Your Water Bill
Your water use is measured annually between 1st July and 30th June.
Each quarter – so four times a year – Muchea Water will read your meter and send you a bill.
This bill consists of two components – your water consumption and your supply charge.
Water use is measured and billed in kilolitres (kL). One kilolitre is the equivalent of one thousand litres. You pay more or less based on how much water you use.
Water is a precious resource – so our charges are designed to help reward households who consume less of it during the course of a year.
What is tiered billing?
Tiered billing is a way of creating stepped charges that are activated only after your usage reaches a certain threshold. This means that the rate you are charged for your water increases in line with your cumulative annual water consumption.
Why are there tiers?
All the major water service providers across WA use a tiered pricing system to encourage the careful use of water. The more water you use within a year, the higher the price per kilolitre.
Tiered pricing gives you an incentive to be water-wise year-round – not just in summer.
If you use less water, you’ll end up paying less. And vice versa.
What are the thresholds?
We currently have three tiers, or stepped charges, for water use in residential properties.
Tier 1 – 0 to 425 kL
Tier 2 – 425kL to 550kL
Tier 3 – over 550kL
The cost of your water bill depends on how much water you use. The more water you use, the more you will pay. The less water you use, the less you will pay.
Your account starts in tier 1 (the lowest tier) at the beginning of your bill year. If you have moved to tier 2 or 3 within the bill year, you will revert to tier 1 when the new bill year starts on 1 July.
What is normal annual household water usage?
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average Western Australian household consumed 328 kilolitres of water in 2014-15 – this is the second highest rate in Australia.
What will happen if I’m not water wise?
In short, your bills will get bigger. Everyone starts at the same rate on 1 July each year, but the more water you use, the more you’ll be charged, which is why you might notice that the total water charge in March or June is higher than on your September or December invoices, even if you use less water.
What can change my water use?
The amount of water you use can change based on many factors:
- how many people live in your home
- the appliances you have – for example, dishwashers
- how often you use your appliances and how much water they need
- the size of your home and garden
- if you have a pool
- the season – for example, you might use more water in summer.
Are there different tiers for different properties?
All residential property owners are charged for water usage on the same basis. The pricing tiers are independent of any factors such as land size, house size, number of bathrooms, appliance choices, number of inhabitants, landscaping choices, use of a pool, etc.
In this way, a property owner who uses less water, through whatever means they choose to adopt (for example by choosing efficient appliances in the household, or making water-wise landscaping choices such as choosing native trees and shrubs over exotics, or by reducing their reticulation settings, etc.) benefits from lower water charges. Other property owners, whose housing or lifestyle choices result in higher water consumption, will see higher water charges.