The Victorian Government works with water corporations to assist households in vulnerable and hardship situations to reduce water consumption and, as a result, reduce their water bills.
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About the program
The Community Rebate Program offers water audits and water efficiency upgrades to households in vulnerable and hardship situations, and community housing properties owned or managed by not-for-profit and community welfare organisations.
The program is run by each water corporation and helps to reduce household water use and water bills by sending a qualified plumber to:
check for leaks and faulty fixtures and fittings
fix leaks in the around the home
improve the water efficiency of fittings and appliances.
Since the program launched in 2015 through to 30 June 2024, more than 19,900 households have improved their water efficiency and saved an average of $115 per year on water bills.
The estimated water savings totalled around 631 megalitres, equivalent to around 252 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Further information
The program is funded by the Victorian Government and delivered by Victorian water corporations.
North East Water assisted an elderly customer who had ongoing and unexplained high water use. The customer went from using 143 litres per day to 1,181 litres per day, 8 times their normal use, and multiple plumbers could not find the source.
North East Water engaged a leak detection specialist through the Community Rebate Program to investigate. The specialist identified that the customer had an underground watering system that, even when its external power supply was switched off, ran sprinklers unnecessarily overnight via an internal battery, using excessive amounts of water.
The specialist was able to stop the watering system from running at inappropriate times.
This saved the customer an estimated $437 on their quarterly water bill.
Barwon Water assisted The Lorne Village Inc., a registered charity providing affordable accommodation for people over the age of 65 years to live independently.
The Lorne Village is a 40-year old complex, made up of 16 units. Barwon Water sent a plumber to the ageing complex who found numerous inefficient fixtures, fittings and appliances during the water audit.
The plumber replaced taps, flow control valves, showerheads and single-flush cistern toilets with dual flush cistern toilets and repaired leaking cisterns and pipework.
The repairs and upgrades are estimated to have saved 1.6 million litres per year in water, equating to estimated bill savings of $4,068 per year.
'This program will not only save water and The Lorne Village money, but it also improves the general day-to-day lives of the tenants living in these properties.' Clive Goldsworthy, Committee of Management for The Lorne Village.
Pictured: Clive Goldsworthy at The Lorne Village
Photo Credit: Barwon Water
A tenant called Yarra Valley Water advising there was a leak at their property and concerned about high water bills. The water use increased to 9,648 litres per day equal to $4,300 for the quarter.
Yarra Valley Water identified that this property was owned by a not-for-profit agency and eligible for the Community Rebate Program.
A qualified plumber attended the property to conduct a water audit and found a large leak in the backyard. During the water audit, the plumber also observed 2 leaking toilet cisterns and found a leak resulting in a loss of 8 litres of water per minute.
Works were immediately undertaken to ensure the leaks were repaired. The water use reduced back to the levels prior to the leak (2,142 litres per day) equal to $970 for the quarter.
'I was really stressing about the water leaking in the backyard. The work is magnificent, I couldn’t be happier.' – Tenant residing
At another property, a qualified plumber identified that the bath, shower and laundry taps were leaking significantly due to over tightened washers. The plumber recommended that quarter turn taps be installed to decrease the chances of future leaks from washers being over tightened.
'The tenant was over the moon with the works completed and appreciated the flexible hours of the plumber.' – Program Coordinator.
All tenants involved in the program will experience a reduction in the amount of water use and will see a decrease in the cost of their water bills as a result.
