From fixing pipes to upgrading ageing water meters and protecting our environment, there’s a lot that goes into delivering clean, safe drinking water and a reliable sewer service for our community.

What your bill pays for

For an average of $2.71 per day (based on an average owner occupier using 150 kilolitres per year), you get all your water for drinking, bathing, cleaning, washing, watering, and removal of wastewater (that which goes down the toilet, drains and sinks). Plus everything that makes your services possible, including: 

32%

Water supply services

Buying water from Melbourne Water, sampling it and maintaining it.

26%

Upgrades

Upgrades and building new water and sewer pipes, pumps and treatment plants

20%

Wastewater services

Remove, treat and dispose of wastewater.

22%

Operating costs

24/7 response and repairs, treat and supply recycled water and customer support.     

Usage charges for 2023-24

It’s simple. This is how much you pay for what you use.

If your water usage in 2023-24 is similar to last year, your bills will increase by around 2.98%*. While some prices have come down and others have gone up slightly, overall you’ll see a slight increase in the amount you’re paying this year.

 

* Based on an average residential owner occupier, with water usage of 150 kilolitres per year. 

 

2023-24 

price per kilolitre

2022-23

price per kilolitre

Water usage (water and sewage usage)
Step 1 (0-440 litres per day)  $3.4928 $2.6765
Step 2 (over 440 litres per day)  $4.4566 $3.4260
 
Water usage (water only)
Step 1 (0-440 litres per day) $2.7883 N/A
Step 2 (over 440 litres per day) $3.5576 N/A
 
Recycled water usage
Class A recycled water usage  $2.2082 $2.1513
A few simple changes can save bucketloads.

Here are some tips on how to save water so you’re not using and paying for more than you need.

How much is a kilolitre?

1,000 litres.

In a real world terms, a kilolitre is the equivalent of:

25 5-minute showers

222 flushes of a dual-flush toilet

7 top loader washing cycles

14 front loader washing cycles

83 dishwasher cycles (newer models)

Our 5-year customer commitment

We’ve committed to improving our services to you, while planning for the future. That includes: 

  1. Helping you save money and water
  2. Safe and reliable services
  3. More support when you need it
  4. More choice, a better experience
  5. Acting now to secure our future. 

Service charges for 2023-24

These are fixed quarterly or yearly charges which aren’t related to your usage.

  2023-24 2022-23
Water service charge
price per quarter  $21.48  $20.93
price per year  $85.93  $83.72
 
Sewerage service charge
price per quarter  $94.37  $91.94
price per year  $377.48  $367.76

Other service charges for 2023-24

We collect these on behalf of other government organisations to help support our standard of living here in Victoria. 

Parks charge

The Parks charge is now a quarterly charge, it goes towards maintaining parks, zoos, gardens and cultural sites, such as the Shrine of Remembrance, which we all enjoy as Victorians. We collect this on behalf of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).

The minimum charge is $21.21 per quarter. and is payable by all property owners. The Parks charge is a property based charge which is payable on all properties you own. The charge has been applied to water bills since 1958.

  2023-24 2022-23
Parks charge
price per quarter  $21.21  N/A
price per year  $84.84  $81.60
Want to see what Parks Victoria parks are in our area? 

Waterways and drainage charge

We collect this on behalf of Melbourne Water. The charge is invested in a number of areas, to keep our waterways healthy, protecting us from floods and ensuring new land developments don’t increase flood risks or damage the environment as Melbourne’s population grows and our suburbs expand. For more information visit Melbourne Water.

  2023-24 2022-23
Waterways and drainage charge
minimum charge per quarter  $29.54  $27.42
minimum charge per per year  $118.16  $109.68

Pricing and charges handbook

A pricing handbook that provides a list of South East Water’s prices and charges that recover the costs of delivering the services our customers value.

Planning for the future with desalinated water

Since 2016, 194 billion litres of desalinated water have boosted our supplies.

Is your bill higher than expected?

We'll help you figure out why you might have received a higher bill than you were expecting.

Check your previous usage

Have a mySouthEastWater account? Sign in or create an account to check your billing history.

Financial assistance

Whether you need support paying a bill or just handy ways to manage your payments, we're here to help.