Your Gold Coast water is sourced from Seqwater, which literally can source it from anywhere. The most common is from rainfall collected in dams which are part of lakes, rivers and streams.
Remember, all rainwater is essentially recycled water. So before the water gets to your taps, it has travelled a long way. Frequently it has travelled overground, picking up dirt, decaying vegetation and animal droppings.
Gold Coast water is mainly from the Hinze Dam, and the Little Nerang Dam system is the city’s main water source. It has a total capacity of around 320GL, and the upgrades to the Hinze Dam completed in 2011 have increased its ability to store water during floods. The area that provides water to the dam is 207 square kilometres and includes the Numinbah Valley and Springbrook Plateau, with most of it being covered by natural bushland in state forests and national parks.
The Gold Coast Desalination Plant (GCDP) was also added in 2009 as an additional source of drinking water, which converts seawater from the Pacific Ocean into safe drinking water. The city receives treated drinking water from Seqwater, which is treated at the Molendinar and Mudgeeraba water treatment plants (WTP) with a combined capacity of around 265 ML/day, and the GCDP with a capacity of 133 ML/day. Sometimes they also receive additional water from the Mt Crosby WTP through the Southern Regional Water Pipeline (SRWP), which has a capacity of 130 ML/day.
The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG) state that disinfection is the most important step in ensuring safe drinking water. The city’s drinking water supply is disinfected using chlorine (hypochlorite) and GCWW works to ensure a level of disinfection between 0.2mg/L and 1.8mg/L throughout the drinking water supply network at all times. This is to prevent contamination of the drinking water and protect public health.
How is Gold Coast water disinfected?
Disinfecting your drinking water means that naturally occurring bacteria and germs need to be destroyed before water is distributed through all the water supply main pipelines in the City of Gold Coast.
When it comes to disinfecting drinking water, two of the most commonly used chemicals are chlorine and chloramine. Both of these chemicals are effective at killing bacteria and other harmful microorganisms, but they have some key differences.
Chlorine is a powerful oxidizer that has been used to disinfect drinking water for more than a century. It is a gas that is added to water in the form of a liquid or a powder. Chlorine works by penetrating the cell walls of microorganisms and destroying their enzymes, which kills the organisms. Chlorine is effective at killing a wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. It is also relatively inexpensive and easy to use.
Chloramine, on the other hand, is a compound that is formed when chlorine is combined with ammonia. Like chlorine, chloramine is added to water to disinfect it, and it is also effective at killing a wide range of microorganisms. However, chloramine is more stable than chlorine, which means that it can remain in the water for more extended periods of time. This can be beneficial because it provides a more consistent level of disinfection. In addition, Chloramine is less corrosive than chlorine and can be safer for your plumbing and appliances.
Both chlorine and chloramine have their own set of benefits and drawbacks, and each is suited to different types of water treatment applications. Chlorine is commonly used in small and large water treatment plants, and chloramine is mainly used in distribution systems and large treatment plants.
Your Gold Coast water flowing from your tap is currently disinfected with chlorine.
Can I filter my drinking water?
Filtering your drinking water is simple. Let’s face it most of us drink the water from the kitchen tap.
You can go to the expense of installing whole-of-house water filtration systems, but they are expensive to install and maintain.
For most people, the solution is to filter the water at the kitchen tap. Traditionally this was done with filter cartridge housings under the cupboard, which required a lot of maintenance.
Here at Whywait Plumbing, we have the solution as we have partnered with Taqua, a Japanese company, to bring you the best built-in filtration sink mixer on the market. This innovative product allows you to have filtered water directly from your kitchen sink mixer tap.
The Taqua sink mixer is a pull-out spray that has a water filter built into it, eliminating the need for a separate water filter. This convenient design provides your family with the healthiest and safest drinking water at the touch of a tap daily.
The Taqua sink mixer is made in Japan from lead-free materials, ensuring that your filtered water that you drink is free from harmful lead leaching. The water filter removes free chlorine, soluble lead, small dirt particles and other impurities from your tap water. The unique filtration channel and automatic cleaning system work to filter a massive 4 litres of water every minute. The sterilizing ceramic materials also keep bacteria out of the filter tap, ensuring the highest standard of cleanliness possible.
Taqua’s filter tap also preserves the minerals that are necessary for your body while removing chlorine, making the water taste better and safer to consume. Additionally, it is an alternative to buying bottled water, which is the same as tap water in terms of mineral content and hardness. Taqua’s built-in filtration sink mixer removes the chlorine from tap water while retaining the minerals. This provides you with fresh, delicious water in your home every day.
Suppose you are wondering which solution is best for your home’s drinking water filtration needs, it’s important to consult with a professional plumber such as Whywait Plumbing as we are a specialist who can determine the best solution for your specific situation. They can help you evaluate your water source, usage and infrastructure to find the best solution for your needs.
Your Gold Coast water bill issued by the City of Gold Coast as a Water and Sewerage Rate Notice arrives every three months. Currently, every water meter is manually read every three months, with your Gold Coast water bill coming soon after. The cost of Gold Coast water is set every year as part of the budget process with the detailed current water pricing for 2021-22 available from Gold Coast Water.
What are the costs of your Gold Coast water bill?
For most homeowners who use around the average daily water usage of 451 litres, the highest costs in the quarterly Gold Coast water bill are their sewerage and water access service charges. If you look closely at your water bill, you can see that you have the following access charges:
Residential Charges
Cost
Sewerage access charge per quarter
$181.03
Water access charge per quarter
$53.02
Total Access Charges per Quarter
$234.05
The usage charges per kilolitre as measured by your water meter are made up of council charges and Queensland Government charges as below:
Residential Charges
Cost
City of Gold Coast water per kilolitre
$1.117
Queensland Government water per kilolitre
$3.231
Total Cost of Water per Kilolitre
$4.348
In reality, even if you did not use one drop of water, you would still pay for water and sewerage access service charges of $234.05 every quarter or $936.20 every year.
Our experience is that the average water use of 451 litres or 0.451kL per property shown on Gold Coast water bills is not an accurate guide to your water use.
Most homes with more than one occupant will use 1-2 kL every day. However, remember your water usage will vary every day based on the number of occupants at home each day and their water use behaviours. That is why we recommend you read your water meter weekly, as that will give you a better guide about your average consumption and alert you to a potential water leak.
The actual cost of water dripping from a tap
What will cause your water usage charges to blow out is having leaking water that you are unaware of. Leaking taps and toilets are frequently overlooked and put off to another day. A dripping tap that drips one drop every second will use 40 litres of water a day. The reality is that it becomes 280 litres a week and then 1214 litres a month, and then 14560 litres a year. This is all water charged for on your Gold Coast water bill that you never utilised for any practical purpose.
If we translate the litres wasted to the cost of water, then the numbers become real very quickly.
Cost of a Dripping Tap at 1 drip per second
Residential Cost at $4.348 per kL or 1000 litres
Business Cost at $8.909 per kL or 1000 litres
1.66 litres per hour
$0.007
$0.015
40 litres per day
$0.174
$0.356
280 litres per week
$1.217
$2.495
1214 litres per month
$5.278
$10.816
14560 litres per year
$63.307
$129.715
The actual cost of a leaking underground water main
You can visually see a dripping tap or running toilet, but the real killer to your Gold Coast water bill is your underground water main pipe leaking. For residential users, these are usually leaking polypipe water mains that were never installed correctly when the house was built. Only occasionally is a water leak apparent and bubbling to the ground. Most of the time, they are a silent Gold Coast water bill killer leaking 24/7 undetected.
There is no accurate average for any leaking water main supply pipe because it depends on the type of break in the pipe, what the pipe size is and what the incoming water pressure is.
Recently we had a client with a small leak where we have 24/7 electronic water monitoring installed that is leaking on average of 45 litres per hour, so we use that as a basis for what leaking water main will cost on a Gold Coast water bill.
Cost of a leaking underground water main at 45 litres per hour
Residential Cost at $4.348 per kL or 1000 litres
Business Cost at $8.909 per kL or 1000 litres
45 litres per hour
$0.196
$0.401
1080 litres per day
$4.696
$9.622
7560 litres per week
$32.87
$67.352
33480 litres per month
$145.57
$298.731
401760 litres per year
$1746.85
$3579.280
A water leak at 45 litres per minute is only a relatively small leak in larger pipes. It is unlikely to show up as bubbling at the ground unless it is directly under the grass in a shallow trench. Even looking at your water meter, it will not be evident unless you are testing your water use at the meter by checking for a water leak.
How much does a leak cost per litre?
We have always recommended that you test your water usage through your water meter every month. By having comparable figures, you will soon ascertain whether you have a leaking pipe.
We have always recommended that you install an AquaTrip water leak detection system after your water meter. An AquaTrip Water Leak detection system with an integrated automatic shutoff valve supplied and installed by Whywait Plumbing is a permanently installed leak detection protection system that quietly protects against leaks 24/7. It is a one time only insurance payment.
With our modern leak detection methods, it’s an easier task to locate a leak. However, unless you have an AquaTrip installed or use our 24/7 water monitoring service, you will still pay for a large amount of lost water before you become aware of the water leak.
If you think you have a water leak contact us because every litre that you lose is costing you $0.004348 for residential properties or $0.008909 for businesses on your Gold Coast water bill. If you naively feel that is inconsequential, we have just rectified a leak for a commercial business client in a 50mm underground polypipe water main that was leaking 106 kL every day, which is 106000 litres every 24 hours. This leak cost $944.354 every day.
Your Gold Coast water bill issued by the City of Gold Coast as a Water and Sewerage Rate Notice arrives every three months. Currently, every water meter is manually read every three months with your Gold Coast water bill coming soon after. The cost of water is set every year as part of the budget process with the detailed current water pricing for 2020-21 available from Gold Coast Water.
What are the costs on your Gold Coast water bill?
For most homeowners who use around the average daily water usage of 451 litres, the highest costs in the quarterly Gold Coast water bill are their sewerage and water access service charges. If you look closely at your water bill you can see that you have the following access charges:
Residential Charges
Cost
Sewerage access charge per quarter
$181.03
Water access charge per quarter
$53.02
Total Access Charges per Quarter
$234.05
The usage charges per kilolitre as measured by your water meter are made up of council charges and Queensland Government charges as below:
Residential Charges
Cost
City of Gold Coast water per kilolitre
$1.090
Queensland Government water per kilolitre
$3.122
Total Cost of Water per Kilolitre
$4.212
In reality, even if you did not use one drop of water, you would still pay for water and sewerage access service charges of $234.05 every quarter or $936.20 every year.
In our experience, the average water use of 451 litres or 0.451kL per property is not an accurate guide to your water use. Most homes with more than one occupant will use 1-2 kL every day. Remember your water usage will vary every day based on the number of occupants at home each day, and their water use behaviours. That is why we recommend you read your water meter weekly as that will give you a better guide about your average consumption but will also alert you to a potential water leak.
The real cost of water dripping from a tap
What will cause your usage charges to blow out is having leaking water. Leaking taps and toilets are frequently overlooked and put off to another day. A dripping tap that drips one drop every second will use 40 litres of water a day. The reality is that it becomes 280 litres a week and then 1214 litres a month and then 14560 litres a year. This is all water charged for on your Gold Coast water bill that you never utilised for any useful purpose.
If we translate the litres wasted to the cost of water, then the numbers become real.
Cost of a Dripping Tap at 1 drip per second
Residential Cost at $4.212 per kL or 1000 litres
Business Cost at $8.662 per kL or 1000 litres
1.66 litres per hour
$0.007
$0.014
40 litres per day
$0.169
$0.347
280 litres per week
$1.180
$2.425
1214 litres per month
$5.114
$10.516
14560 litres per year
$61.327
$126.119
The real cost of a leaking underground water main
A dripping tap or running toilet you can visually sight but the real killer to your Gold Coast water bill is your underground water main pipe leaking. For residential users, these are usually leaking polypipe water mains that were never installed correctly when the house was built. Only occasionally is a water leak apparent and bubbling to the ground. Most of the time they are a silent Gold Coast water bill killer leaking 24/7 undetected.
There is no real average for any leaking water main because it depends on the type of break in the pipe and what the incoming water pressure is. Currently, we have a small leak where we have water monitoring installed that is leaking on average of 44 litres per hour, so we use that as a basis for what a leaking water main will cost on a Gold Coast water bill.
Cost of a leaking underground water main at 44 litres per hour
Residential Cost at $4.212 per kL or 1000 litres
Business Cost at $8.662 per kL or 1000 litres
44 litres per hour
$0.185
$0.381
528 litres per day
$2.223
$4.574
3696 litres per week
$15.568
$32.015
16016 litres per month
$67.459
$138.731
192192 litres per year
$809.513
$1664.767
A leak at 44 litres per minute is only a small leak. It is highly unlikely to show up bubbling to the ground unless it is directly under the grass in a shallow trench. Even looking at your water meter, it will not be evident unless you are testing your water use at the meter by checking for a water leak.
How much does a leak cost per litre
We have always recommended that you test your water usage through your water meter every month. By having comparable figures, you will soon ascertain whether you have a leaking pipe.
We have always recommended that you install an AquaTrip water leak detection system after your water meter. An AquaTrip Water Leak detection system with an integrated automatic shutoff valve supplied and installed by Whywait Plumbing is a permanently installed leak detection protection system that quietly protects against leaks 24/7. It is a one time only insurance payment.
With our modern leak detection methods, it’s a much easier job to find a leak but unless you have an AquaTrip installed or use our water monitoring service you will still pay for a lot of lost water before you become aware of the leak.
If you think you have a leak contact us because every litre that you lose is costing you $0.004212 for residential properties or $0.008662 for businesses on your Gold Coast water bill. If you believe that is inconsequential, we have just rectified a leak for a business client that was in a 40mm underground pipe that was leaking 96 kL every day, which is 96000 litres every 24 hours. This leak was costing $831.55 every day.
With all the uncertainly during this ongoing COVID-19 crisis, it is critical Gold Coast homeowners and businesses don’t fall into the trap of using so-called handymen or unlicensed plumbers. In reality, there is no such occupation categorised as unlicensed plumbers. Every person classified as a plumber is licensed by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission or QBCC.
All individuals and companies must hold a QBCC licence for any building works that involve any work that is:
Plumbing
Drainage
Gas Fitting
Your plumbing is not a simplistic plaything and worldwide is classified as critical public health infrastructure. All work undertaken on any aspect of your plumbing, drainage or gas infrastructure is legally required to be undertaken by appropriately licensed individuals and companies.
All plumbers frequently experience fixing up after a handyman who makes out that unlicensed plumbers exist and convinces homeowners he can undertake plumbing works as long as it’s under $3300 of value. This is a complete lie by opportunistic unlicensed scammers who put your families health at risk. The benchmark value for undertaking plumbing, drainage or gas work is $0 and always has been.
Any plumbing, drainage and gasfitting work is essential to ensuring the health and safety of the entire community. This is critically important with the COVIC-19 health pandemic we are currently facing.
Every aspect of the plumbing, drainage and gas trades are administered by a strict licensing and legislative regime. This ensures every person in these trades holds the relative QBCC licences that are legally required. This, in turn, ensures the safety and protection of the entire community through the provision of clean, safe drinking water, sanitary drains and sewers to dispose of wastewater, and gas pipes and appliances that are fit for purpose.
We all agree that using a licensed plumber or gas fitter can appear expensive, but it is an investment that protects your families health. Using an unlicensed plumber can null and void your insurance coverage plus leave you with possible legal and financial implications.
Especially now demand to sight the QBCC licences visually. A QBCC occupational licence enables the person to carry out the work physically. A QBCC contractor licence allows the person to engage in contracting for the work.
Can plumbing work be undertaken by unlicensed plumbers or handymen?
Repairing or replacing a drop valve washer, float valve washer or suction cup rubber in a toilet cistern
Replacing caps or covers to ground-level inspection openings on a sanitary drain
Cleaning or maintaining a ground-level grate for a trap on a sanitary drain
Installing or maintaining an irrigation or lawn watering system downstream from a tap, isolating valve or backflow prevention device on the supply pipe for the watering system
Repairing or maintaining an irrigation system for the disposal of effluent from a greywater use facility or on-site sewage facility
Fire protection work for testing plumbing carried out by a holder of a fire protection occupational licence or another QBCC licence
Incidental unskilled tasks such as excavating or backfilling a trench
Many of these tasks are much more complicated than they appear. Mixer taps, for example, can be extremely complicated just to dismantle and technically they have no washer so must always be worked on by a licensed plumber.
Despite social media saying yes you can we can guarantee it is entirely illegal for anyone other than a licensed plumber to install a bidet seat or a douche spray to a toilet.
Checking a plumbers licence
Prior to letting anyone commence work on your plumbing, drainage or gas ask them for their plumbers’ licence as they are legally obliged to produce it for you if requested.
For extra assurance go the QBCC website to find out more about a licensee you can use their online licensee search, or search their occupational licence.
Just remember there is no such occupational listing called unlicensed plumbers in Australia in any state or territory.
Despite everything that is happening with the Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic emergency as your local Gold Coast Plumber Whywait Plumbing will continue to be available 24/7 to service your plumbing, drainage and gas needs. The current Queensland Government health directives advise that the plumbing industry is an essential service. This means our plumbers are exempt from the two-person rule when entering homes or private premises provided the appropriate social distancing and hygiene requirements are adhered to.
To ensure the safety of our clients, staff and the general public we are making changes to the way we serve our clients. This ensures we can still attend to your problems while focusing on making the correct choices to keep everyone safe.
Read the information below which details out everything you need to know how Whywait Plumbing will ensure your critical plumbing infrastructure remains fully functioning.
Whywait is still here for you 24/7
Whywait Plumbing Services has been trusted by thousands of Gold Coast homeowners, landlords and business owners since 1976 to maintain their plumbing, drainage and gas infrastructure. We believe that now more than ever we need to be there for you 24/7.
As your trusted Gold Coast Plumber we guarantee to continue to be available to keep you safe and ensure your plumbing is functioning to the highest standards.
We assure you we have increased our precautionary measures to protect you and minimise any risk of spreading COVID-19. We continue to adhere to all advice from the official Australian Government health website and are monitoring the situation to ensure we take all practical steps to protect our clients and staff.
It is now our policy when booking all jobs that you provide us credit card details to secure the booking because as recommended by the Government, we ask that you make a pre-payment over the phone so that no physical exchange of money has to occur. If you can only pay with cash we will be handling all transactions using gloves and practising social distancing.
We will now ask you a number of health-related questions when you call us to keep everyone safe which may include:
Have you, or anyone in your household tested positive for COVID-19, or are awaiting test results?
Do you fall into a category where you are self-isolating for COVID-19?
Do you, or anyone living in your household have any flu-like symptoms, a fever, cough, or shortness of breath?
Depending on the answers you provided, we will discuss with you on the best way forward to support solving your plumbing problems.
After we have booked your job if you start to develop flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, fever or shortness of breath, please call us immediately on (07) 5580 4311 so we can help to manage your appointment.
What to expect when a Whywait employee is at your home or business
Upon arrival, our plumbers may be asking the same health questions asked at the time of your booking. This is to ensure your circumstances have not changed. Plus we guarantee they will be following our increased hygiene practices.
While undertaking any work, they will inform you exactly what they will do before they start and will clean all surfaces they touch with Enzyme Wizard cleaning products.
Thank you for your ongoing support and your understanding
You can be certain that we have your best interest in mind during these uncertain times and we are endeavouring to continue to provide the great service that Whywait Plumbing is renowned for as your Gold Coast Plumber.
In South East Queensland there are no water restrictions applicable to residential or business. Contrary to some ill-informed social media content there have been no water restrictions since 1 January 2013.
All council areas in South East Queensland are interconnected via the Seqwater water grid. This ensures the entire region has access to twenty-six dams and the Gold Coast desalination plant for drinking water.
As a result of the current prolonged dry conditions, the inflows into the dams are the lowest in ten years. Currently water grid capacity is under 60%. If there are no major inflows from the rain in the next six months it is likely water restrictions will be introduced in mid-2020.
As a result of water grid capacity continuing to drop Seqwater is encouraging everyone to become more aware of their water usage. Ensuring everyone makes an effort now to reduce their water use can make a big difference in the introduction of water restrictions.
Seqwater continually updates water consumption across the six local water service providers. These updates are interesting comparisons of average daily residential consumption. In the last year, residential consumption on the Gold Coast has increased from 177 litres per person per day to 234 litres.
Some of this increased consumption is attributed to increased watering of gardens and lawns. Having a water wise garden is always a positive way to manage your garden and ensure it flourishes year-round.
Maintaining Your Garden
Having a water wise garden reduces your water usage and allows your garden to stay healthy. Healthy plants are important through all climate conditions. During the current drought, you need to be aware that your plants do reduce stress levels and purify the air.
Your water wise garden is crucial to the environment as all plants contribute to stabilising the ecosystem. Healthy plants all contribute to not only releasing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide they also are a critical part of the water cycle. Your plants also provide birds, insects and small animals with habitats to assist their survival and give them shade.
Maintaining your water wise garden is not a burdensome chore. In fact, the suggestions below should be your normal management techniques to ensuring you have a flourishing water wise garden and lawn year round no matter what climatic conditions we are experiencing.
Water early in the day
Evaporation will occur all year round in South East Queensland so to give your plants a drink early to reduce the evaporation of the water you are giving them.
In summer when the sun rises early we recommend you irrigate your garden and lawn before 6 am. In winter this can be wound back to 8 am.
If you cannot water early then the second choice is to water late. The heat of the day has diminished by 4 pm and can be a relaxing way to end the day by watering your gardens and lawn with a hose.
Be efficient in your watering technique
Whether your watering with a hose or a watering can you need to be efficient and effective. This means you need to water plants deeply and directly on to the root zone area which is at the stem of the plant.
This targeting deep watering technique increases the plant’s water uptake and trains the plant to expect less frequent watering.
Don’t water the foliage
Watering the foliage may make you feel good in seeing water dripping off the leaves but it achieves very little and is a waste of water. The only water needed for a healthy plant is in the root zone.
Watering foliage increases evaporation and assists pests feeding on the foliage. The incidence of plant diseases also increases with constant watering of foliage.
Maintain water levels in your soil
Water crystals or water beads or hydrogel are all water crystals and are a perfect additive to your garden once you have moist soil around your plants.
The water crystals will maintain moisture levels in the root zone around your plants which is where the water is needed. The crystals are small granules made from a water-absorbent polymer. Using them as a soil additive assists your plants to withstand drought conditions as they can expand to six hundred times their size after they come into contact with water. Once expanded they create a water-holding gel that slowly releases water to the plant’s roots.
Choose drought-tolerant plants for your garden
Your water wise garden will thrive when you use plants that are native to your locality. Plants such as most succulent varieties are a good starting point as is philodendron. To get the best advice on the best drought-tolerant plants for your garden we recommend you visit your local specialist nursery who are usually horticultural experts.
Adding a seaweed solution
The perfect health tonic for your plants is the addition of a seaweed solution to your periodic watering schedule. There are many seaweed solutions available which assist your plants to retain water which increases their hydration levels.
Lay mulch in your garden
It’s widely accepted mulching is essential for every garden. Mulching, especially in summer, is vital to reducing evaporation and ensuring your soil remains moist and cool.
Mulch combined with water crystals in the soil increases the soil’s water holding capacity. This combination ensures your water wise garden gets the most out of every drop of water.
Mulch correctly laid and maintained is also the visual finishing touch to your garden.
Install an irrigation system
If you are time-poor installing a drip irrigation system is a perfect solution to maintaining a water wise garden. Drip irrigation is literally what it says in that it allows water to drip slowly into the root zone of plants.
A drip irrigation system can be installed by you if you feel competent in doing so. There are many systems available many of which promote the DIY installation. But remember you always get the quality you pay for so choose carefully.
Drip irrigation systems must be legally connected to your water supply which is where many DIY installations fail with consequences that can be damaging to your family’s health.
If you need expert advice on installing a legally compliant water connection with a timer tap for your garden’s irrigation system then contact us anytime on (07) 5580 4311
Your Gold Coast water bill issued by the City of Gold Coast as a Water and Sewerage Rate Notice arrives every three months. Currently, every water meter is manually read every three months with your Gold Coast water bill coming soon after. The cost of water is set every year as part of the budget process with the detailed current water pricing for 2020-21 available from 
Listed below is unregulated plumbing work that can be performed by an unlicensed plumber in accordance with the 
In accordance with the advice provided by the 
