28 Oct 2024
State’s water authority celebrates record capital investment
TasWater delivered a record-breaking $269.2 million capital investment program over the 2023-24 financial year, with 80 per cent going to local contractors, as part of its ongoing commitment to delivering great customer, water and environmental outcomes for Tasmania.
Releasing the 2023-2024 Annual Report today, TasWater CFO, Kane Ingham, also celebrated the business achieving 100 per cent compliance with drinking water standards across its water network for the sixth consecutive year.
‘’TasWater is driving economic growth for our state through sustained water treatment performance and the successful delivery of a $269.2 million capital investment program,’’ Mr Ingham said.
‘’Tasmanian customers can be more confident than ever in the quality, safety and security of their water supply.
“These achievements speak to the overriding commitment of our team to providing exceptional water and sewerage services for a thriving Tasmania.
“As part of our capital works program, TasWater completed the upgraded Bryn Estyn Water Treatment Plant, the Western Rising Main Pipeline (as part of the Tamar Estuary River Health Action Plan – TERHAP) and substantially progressed the $18m upgrade of the Ulverstone Sewage Treatment Plant.
“Once the TERHAP project is complete, combined stormwater and sewage wet weather spill events into the estuary will reduce by 60 per cent, with a 30 per cent reduction of enterococci entering the estuary, significantly improving environmental outcomes for future and current generations.”
Mr Ingham said TasWater had continued its strong commitment to putting customer value at the centre of its operations.
“We have continued to provide customers with pricing surety, with increases capped below inflation at 3.5 per cent, seeing total price increases over the last five years sitting 7 per cent lower than the consumer price index of the same period.
“We also initiated our largest ever community engagement on the future of water in Tasmania, as part of the development of our next Price and Service Plan.
“This year, the TasWater team handled 213,576 customer contacts, we responded to 14,500 service callouts, reduced unplanned water supply interruption by 9.2 minutes to 166.6 minutes and achieved 98 per cent satisfaction from our customer call centre interactions.”
TasWater made steady progress to reduce water losses going from 28 per cent last year to 24.5 per cent, focusing on the accelerated renewal of infrastructure and establishing 92 new district metered areas, bringing the total to 160 areas, to monitor for and chase down hidden leaks in the network.
“We know our water losses are still too high and, with increasing demand from a growing population and climate change impacts, we are committed to ensuring more of the water we source and produce reaches our customers,” Mr Ingham said.
Mr Ingham said TasWater had developed a Towards Zero Waste Roadmap to reframe waste as a resource and a Net Zero Emissions Roadmap to identify opportunities and initiatives to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from its operations.
“Safeguarding a healthier environment is an important part of our focus, and we are working towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” he said.
“We have also developed a draft water security plan for the state to reduce the frequency of water restrictions our customers experience due to climate variability, which we’re taking feedback on as part of our Price and Service Plan 5 community engagement.”
Mr Ingham thanked TasWater’s employees and service partners for their unwavering commitment to providing an essential service to Tasmanians.
“We take great pride in our ongoing efforts and remain dedicated to providing outstanding water and sewerage services, aimed at fostering a vibrant Tasmania,” Mr Ingham said.
In 2023-24, TasWater delivered an underlying net profit of $32.6 million compared to $31.2 million in 2022-23. Total dividends paid to owners (excluding State Government) was $24 million,
the same amount as in the previous year.
TasWater is investing $1.9 billion in its network over the next five years to ensure it can continue to deliver exceptional water and sewerage services for a thriving and growing Tasmania.
To read the Annual Report, visit Publications | TasWater