Water service prices to increase as costs climb
INCREASING costs of collecting, treating and delivering water, and carrying it away as wastewater, has pushed Guernsey Water to announce a price rise.
From this month below-inflation increases will take effect.
The cost of the combined water and wastewater bill for the average metered domestic customer will go up 1.34%, and 2.32% for unmetered customers.
It means that on average a metered domestic customer will pay £1.25 a day for the water and wastewater service.
Guernsey Water managing director Steve Langlois said it worked hard to make the business as efficient as possible.
‘We recognise that the cost of living is going up for people and we’re doing all we can to reduce any increases in our charges, but like many businesses we’re seeing general pressure on input costs at the moment, things like power, materials, and rates, and it’s really important for us to manage those pressures to ensure that Guernsey Water has a firm financial foundation for the future,’ he said.
‘We’re doing what we can to be more efficient wherever possible and absorb what costs we can, and we’ve been able to do that to a degree. Customers can switch to a meter if they wish, we’ll install a meter free of charge, and it’s quite a good way of being able to better manage your water consumption and save money and help the environment as well. 70% of our customers now pay for what they use through a meter.’
The infrastructure overseen by Guernsey Water includes 14 reservoirs, 400km of water distribution pipework, 150km of sewer, three operational water treatment works, and more than 50 wastewater pumping stations.
There are also 5,500 customers who are not on the main drain and need the cesspit collection service, which collects about 170,000 loads per year.
Mr Langlois said all the infrastructure needed ongoing maintenance.
‘We’re refurbishing kilometres of pipe every year, and over time all of that network of pipes will be replaced, but it takes around about 100 years to do that.
‘And there’s pumps and machinery and control panels that need replacing. We spend around £4.5m. to £5m. every year maintaining and improving all of that infrastructure. One major project in particular is the refurbishment of the St Saviour’s water treatment works, that’s a £3m. project that will be continuing over the next couple of years, and over the long-term we would expect that to save customers just over £5m. over the next 20 years.’
