Prices and charges
Much like the plumbing in your home, most of what we do you’ll never see.
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 $2.65 per day (based on an owner occupier using 150,000 litres 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:
36%
Water supply services
Buying water from Melbourne Water, sampling it and maintaining it.
25%
Upgrades
Upgrades and building new water and sewer pipes, pumps and treatment plants
20%
Wastewater services
Remove, treat and dispose of wastewater.
19%
Operating costs
24/7 response and repairs, treat and supply recycled water and customer support.
Usage Charges for 2022-23
It’s simple. This is how much you pay for what you use.
If your water usage in 2022-23 is similar to last year, your bills will remain stable. While some prices have come down and others have gone up slightly, overall you’re paying a similar amount for your services this year.
With stable bills, we’re still investing in the future to deliver major projects that extend the life and efficiency of the networks that keep your services running
| Water usage | Price per kilolitre |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 (0-440 litres per day) | $2.7165 |
| Tier 2 (over 440 litres per day) | $3.4660 |
| Sewage disposal | Price per kilolitre |
|---|---|
| Sewage disposal charge | $0.9444 |
| Recycled water usage | Price per kilolitre |
|---|---|
| Class A recycled water usage charge | $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 five-year customer commitment
We’re proud to be supporting our customers with reliable services and stable pricing as we deliver against the areas you told us you value the most.
- Get the basics right, always
- Make my experience better
- Warn me, inform me
- Fair and affordable for all
- Support my community, protect my environment
Service charges for 2022-23
These are fixed quarterly or yearly charges which aren’t related to your usage.
| Price per quarter | Price per year | |
|---|---|---|
| Water service charge | $20.93 | $83.72 |
| Sewerage service charge | $91.94 | $367.76 |
Other service charges for 2022-23
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 a once a year charge, it goes towards maintaining parks, zoos, gardens and cultural sites, such as the Shrine of Remembrance, we all enjoy as Victorians. We collect this on behalf of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP),
The minimum charge is $81.60, 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 on water bills since 1958.
| Parks charge | Price per year |
|---|---|
| Minimum charge in 2022-23 | $81.60 |
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.
| Waterways and drainage charge | Price per quarter |
|---|---|
| Minimum charge 2022-23 | $27.42 |
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.