City West Water has invested $120 million in vital infrastructure in the inner and western metropolitan area in the 2013-14 financial year, bringing total investment over the past five years to more than $720 million.
The investment, detailed in the City West Water Annual Report tabled in Parliament last week, is among many initiatives that have provided the community with a range of alternative water projects, upgrades to the water supply and sewerage networks, and programs to enhance the liveability of the western metropolitan area.
The implementation of these initiatives coincided with the Victorian Government’s Fairer Water Bills initiative that delivered greater operational efficiencies from the business, which were passed on to customers through lower household bills from 1 July 2014.
Total water purchased for the year remained virtually unchanged at 103.4 billion litres (2012-13 103.2 billion litres), despite a three per cent increase in customer numbers and a dry summer period. Average residential consumption per customer was lower at 155 litres of water per person per day (2012-13 157 litres per person per day).
Anne Barker, City West Water Managing Director, said the investments in infrastructure and continued low average water use are two of many highlights in a successful year for the business.
“In addition to the investment we’ve made in the community, our customers have welcomed the Victorian Government’s Fairer Water Bills initiative that provided households with a $100 reduction in their water bills from July this year”, Ms Barker said.
“We’ve worked hard to reduce the costs of running the business, and these savings have been passed on through lower water bills for households for the next four years.”
The 2013-14 financial year saw the business achieve a profit before tax of $36.1 million, lower than the $44.8 million recorded in 2012-13, but well above budget of $20.6 million.
Ms Barker said 2013-14 saw City West Water outperform many operational targets during the year, particularly in relation to restoration of water supply, and no customers experiencing more than five unplanned interruptions to their water supply despite the dry weather over summer, which tends to cause more leaks and bursts through ground movement as it dries out.
“The hot, dry summer and heavy rainfall events during the year put increased pressure on the network, but we were able to outperform many of our performance targets, which is a great result.”
Visit their annual report page for more information.