MEDIA RELEASE 11 April 2007

Residents wise up to water bills.

Water restrictions and plunging dam levels around the state have got Fraser Coast residents thinking carefully about the way they use water.

One man who gets more feedback in this area than most is Wide Bay Water Corporation's water billing coordinator Bruce Yarrow.

"We are definitely getting more questions and queries from residents now than a few years ago," he said. "I guess the water crisis in Brisbane combined with level 3.1 restrictions in Hervey Bay has got people thinking about ways to save water. People are not just looking at the number of dollars on their bill, they're looking at the number of litres used."

Mr Yarrow said paying close attention to your water bill was an excellent way to monitor your usage.

To work out your household's daily usage simply count the number of days from the "Last Reading" to "This Reading" on your water bill. Then take a note of the number of KLs (kilolitres used). Divide the KLs by the number of days. This will give you your daily usage in kilolitres. Multiply it by 1000 to convert it to litres.

"Some people find kilolitres confusing," said Bruce. "A kilolitre is simply 1000 litres. I tell people who are not used to metric to picture five 44-gallon drums filled with water. That’s approximately a kilolitre."

WBWC charges residents 94 cents per kilolitre.

Bruce says that water usage among Hervey Bay's households varies considerably.

"Some households in Hervey Bay are using as little as 250 litres per day while others are clocking up 3000 or even 4000 litres per day."

He says residents who can't account for their usage may have a leak.

"It could be that there's a split pipe below ground level," said Bruce. "People won't necessarily be able to see it from ground level because the water could just drain away, particularly in sandy areas."

He said an overnight test was a good way to check for a leak. Simply record your meter reading before you go to bed and then compare it with a reading the next morning (just make sure no-one uses the water during the night). If it's higher then you probably have a leak.

However, Bruce says people might find it easier to do a check during the day.

"If you're going out for a few hours take a note of the reading, making sure you write down the whole number. Check it again when you come back and if the number has increased well then you might have a leak."

Hervey Bay remains on Level 3.1 restrictions which means that all sprinklers, irrigation systems and soaker hoses are banned; hosing of driveways and paved areas is banned and all hand-held hosing is banned between 8am and 4pm except for the washing of vehicles and boats with a working trigger nozzle and for the flushing of boat motors.

Lake Lenthall, the reservoir for the city's water supply, is currently at 66%. Musket Flat, the lake's catchment area, has received no rain in the last week.

To work out your household's daily usage simply count the number of days from the "Last Reading" to "This Reading"
on your water bill. Then take a note of the number of KLs (kilolitres used). Divide the KLs by the number of days. This will give you your daily usage in kilolitres. On this sample there are 100 days from Last Reading (07/02/2006) and This Reading (16/05/2006). Sixty-one kilolitres were used so 61divided by 100 equals 0.61KL per day. To get the figure in litres multiply it by 1000 which means 610 litres are used daily.

For more details phone Denis Heron, Wide Bay Water Corporation on 1300 808 888.