Business pricing, fees and charges

A fixed water service charge for operating the water system which is calculated based on the size of each billable water meter connected to the property.

A water usage charge is applied to the volume of water used by an individual customer. Usage charges are calculated by a tier one charge (where <50,000 kilolitres total consumption is used during the year) followed by a zone based charge (for any consumption over 50,000 kilolitres during the year).

During periods of drought, the water usage charge will increase to reward people for saving water when it matters most and to reflect the extra costs associated with drought related activities. The drought response water usage charge will start 31 days after water storage levels fall below 60% (the “on” trigger) and will remain in place until 31 days after water storage levels rise above 70% (the “the off” trigger)

We publish current storage levels on our website and will communicate if the drought response water usage charge is to be introduced. View current water storage levels.

For zone based charges the usage price varies according to where each property is located within our area of operations and is greater than 50,000kl consumption in a year.

1 kilolitre (kL) - 1000 litres

Fixed sewer service charges fund most of the cost of operating the sewer system, and are calculated using the following equation:

(Meter connection charge by meter size x Sewer Discharge Factor %)

The Sewer Discharge Factor (SDF) represents the estimation of the proportion of water used that is discharged to sewer. A minimum sewer service charge applies to non-residential connections which is equivalent to the residential base sewer service charge of $696.78 per annum.

A sewer usage charge is applied to the volume of water used by an individual customer.

What is the Sewerage Discharge Factor percentage?

The Sewer Discharge Factor (SDF) percentage calculates fixed service and sewer usage charges for non-residential properties.

How is the SDF percentage determined?

For non-residential properties, the SDF has been broad banded into five bands. A property will fall within one of the bands based on use, which then determines the likely amount of water being discharged to the sewerage system as wastewater.

Each SDF band has an allocation midpoint. This helps keep usage charges consistent for all customers who fall within the defined band. SDF's banding methodology categorises non-residential customers and allows for varying sewer discharge volumes, even within similar business types.

A small number of large industrial customers may be required to have a dedicated meter installed to measure all wastewater discharge to the sewerage system.

Table 1 SDF categories and band midpoints

Hunter Water currently has two dual reticulation schemes, one at Gillieston Heights and the other at Thornton North (Chisholm).

In addition to the water and sewer service charges, dual reticulation customers pay a recycled water service charge and a recycled water usage charge.

If you are a business located within the catchments of our stormwater drains, the following charge applies based on your land parcel size.

To be conscious of our environment, it's important to us that additional trade wastewater is properly disposed of. Learn more about the charges involved in its disposal in our trade waste guide.

On top of our general services, we offer a mix of miscellaneous services so that we can meet the needs of all of our customers. See what additional options are available to you and their accompanying fees as stipulated by IPART.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has introduced a drought price for the first time. This means that if water storages drop below 60 per cent total capacity, the cost of water would increase from $2.89 per thousand litres to $3.39 per thousand litres.

The price increase rewards people for saving water when it matters most. While there’s a low chance of the drought price being applied, a 15 per cent reduction in water use would fully offset the costs, if it were to be introduced. The price also reflects extra costs associated with delivering water during periods of drought such as higher treatment costs associated with the operation of the Tomago Sandbeds and increased water conservation initiatives.