Water would actually sell they would have set a significantly lower price for customers", Mr Martin said.
TEC has told IPART and the NSW Government that major reform is needed to Sydney Water's Operating Licence and pricing structure.
"The present system contains a massive financial incentive for failure to implement demand management. Sydney Water must not be allowed to rake in profit from the public while at the same time placing at risk the health of a major river system", Mr Martin said.
