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Denham doesn’t have a natural source of drinkable water. The town sources its drinking water through desalination. To reduce the demand on the drinkable water supply, Denham customers have access to two water supplies:

  • Saline water (non-drinkable water)
  • Non-saline water (drinkable water)

Different water use charges apply to each type of water.

Fees and charges

Most residential customers in Denham will receive a combined water use and service charges bill every 2 months. The bill shows the water use charges and amount used from each water source (saline and non-saline).

Water use charges

Drinkable water use charges for residential customers
To encourage the careful use of Denham’s drinkable water supply, customers are charged using a tiered pricing structure. Every two-monthly billing period, each residential property has access to 21 kilolitres (kL) of drinkable water at the lower pricing tiers. Water used in excess of 21 kL is charged at a much higher price due to the high cost of providing desalinated water to the area. 

Denham desalinated water quota
Two-monthly water use Price per kilolitre
Up to 18 kL $0.724 
18–21 kL $5.326
21 kL and over $16.549

The 21 kL allowance is based on a property with four or less permanent residents. If you have five or more permanent residents, you may be able to increase the amount of water available to you at the lower pricing tiers. Please contact us for further information.

Non-drinkable water use charges for residential customers
Saline water use is charged at the regional water use rate. Charges vary between properties and regions. This rate differs based on your location and is determined by the cost of supplying water to the region.

Service Charges

Service charges are fixed annual charges spread over the year. Service charges can vary between properties and regions. In Denham, service charges consist of water and sewerage charges.

Water service charges
The water service charge is the same charge state-wide. This is a fixed charge to supply the saline water to residential properties through our water pipe network. This includes the cost of securing and maintaining water sources.

The water supply charge is $282.59 for the 2023/24  financial year for residential properties.

Sewerage service charges
This is a fixed charge that covers the cost of removing, treating and discharging the water that goes down your drains and toilets (wastewater). This charge also covers the cost of maintaining the pipe network that transports the wastewater.

Sewerage charges are based on the gross rental value (GRV) of the property multiplied by the rate in the dollar. The sewerage rate in the dollar for Denham customers in 2023/24 is 10.810 cents.

Find out more about how we calculate sewerage service charges.

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