At Whywait Plumbing the phones began to ring as soon as the water bills from Gold Coast Water arrived in late January. The most common issue was one of bill shock where residents received bills in the thousands of dollars when their normal bill was around $600.
This was brought home to us here at Whywait when our IT Manager, Brad Horrocks rang about the bill his pensioner father, Neal had received which was $4980 when his normal bill was never over $600. Unbeknown to Neale he had an underground leak in the polypipe watermain coming into his home in Coombabah. This unfortunately is common in the coastal areas such as Coombabah where the water basically soaks into the sandy soils rather than bubbling to the surface.
Neal was fortunate that Gold Coast Water gave him a rebate of $3658 but he was still left to pay a bill of $1322. The sting in the tail of this rebate is that Neale is not eligible for further rebates should he have further leaks in his watermain for 3 years. This puts Neale and all of those like him who are recipients of the 60% rebate from Gold Coast Water where the bill shock is caused by a broken pipe in a terrible dilemma. This is caused by water meters only being read every 3 months and bills being issued every 6 months.
Unless you read your water meter on a regular basis which we strongly recommend then you can suffer a major break in your watermain and not be aware of it for at least 90 days when you receive a letter from Gold Coast Water advising you that you have very high water use readings. If you have already used your once every three years rebate for broken pipes then you will pay for every litre of water that leaks into the ground.
However we do have a solution for everyone who has experienced the drama of water bill shock. Prevention is always the best solution. AquaTrip water leak detection and control systems are the solution. AquaTrip is a permanently installed leak detection protection system that quietly provides protection in the background and under normal conditions you will never know it’s there.
AquaTrip monitors the flow of water into your property, and will shut off the water automatically in the event of a tap left running, a burst pipe, or if a tap, fitting, pipe, toilet, cistern or appliance is leaking. This will save water, reduce wastage and most critically minimise property damage.
AquaTrip is an active water leak detection system that costs less than the excess charges from Gold Coast Water or the excess on one insurance claim and a fraction of the cost of most annual home insurance premiums. In most cases insurance companies do not cover the cost of watermain leaks or the resultant water costs. AquaTrip will provide your home with a lifetime of protection against such water leak events. AquaTrip is a one time insurance policy.
If Neal Horrocks had an AquaTrip installed he would not only have the peace of mind provided by AquaTrip but would be potentially $700 better off today as he would not have had to pay a water bill of $1322.
For more information on installing an AquaTrip “insurance policy” at your home or building Whywait Plumbing today for a lifetime of protection.
