Water price rise

I was shocked over the weekend to find out that our water rates will be increasing.

This charge will be increased by the water supplier an has been sanctioned by the state government.

The increase in water rates is because… wait for it, Victorians are not using enough water!!

This is after the successful water usage campaign that asked Victorians to reduce their water consumption to under 155 litres per person.

A target that has been achieved by Victorians.

So to thank us for our diligence in water conservation, we now have to pay more for our water because the water companies want their cut.

The state government is still implementing a plan to build new damns, desalination plants, and pipe water in from other areas. Once these solutions are in place, I wonder whether the water companies will reduce their prices because Victorians start using more water? Or, as I suspect, will they find another reason to increase the prices again.

But the blame does not lie solely on the shoulders of the water companies. Do not be under any illusion that the government did not anticipate this strategy, and that they were not complicit in their part.

Do not dispare, collectively we can still turn back the tide.

~ by jeditopcat on 8 January, 2009.