Drinking water quality and treated effluent discharges into waterways improved in 2018-19, according to a report from the Tasmanian Economic Regulator tabled in Parliament on Thursday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In the Report on the State of the Water and Sewerage Industry, the regulator noted complaints about water quality had dropped markedly due to TasWater's ability to achieve 100 per cent microbiological compliance for the first time.
There were 2648 complaints received.
IN OTHER NEWS:
But the organisation was not as strong in the reliability of water supply with a high number of service interruptions and water main breaks over the year, mainly due to the age and condition of infrastructure.
Twenty-five of TasWater's plants achieved a high level of compliance with discharge over 2018-19.
Thirteen of the state's 79 plants were substantially non-compliant, however.
TasWater's water losses remained very high over the year with 26 per cent of treated water being unaccounted for.
Water losses were 313 litres per connection each day.
TasWater's capital expenditure over the year was $129 million, well below the $145 million that the organisation budgeted to spend.
The regulator noted Tasmanian bills for water and sewerage services were typically lower than mainland bills, although they increased by 4.1 per cent in 2018-19.
The typical household bill for TasWater's 209,571 customers was $1204.
There were 4060 customers repaying a debt over 2018-19.
The average debt amount was $1203.
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor: