Water Abstraction Charge

The Water Abstraction Charge (WAC) is set by the ACT Government and is payable by ACTEW Corporation to the Territory. It is a statutory fee that is passed on to end users of water. It is collected from end users by ActewAGL, which operates the water network on behalf of the network owner, ACTEW Corporation.

If you have any questions concerning WAC policy, its purpose and use, and its level, please refer to the following statement provided by ACT Treasury. If you have further questions on the WAC, please call the Territory through the Director, Economics Branch, ACT Treasury, on 6207 0337.

ActewAGL and ACTEW are not in a position to address such questions.

About the increase in the Water Abstraction Charge (WAC)

The Water Abstraction Charge (WAC) is a charge on those licensed to take ACT water. The WAC is set at 55 cents per kilolitre for licensees taking water for urban water supply, and 25 cents per kilolitre for all other licensees to take water.

The WAC offsets the costs incurred by the Territory and represents a sustainable price for water in the long term. As such the charge comprises the following components:

• water supply — these are costs for catchment maintenance and Government expenditure;
• scarcity — this is the value associated with the consumption of water preventing its alternative use for other economically valuable purposes; and
• environmental — these costs include those that relate to the effect on the environment from the flow of water downstream, including the effect of storing water in dams.

The increased WAC, applying from 1 July 2006 to licensees who take water for urban water supply, largely reflects a reassessment of the value of water by the Government. As water is a valuable resource of the Territory it is essential that its price reflects this and will assist towards managing future demand.

The increase has been restricted to licensees for urban water supply, currently only ACTEW, as a major consumer of our water resources, in the order of around 65 gigalitres. By comparison, all other parties licensed to take water, take a combined amount of around 3 gigalitres only and are not licensed for urban water supply. Therefore, even though the increase does not apply to smaller users, its application to ACTEW will help to achieve a sustainable approach to future water demand and assist other programs such as the Think water act water initiative.

The WAC is passed on by ACTEW to its consumers under the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission Act 1997. This means that the charge is passed on to all consumers receiving urban water from ACTEW, including Queanbeyan. ACTEW’s Pricing Agreement with the Queanbeyan City Council formalises this arrangement.