Williamtown Water

Your Water Bill

If you are a customer within the Williamtown Management Area and are connected to Hunter Water's drinking water network, you will be issued with a copy of your water bills for your personal records.

Hunter Water has a customer contract requirement to inform you of your water usage patterns. A cover letter is attached with each bill to explain why you are receiving a copy.

To be clear, there is no expectation for customers in the Williamtown Management Area to pay, as the Department of Defence has committed to paying the water bills for three years. Hunter Water is confident this commitment will be honoured. We will not pursue collection of payment from customers for the duration of this commitment.

Hunter Water will continue to communicate with you, including at the start of each new billing cycle. In line with our billing cycle, you will receive three bills every year, with each one covering a period of four months.

Billing cycles are:

• 1 July to 31 October
• 1 November to 28 February
• 1 March to 30 June

If you have not yet completed a Payment Authorisation Form, please ensure you do so to further assist with the Department of Defence's commitment to pay your water bill on your behalf. Without this paperwork, payment is delayed as Hunter Water is legally unable to provide a copy of your bill to Defence for payment.

If you need any further information, or would like to confirm your contact details, please email here or call Hunter Water during business hours on 1300 657 657.

Project Overview

Hunter Water is providing a water reticulation scheme to approximately 350 properties within the Williamtown Management Area, as defined by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

The scheme is funded by the Commonwealth Government and will provide access to safe drinking water for eligible properties.

The scheme includes the installation of over 14 km of new watermains in the Salt Ash area and Fullerton Cove area, as well as domestic plumbing works to directly connect individual homes and businesses to the reticulated water supply.

Properties that are being connected under the project include residences, businesses, a primary school, a commercial area, and community and tourism facilities.

PFAS

For information on PFAS and Hunter Water see PFAS. For information about the drinking water supply see water quality.

Contact Us

For more information please contact the Project Team by email or call 1300 657 657 during business hours. For after-hours emergencies call 1300 657 000.

Properties outside of the Management Area

Properties outside of the Management Area cannot be connected to the water supply as part of this funded project.

However, property owners outside the Management Area do have the option of funding their own connection to the water supply. The cost to the property owner will vary depending upon the proximity of the mains to a suitable water main and other factors.

The new water mains being installed as part of funded project will bring access to Hunter Water's supply closer to many properties.

If you are interested in connecting your property which is outside the Management Area, please call Customer Contact on 1300 657 657.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions will be updated based on questions asked by the community. The current list of questions is available on our fact sheet FAQ Fact Sheet.

If you need information about site containment backflow prevention, please see our Williamtown Backflow Prevention Fact Sheet.

Williamtown Management Area

The Williamtown Management Area has been defined by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and replaces the former Williamtown Investigation Area.

To see a map of the Williamtown Management Area, please go to the EPA website under RAAF Base PFAS contamination.

Updated Hunter Water project maps, based on potential new connections within EPA boundaries, have been developed to guide our reticulation activities in the expanded management area. These are available for download below (nb large files over 2mb).

• Potential connections -Whole Management Area
• Potential connections - Salt Ash properties
• Potential connections - Fullerton Cove properties

Private Property Connections

Approximately 350 properties are being connected to the Hunter Water supply as part of the project with over 190 already complete. Properties span a range of residential, business and community land uses. 

Each property has unique domestic plumbing works required and Hunter Water is working with each property owner to meet their requirements.

The Commonwealth Government is covering the cost of the private plumbing work, and Hunter Water is coordinating the process in order to make connections more streamlined and cost effective for owners. The works are being undertaken by a panel of plumbing contractors.

Property owners may choose to connect the new water supply directly to their existing system or to an external tap or tank. All properties will be assessed for backflow prevention requirements.

Property owners who have already connected as part of the project and who have incurred costs for plumbing are asked to keep their receipts and call the RAAF Base Williamtown Environmental Investigation on 1800 011 443.

Process for Connection

Eligible property owners have bee

If you have a property within the Management Area, and you have already called or emailed Hunter Water to advise you are interested in connecting,  we will contact you to make arrangements for the installation. This will include meeting at your property with a project plumber to determine the connection that best suits your needs. 

For an overview of the process for installing pipework on your property, please see the Customer Connection Process Flowchart.

Some properties may require additional backflow prevention. For more information regarding backflow prevention, please see the Backflow Prevention FAQ.

If you have a specific timing needs, please call to let us know.

Watermain Construction Update

The project involves the construction of over 14 km of new water mains infrastructure in Salt Ash and Fullerton Cove.

Over 9km has already been constructed in Salt Ash residential streets and Nelson Bay Road, and we are currently appointing a contractor to complete the additional mains work required to service the expanded Management Area.

Underground pipework is being taken from the water main up to the boundaries of all eligible properties to enable connection as part of the current project, or later at the convenience of property owners.

Management and handling of soil and groundwater is being undertaken in accordance with an approved Project Management Plan, and includes a testing regime. We are carefully restoring construction sites on public and private property.

If you have any questions or concerns about the work on-site please call Hunter Water on 1300 657 657. For after-hours emergencies call 1300 657 000.

Latest News

Your Water Bill

If you are a customer within the Williamtown Management Area and are connected to Hunter Water's drinking water network, you will be issued with a copy of your water bills for your personal records.

Hunter Water has a customer contract requirement to inform you of your water usage patterns. A cover letter is attached with each bill to explain why you are receiving a copy.

To be clear, there is no expectation for customers in the Williamtown Management Area to pay, as the Department of Defence has committed to paying the water bills for three years. Hunter Water is confident this commitment will be honoured. We will not pursue collection of payment from customers for the duration of this commitment.

Hunter Water will continue to communicate with you, including at the start of each new billing cycle. In line with our billing cycle, you will receive three bills every year, with each one covering a period of four months.

Billing cycles are:

• 1 July to 31 October
• 1 November to 28 February
• 1 March to 30 June

If you have not yet completed a Payment Authorisation Form, please ensure you do so to further assist with the Department of Defence's commitment to pay your water bill on your behalf. Without this paperwork, payment is delayed as Hunter Water is legally unable to provide a copy of your bill to Defence for payment.

If you need any further information, or would like to confirm your contact details, please email here or call Hunter Water during business hours on 1300 657 657.

Management Area

We are currently initiating activities to expand the project within the expanded Management Area, as announced by the EPA in November 2017. 

The first connections as part of the expanded works were made in January 2018 on Fullerton Cove Road. We are also completing the final private plumbing works in Salt Ash from the investigation phase.

Current activities:

• Planning for new water mains construction in Salt Ash and Fullerton Cove
• Connection of over 50 properties on Fullerton Cove Rd  near an existing watermain
• Site visits to properties within the expanded area
• Final plumbing and restoration works on earlier Salt Ash properties.
• Temporary water supply (tank top ups) for those yet to be connected to town water. 

Temporary Water Supply for Williamtown Management Area Residents

On behalf of the NSW Government, Hunter Water is helping residents in the Williamtown Management Area who are not yet connected to reticulated water by providing water to fill their rainwater tanks during the interim period. 

We are prioritising requests to fill up tanks for domestic use (eg water for showering, bathing, washing clothes).

For more information or to arrange for a water delivery for your rainwater tank please call Hunter Water on 1300 657 657 or email williamtown@hunterwater.com.au.