‘Very high’ CWMS fee increases are coming in the Mid Murray district
Residents of 28 towns and shack areas will face higher wastewater charges from July and in the years to come.
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Residents of Caloote, Wall Flat, Cowirra and 25 other townships and shack areas across the Mid Murray district will face a “very high” CWMS fee increase over the next few years, the local council has warned.
A fee applies for the use of council-owned community wastewater management systems in towns which do not have an SA Water-operated sewer system.
That fee will go up by an average of $190 and up to $250 per connection in the Mid Murray district this July, with further increases coming each year until 2030.
Why?
A lot of the council’s CWMS systems are in the middle of their lives and likely to need expensive work done in the next few years.
Over 25 years, the cost of that work is projected to balloon to $23.6 million.
Worse, the Essential Services Commission of SA has told all councils they are no longer allowed to subsidise such services with general property rate revenue – they have to recover the full cost of services from users.
That would lead to “extraordinary” increases in some cases, corporate and financial services director Clive Hempel told councillors at a meeting last week, but the costs were unavoidable.
“As (an asset) gets older and older, you get more and more things and higher expenses to replace or repair things,” he said.
Raising the charges was about preparing for the future, not making more revenue for the council, CEO Ben Scales said.
After all, any interest earned on fees would be returned to users of individual wastewater systems as they came up for replacement.
Public consultation on the change began last week.
A public meeting will be held at the Mannum council office at 6pm on May 14, and meetings will also be held in Adelaide and at Blanchetown.
- More information, have your say: Fill in the feedback form at engagement.mid-murray.sa.gov.au/community-wastewater-management-scheme-charge-202627, or email postbox@mid-murray.sa.gov.au, by 12pm on June 1.
