Coliban Water has begun the final phase of its digital water meter rollout; delivering the program to 47,000 customers in the Bendigo region.
Executive General Manager Strategy, Economics and Data Jarrah O’Shea said the program has already seen huge financial savings to customer water bills and millions of litres of water saved.
“We’ve already installed 28,000 digital water meters across the Coliban Water region since 2018, now it’s time to deliver to our biggest city to finish the project,” Mr O’Shea said.
Since May 2021, Coliban Water has alerted more than 260 customers to a major water leak at their property, resulting in a combined water saving of around 50,000 litres every hour.
“Some of the leaks recently identified included a hospital that was losing 14,000 litres a day, a service station that was losing 10,000 litres a day, and the Coliban Water team worked extensively with a rural property that was losing 60,000 litres a day,” he said.
The digital loggers record water use at the water meter every hour and transmit the data back to Coliban Water daily.
“We’re not necessarily focussing on identifying a dripping tap, what we’re looking for are major leaks, which are those that are wasting from 100 litres to up to 2,000 litres of water every hour.
“If these leaks are left undetected and left running over the standard three-month bill cycle, the financial impact could be anywhere between $500 and $8500 to a customer’s quarterly bill.
“Most leaks aren’t visible from the surface and obvious to the eye. It’s often caused by failed plumbing underground, such as a burst pipe from old trench lines or stormwater pipes, and in most cases requires a plumber called in to identify and fix the leak.
“Sometimes a customer might be lucky to notice a constant wet patch on their lawn, or loss in water pressure, but most aren’t that obvious.
“This initiative is part of our focus on securing water for future generations as we adapt to huge climate and population changes,” Mr O’Shea said.
The final stage of digital metering program is expected to take almost 2 years to complete and will be finalised by the end of 2023. Customers can decline a digital meter but will not benefit from our possible leak monitoring and will be required to contact us quarterly with a meter reading to avoid being incorrectly billed.
The digital meters are free of charge. Customers will be notified at least 7 days prior to the installations, and do not need to be home at the time of installation, which will only take 30 minutes.
Customers who have any questions about the digital meter program are welcome to call the Customer Support Team on 1300 363 200 or visit our website.