The cost of getting the sewer connected to an existing property in the Lower Hunter could soon cost more than $50,000 following recommendation to scrap a long-standing levy that minimised the cost of connections.
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The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has agreed with a Hunter Water recommendation to end the Environmental Improvement Charge in favour of introducing an 'impactor pays' system.
Hunter Water has provided backlog sewage services since the 1980s. These works were paid for by a combination of government funding and the EIC, which cost water customers $41.01 in the 2019-20 financial year.
The scheme has been extended on several occasions, most recently in June 2019 to cover the cost of providing backlog services to Wyee.
"In the absence of a ministerial direction to complete works (the last of which was Wyee), if the levy was left in place it would mean Hunter Water would be raising revenue from customers without any current or proposed projects to spend it on," an IPART spokeswoman said this week.
Cessnock mayor Bob Pynsent told last year's public IPART public hearing that "the idea that a resident would have to pay $63,000 per property to get sewerage connected is incomprehensible."
A City of Newcastle spokesman said on Friday the council was preparing a submission to IPART that stressed the importance of sewering Hexham.
"How the NSW Government makes this happen doesn't matter. What's important is that the people and businesses of Hexham are no longer forced to rely on septic systems that are a health risk identified by NSW Health more than a decade ago," he said.
"It's our understanding that Hunter Water can address this critical issue for as little as a one-off $5million investment. The urgency of this investment has long been supported by NSW Health and the EPA."
IPART has suggested the introduction of an annuity payment system was one option to spread out the cost of sewer connections.
The option would allow customers to pay a fixed annual amount over a period of up to 20 years.
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