Making Waves Customer Newsletter - July - October 2011

WIN!

Think about

your drink

Our contract

with you

Hunter Water supplies drinking water to over half a million people throughout Newcastle and the Hunter. Not everyone knows that our drinking water comes from rivers, dams and groundwater sources. This is the fourth in a series of five short articles explaining where your drinking water comes from and how we can look after it.

Did you know that as a customer you have a customer contract with Hunter Water?

The customer contract outlines the rights and obligations of our customers as a user of Hunter Water services, including where available, water supply, recycled water supply, wastewater, trade wastewater and stormwater drainage services. It also sets out the minimum standards of customer service that customers can expect from us.

The contract is a legal requirement of the Hunter Water Act 1991 and the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has recently undertaken a periodic review of the customer contract in consultation with Hunter Water and the community. Our updated customer contract became effective from 1 July 2011.

Chichester Dam is 80 kilometres north of Newcastle.

The catchment for Chichester Dam is largely within the Barrington Tops National Park, a declared World Heritage area. As a result it is largely unspoiled with large areas unaffected by human activity. The dam is fed by Wangat River to the north and Chichester River to the north-west.

Chichester Dam provides about 35 per cent of the lower Hunter’s drinking water. The water is treated at the Dungog Water Treatment Plant. Approximately half the flow from Chichester supplies Beresfield, Thornton, Maitland and Cessnock, and the rest blends with water from Grahamstown Treatment Plant to supply the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas. Water is fed by gravity from Chichester which means it requires the lowest energy input of all sources. Water supply from Chichester Dam is used as much as possible for this reason.

Recreation in the catchment is limited to walking as there are no publically accessible roads. There is a beautiful recreation facility near the dam wall that is open each day. There are picnic and BBQ areas available amongst park-like grounds.

You can help protect the quality of water in the Chichester catchment by protecting the local environment. This includes: • Practicing responsible trekking in the areas around the dam • If you are considering any significant change in land use in the catchment please make contact with Hunter Water • Keeping livestock out of the Chichester River • Ensuring that fertilisers, pesticides or other chemicals are not used in the proximity of Chichester Dam or its tributaries.

Hunter Water believes that if we know where our water comes from we can all better help care for it.

Please call 1300 657 657 or visit www.hunterwater.com.au if you would like further advice or feel that you could make a contribution to catchment protection.

The changes that have been made to the customer contract aim to provide improved clarity and further benefits to our customers.

These changes include: • Enhanced customer service and support provisions, for example for customers experiencing financial hardship • Changes to rebates provided to customers to ensure those affected are more fairly compensated and the rebate value more fairly reflects the level of inconvenience customers experience when an incident occurs • Further clarification regarding customers’ and Hunter Water’s responsibilities for maintaining and repairing water, wastewater and stormwater systems • Other minor changes resulting from Hunter Water’s evolving operating environment, such as developments in the area of recycled water.

If you would like to view the new contract, please visit www.hunterwater.com.au or call us on 1300 657 657 to arrange for a copy to be posted to you.

Let’s talk We are committed to providing you with high quality water and wastewater services. If you have any problems with our services, we want to be the first to know.

Complete our water usage We want to survey and you could win understand how an Apple iPad 2 we can help you use 16GB WiFi* water efficiently and provide you with superior customer service.

Visit www.hunterwater.com.au to complete our survey or call 1300 657 657 to request a paper version.

• Partnering with our community • Lower Hunter Water Plan • Check your head • Shorten your shower • Continuous improvement • Noticed a change?

• Think about your drink • Our contract with you • Let’s talk

Simply contact Hunter Water so we can deal with your enquiry or complaint. We will investigate the matter and respond to your matter promptly, courteously and efficiently.

The best way to get in contact with us is to call Hunter Water on 1300 657 657*.

We are available to assist you Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. There is also a Service Fault Line 1300 657 000* that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can always visit us at one of our Customer Centres, located at our Head Office, 36 Honeysuckle Drive Newcastle, 128 Main Road Speers Point and 285 High Street Maitland.

Customer Services – 1300 657 657

Staff at Customer Centres can assist you with any enquiries related to new connections, building plan assessment, service locations and current works. Our Customer Centres also offer face-to face support with a range of enquiries for customers with special needs or those who do not have access to a telephone.

Service Fault / Emergency – 1300 657 000 Email – enquiries@hunterwater.com.au Web – www.hunterwater.com.au Hunter Water Corporation PO Box 5171 Hunter Regional Mail Centre NSW 2310

You might like to visit our website www.hunterwater.com.au where you’ll find a range of information on our services, operations, major projects, publications, education programs and many other interesting facts. You can also send enquiries to us 24 hours a day via our ‘contact us’ web facility.

Our customer newsletter is distributed three times a year with your bill and we welcome your feedback. You can forward your comments to enquiries@hunterwater.com.au * Calls from your home phone to 1300 numbers are charged at a fixed rate.

That rate may vary from the price of a local call and may also vary between telephone service providers.

*NSW Permit No. LTPS/11/05362. Promotion ends 3pm AEST 07/11/11. See website for terms and conditions.

HWC0048

Hunter Water’s customer newsletter July – October 2011

Partnering with

our community Each year we support lower Hunter organisations in their water efficiency, environmental, catchment management or social initiatives through the Hunter Water Community Funding Program.

Lower Hunter

Water Plan

A new water plan is being developed to secure our region’s water supplies in drought and for the future.

Planning is underway for a new Lower Hunter Water Plan, which is being developed by the Metropolitan Water Directorate of NSW Department of Finances and Services in collaboration with Hunter Water.

The plan will consider a range of options to secure our region’s water supply, including demand management, recycling, stormwater harvesting, desalination and surface water and groundwater sources.

It will be developed in consultation with the community and reviewed by an Independent Advisory Panel including local water experts. This will ensure that whatever the outcome, it will be the best solution for the lower Hunter community.

In the meantime Hunter Water will continue to focus on water efficiency and recycling initiatives, and delivering safe and reliable water and wastewater services to the lower Hunter region.

Our water levels can drop faster than most other major Australian urban centres during drought because we have shallow water storages and high evaporation rates.

We need to look at solutions that can help the lower Hunter make it through a drought without running out of water.

We also need to think long term to make sure we can meet the water supply needs of our growing local community, which is predicted to increase by an extra 160,000 people by 2031.

What about water efficiency measures?

The lower Hunter has a strong track record in water conservation with one of the lowest, unrestricted water use levels in Australia.

The Hunter community saved over four billion litres of water last year through water efficiency and recycling initiatives.

With your help, we will continue our water saving efforts as the Lower Hunter Water Plan is developed and look at options to do more.

However, water efficiency and recycling measures alone may not be enough in drought. A new Lower Hunter Water Plan will help identify the right balance of supply and demand options.

Why do we need a new water plan?

Will the community be involved?

The lower Hunter region was fortunate to escape the recent drought that affected most of the country but we are not immune. Historically there has been a major drought in the region every 20 to 25 years. The last drought was in the 1980s.

The Lower Hunter Water Plan will be developed in consultation with the community and stakeholders. An Independent Advisory Panel, including local water experts, will also review the plan.

The water supply in the lower Hunter is highly vulnerable to drought – our dams fill quickly but they empty quickly as well.

This fair and transparent process will ensure that whatever the outcome, it will be the best solution for the lower Hunter community and securing our water future.

This Program invests in a range of initiatives delivering direct benefits to the lower Hunter community. Our grant recipients for 2011–12 were recently announced and include aged care facilities, schools, sports clubs, community gardens, councils and other not-for-profit organisations. The following are just a few examples of the projects that will make a difference in our local community throughout the next year, thanks to the Community Funding Program.

Anglican Care has developed a ‘Water Wise, Life Wise’ program to upgrade the toilet amenities in two of their older aged care facilities in Booragul. This program will provide direct water savings and a reduction of water consumption in a communal living environment with over 500,000 litres expected to be saved this year.

St Pius X High School will be undertaking a ‘Reduce Quantity, Improve Quality’ project by installing a Stormwater Quality Improvement Device.

This will ensure the sustainable use of water as a natural resource and aim to minimise the ecological footprint of St Pius. The school will design and implement a water program within an existing onsite wetland, bringing together students and community environmental groups to create a haven for native species by capturing and filtering stormwater runoff on the school’s site.

NuSport will run a ‘Healthier Schools’ program which offers a diverse range of Learn to Swim and Royal Life Saving activities for students from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Approximately 3,500 children will participate throughout the year and the program is based around the Royal Life Saving national program of ‘Swim and Survive’. The program will also teach students the importance of providing environmentally friendly water solutions and encourage water saving practices by educating children at an early age.

our services

Noticed a

If you have been to our website recently you may have noticed a big change in how things look!

We have launched a new website with a fresh design and improved navigation, as well as new features and benefits for our customers. Changes to the way you move around the site were developed to make it easier for customers to navigate. You’ll find Quick Links and Frequently Asked Questions across the site providing you with the answers at your fingertips.

Online forms have made it quicker and easier for you to make changes to your address, make an online enquiry or request a past copy of your bill. So why not take a few minutes to visit the new site and see what information, programs or events could be relevant to you. www.hunterwater.com.au

Check your

head!

Did you realise you could possibly save up to 30,000 litres of water a year just by replacing your showerhead?* Since February over 1700 water guzzling showerheads have been replaced with new three-star WELS rated showers, as part of the Hunter Water showerhead exchange program.

For more information on the Community Funding Program, please visit www.hunterwater.com.au/Community

change?

St Pius X School Captains (L-R): Lily Ryan, Rachael Scott, Lachlan Young and Nicholas Daskalovski

Continuous improvement of

Construction on the Burwood Beach Wastewater Treatment Works

Hunter Water, through its four-year major capital works program, is making significant gains in improving services for our customers and protecting the local environment.

In 2010–11, we continued to deliver on our promise to upgrade and replace our existing water and wastewater systems through our capital works program. These works are part of Hunter Water’s long term commitment to providing a clean, reliable water service for our community.

Key works undertaken include: • The Hunter Treatment Alliance has so far completed $100 million worth of work since March 2009, with construction completed on three of Hunter Water’s wastewater treatment plants – Burwood Beach, Branxton and Paxton.

• Significant improvements were undertaken to the water supply system in Dungog and Port Stephens with the construction of two new reservoirs.

• The commissioning of two critical water distribution pipelines at Ash Island and Shortland, ensuring water security for the lower Hunter.

• Improving the wastewater transfer system by installing new sewermains and upgrading a number of wastewater pump stations across Maitland and Morpeth.

• Constructing a new sewerage system for over 400 Clarence Town properties.

This work is part of Hunter Water’s largest ever investment of $700 million in infrastructure projects including pipes, mains, pumps, reservoirs, treatment plants, sewers and water recycling facilities.

During the next 12 months, Hunter Water plans to undertake substantial water supply upgrades in Cessnock and Lochinvar, improve the wastewater systems in inner-Newcastle suburbs such as Mayfield, Broadmeadow and Adamstown, as well as continue to plan for the construction of Hunter Water’s largest ever recycled water project – the Kooragang Industrial Water Scheme.

The showerhead exchange program was a joint effort between Hunter Water and lower Hunter councils, where customers were encouraged to detach their old showerheads and swap them for either a standard water efficient showerhead, free of charge, or a premium model for $40.

Key to the success of the exchange program has been the quality of the showerheads available, with the standard model coming second in a 2007 Choice magazine’s review of water efficient shower heads, and the premium model coming first.

The water savings delivered to the community have also been substantial, with a standard showerhead running at 15–25 litres per minute, compared to the standard water efficient model at nine litres per minute and the premium at 7.5 litres per minute.

If you missed out on a showerhead exchange this time stay tuned for more information as we will be running further exchanges later in the year.

Keep an eye on www.hunterwater.com.au for details. *Based on a household averaging 2.3 showers per day of seven minute duration saving five litres per minute over one year.

Shorten your shower and

save on power Winter is here which for most families means a spike in their energy bills.

Hot water takes up a large portion of the total energy used in a home, with long, hot showers being the main offender.

This winter, save money, power and water by cutting your time in the shower by at least one minute.

If a family of four, who showered once a day each, cut their shower time by one minute each, they could save 36 litres of water per day*, or 13,100 litres in a year! So this winter, help reduce your bills and your carbon footprint by showering for at least one minute less. *Based on a shower with nine litres per minute flow rate.