31 January 2007

What's good for the goose...

| Ralph
Join the conversation
20

It seems there are double standards on the part of the ACT Government when it comes to water use. While we are continually lectured churlishly about our need to save water, it seems that none of this applies when it comes to Stanhope’s army of minions.

Ralph spied an ACT Government (or possibly NCA) contractor hosing down footpaths and a bus shelter, of all things, on Wednesday morning. Tut tut tut. And no, the bus shelter was not excessively grubby or recently subject to vandalism.

Heaven forbid if you hosed your driveway at home, those neighbours peering through slits in the curtains would report you…..

Join the conversation

20
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Given that all water utilities make a profit (ie they charge more than it costs them to provide the water), on what basis do you think it should be costed? Its obviously already charged above market price.

For most of Australia there is actually no shortage of water (there is plenty around, especially if you include the ocean), there is a shortage of collection (or processing, for salt water).

So, really, no one ‘wastes’ water, you are just wasting the energy that has gone into processing the water.

(for the sake of clarity – there are obviously some parts of Australia, mostly the ‘outback’, where there is not enough water no matter how many dams etc you have. Although – piping the water in is always an option)

FWIW my view is, as with vehicle rego, you should have no supply charge and increase the usage charge. Like cranky, my water usage bill was about 30% of the total bill.

whats with the abstraction charge anyway, they charge you for the same number of megalitres as the supply charge but there is no way in hell that they are actually removing the same amount of water from my property as they are supplying. I bet its the same for everyone else too.

VYBerlinaV8_now with_added_grunt8:46 am 01 Feb 07

Further evidence that I should be allowed to water my lawn all I want.

Perhaps we could let people take water from the lake to water their lawns? I could easily toss a small tank into my box trailer.

“My most recent bill came in at about $200. Of that, about $50 was for metered water, the rest was made up of supply, sewerage and abstraction charges.

As in the post I went to some effort to reference moron.

Woody Mann-Caruso11:05 pm 31 Jan 07

as it was in Parkes

In the Parliamentary Triangle?

And I’m sure a few people would be interested in what that scheme is JB

–>Cranky

You’re describing a situation in which your actual use is a minor component of what you get charged.

I’m advocating a very different sort of scheme.

It will never come to that, trust me. Prices work in mysterious ways..

and once water costs a fortune, how will people prevent water theft?

just saying you’ll need to provide a bit more info to substantiate it.

The water was out of a tank in the ute. I think the ACT Government (or NCA, as it was in Parkes) should clarify where the water came from. I suspect they won’t.

This is all rather petty, isn’t it?

The price will be determined by the market; it’s dynamic.

Under my model, the price beyond people’s allocation for liveable consumption will rise (fall) as dam levels fall (rise).

Woody Mann-Caruso9:56 pm 31 Jan 07

Was he using a hose connected to a permanent tap, or a pressure sprayer in the back of the truck? In either case, what was the source of the water? A lot of taps in Yarralumla, for example, draw water from the lake. Not saying he wasn’t using potable water – just saying you’ll need to provide a bit more info to substantiate it.

JB
I’d be interested in hearing what sort of cost you would apply to water.

My most recent bill came in at about $200. Of that, about $50 was for metered water, the rest was made up of supply, sewerage and abstraction charges.

Ergo, even minimal use results in considerable cost. I have no idea of how this compares to average consumption, but would expect it to be on th low side. If the cost of the water was doubled, it would add $50 to the bill. Does this fall into your equation?
I’m being quite serious here, not questioning your logic, but suspicious that even this sort of cost restructure would probably not solve the problem of overconsumption.

Is this that company the govt have sold off our busstops to (to install billboards)? They were going to maintain cleanliness – I thought they’d install and empty bins, but maybe they actually clean!

Some bus stops are popular dumping grounds. Such dumps are not always clearly visible. Therefore, it makes sense to hose them all down regularly.

I walk past it everyday. I take it you’re not good at spot the difference puzzles.

How do you know there was no vandalism? I would hardly call those poor photos decisive evidence of anything at all. In fact its impossible to tell whether the ground is even wet at all in either picture.

price the damn stuff and figure out what’s the cheapest way to clean

until water is priced who wouldn’t spray it around to clean?

Do they use potable water or is this our treated but not drinkable water being used?’

Have to agree that it seems silly to clean something that doesn’t need it.

Of course, none of this would be an issue if we had market priced water.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.