Who We Are
City West Water is a company incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 and is one of three retail water businesses in metropolitan Melbourne. We are wholly owned by the Victorian Government, which appoints a Board of Directors responsible for providing the overall direction for the business.
We provide drinking water, sewerage, trade waste and recycled water services to residential and business customers in Melbourne’s Central Business District and inner and western suburbs.
City West Water's boundaries comprise the local government areas of Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melbourne (north of the Yarra River), Moonee Valley and parts of Wyndham, Yarra, Melton and Hume. Click here to view our service area map.
Our core business is the delivery of drinking water to customers, and the collection of sewage and trade waste from our customers. We are currently working on a number of recycled water projects that will deliver recycled water to a range of our customers.
Our Operating Environment
This year, we celebrated 10 years since our creation in 1995. The formation of City West Water occurred when the Victorian Government spilt Melbourne Water into three separate retail businesses – City West Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water and formed one wholesaler, Melbourne Water.
Melbourne Water is responsible for managing Melbourne’s water catchments and storages and supplies bulk water and sewerage services to the three retail businesses. It is also responsible for managing Melbourne’s network of larger stormwater drains (local government manages the smaller ones) and manages rivers and creeks in and around Melbourne.
Our operating area is defined by a Water and Sewerage Licence issued by the Victorian Government. Yarra Valley Water performs the same role in Melbourne’s northern and northeast suburbs and South East Water caters for the eastern and southern suburbs and the Mornington peninsula.
Melbourne’s water and sewer assets are two interconnected networks, so that the risks associated with water supply and sewerage systems are shared between the wholesaler and the retailers. To manage these risks, we have contractual arrangements with Melbourne Water called Bulk Water Supply Agreements, as well as cross-business contingency plans and arrangements.
The Bulk Water Supply Agreements include obligations for both businesses, including water quality, volume, flow rates, pressure, security of delivery and payments. They also set the level of service and describe our companies’ co-operative relationship in joint planning and emergency operations.
The collection and disposal of sewage is governed by the Bulk Sewage Transfer, Treatment and Disposal Agreement. It defines our obligations with Melbourne Water in collecting sewage and trade waste and ensures that its treatment and disposal is of an acceptable standard and does not pose a threat to either human health or the operation of the Western Treatment Plant. This agreement also defines how we will work with Melbourne Water in forecasting and planning for the future.
We also work with the other water retailers and Melbourne Water to develop cross-business contingency plans which are put in place to deal with emergency situations and to manage our water resources in times of drought.
In particular we helped to develop the Metropolitan Water Supply Demand Strategy which sets out recommendations to assist with the challenges posed by climate change, a growing population and changing water use. This was used as input into the Central Region Sustainable Water Strategy which also addresses the imperative to improve river health in the central region. Click here for more information on our involvement in this strategy.
Our major obligations are set by:
- Department of Human Services – drinking water quality standards, concessions and pensioner rebates
- Environment Protection Authority – environmental and recycling standards
- Essential Services Commission – Customer Code, customer service standards and price regulation for services
- Department of Sustainability and Environment and the Minister for Water – governance and resource management, including trade waste acceptance standards.
The Department of Treasury and Finance is the Victorian Government’s shareholder representative. This department and the Department of Sustainability and Environment review our performance, and the Treasurer, in consultation with the Minister for Water, approves and monitors our corporate and business plans.
We pay tax and dividends to the Victorian Government and these payments are reinvested in Victoria for the benefit of the community. The Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria provides independent dispute resolution assistance to our customers.