by Gary Mays | Nov 16, 2019 | Climate Change, Cold Water, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Gold Coast Water, Health Issues, Hot Water, Plumbers Gold Coast, Taqua built in filtration sink mixer tap, Water, Water Filtration
Hay Fever Season
Once the footy finals are over, we know it’s spring, as the weather warms and evening barbecues become the norm. But for many people, spring is a time to be dreaded. That’s because the advent of spring means its hay fever season for one in five Australians.
Hay fever season comes in stages over the spring and summer. The first stage will be in October/November when windborne pollens of plants and grasses cause allergens. When the pollens become trapped in your nose or eyes, they release their allergens. Fortunately, the pollen allergens are benign, but for one in five of us, our body misreads them as being harmful and fights back. This results in our body producing mucus to expel the pollen allergens.
As the body fights the pollen allergens watery, itchy bloodshot eyes along with a runny nose and sneezing are the most common symptoms of what we refer to as hay fever.
Filtered Water & Hay Fever
As proactive prevention should always be the #1 action, you should start with installing a Taqua built-in filtration tap. The filter built into the Taqua tap will remove chlorine and impurities from your tap water. Best of all for hay fever sufferers a Taqua tap is guaranteed to retain the minerals your body needs in your tap water.
Your #2 action in hay fever season should be to drink 800 ml of hot water every day from your Taqua tap. Drinking hot water at 50 ºC assists in easing common hay fever symptoms such as sneezing and a runny nose.
This simple action of drinking hot filtered water will make your life more comfortable if you suffer from hay fever plus will assist your general health due to its detoxing effects on the body.
Your #3 action in the hay fever season is to rinse your eyes regularly with cold water to flush out the pollens. Using the filtered cold water from your Taqua tap will ensure that you are not washing chemicals such as chlorine directly into your body.
Filtered Water & Vegetables
We all know that eating fresh fruit and vegetables assists in our overall health, particularly in the hay fever season.
Did you know washing your fresh fruit and vegetables with ordinary tap water loses many of their valuable minerals?
The reason for this mineral loss is due to the free chlorine in ordinary tap water that reacts with the minerals in fruit and vegetables, causing the minerals to break down. In fact, 10% – 30% of all minerals are lost due to washing fruit and vegetables in tap water.
Using a Taqua built-in filtration tap with its veggie spray function is the perfect solution to wash fruit and vegetables to ensure they retain all their vitamins.
Cooking with filtered water from a Taqua built-in filtration tap is a simple way to improve the taste, smell and colour of your food.
by Gary Mays | Oct 20, 2019 | bathroom renovation, Bathrooms, Blocked drain, blocked toilet, City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, DIY Plumbing, Emergency Plumber, Form 4, Form 4 notifiable work, Gold Coast Plumbing, Gold Coast Water, Health Issues, Hot Water, Insurance, Leaking Pipes, notifiable work, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Legislation, Plumbing Maintenance, Plumbing Renovation, QBCC, Queensland Government
QBCC Form 4 Plumbing Compliance Certificate
We often receive questions from clients regarding why we charge them for Form 4. The straightforward answer is that it is required by law.
The Form 4 system for plumbing and drainage work has existed for over two decades.
Initially, licensed plumbers had to submit Form 4 to local authority plumbing inspectors. For those on the Gold Coast, this meant submitting the form to the City of Gold Coast’s Plumbing and Drainage section when replacing part of the sewer house drain, water main, or hot water service.
In 2012, legislative changes mandated plumbers lodge Form 4 with the Department of Housing and Public Works through the Plumbing Industry Council (PIC). This was the first time a fee was introduced for lodging a Form 4, which amounted to $25.90. In 2014, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) assumed responsibility for the Form 4 process as part of their role in overseeing occupational plumbing licensing.
Once Form 4 is submitted, it may be subject to a random compliance audit to ensure the work adheres to the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018 and the Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019. This process guarantees that work is carried out to the highest standards, safeguarding everyone’s well-being, health, and safety.
Whywait Plumbing has always been a proponent of the Form 4 process, as it ensures that all work on your property is compliant and registered with both the QBCC and the City of Gold Coast. In the event of a significant insurance claim involving plumbing failure, an accessor can easily trace the work to confirm that it was performed legally and in compliance with regulations.
In essence, Form 4 serves to protect homeowners.
Which areas of plumbing & drainage work are classified as notifiable work?
The definitions of notifiable work were updated on 1 July 2019 to ensure clarity and usability and establish cost-effective plumbing laws and regulations for both plumbers and property owners.
Twelve primary categories of notifiable plumbing and drainage work necessitate a Form 4:
- Extending water supply pipes – involves work on water reticulation pipes other than fire services in existing buildings.
- Extending or removing a fire service – applies to class 2-9 buildings with development approval as per schedule 2 of the Building Act 1975.
- Existing sanitary plumbing – pertains to work in existing buildings where sanitary plumbing is removed, replaced, altered, or extended.
- Existing sanitary drainage – concerns work on existing class 1 to class 10 buildings involving extension, replacement, alteration, or removal of any part of the sanitary drain system (excluding a combined sanitary drain). This also applies to extensions or alterations to a class 1 building.
- Temperature control devices – includes work with thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs) or tempering valves in existing buildings that require installing, replacing, or removing a valve. This also applies to extensions or alterations to a class 1 building.
- Water heaters – involves work in existing buildings requiring installing, replacing, or removing a hot water heater. This also applies to extensions or alterations to a class 1 building.
- Backflow prevention devices – work with testable backflow devices or dual check valves in existing buildings that require installing, replacing, or removing a valve. This also applies to extensions or alterations to a class 1 building.
- Greywater treatment plants – pertains to work involving installing a greywater use system that includes a greywater treatment plant installed in a sewered area where the plant generates less than 3kL of greywater daily or for replacing a greywater plant.
- Fixtures in class 1 or class 10 buildings – include work required for installing a new fixture or relocating an existing fixture in class 1 or class 10 buildings. This also applies to extensions or alterations to a class 1 building.
- Fixtures for class 2 to 9 buildings of 1 or 2 storeys – applies to all work other than sanitary drainage required for installing or relocating a fixture, provided the work is for an existing class 2 to 9 building up to two storeys above ground.
- Sanitary drains – involves sealing a sanitary drain after the connection point to the council sewer or a treatment plant.
- Sealing supply pipes – includes work to seal a water supply pipe after the council water meter, provided the work is for an existing class 2 to class 9 building.
The QBCC provides easy-to-understand guides on notifiable work and the definitions of building classes as outlined in the Building Code of Australia, which can be downloaded below:
Form 4 notifiable work compliance
Every reputable professional plumber I know wholeheartedly supports the notifiable work system. This support ensures that homeowners and property owners can trust that all work carried out on their property adheres to the required standards.
If you have had plumbing or drainage work done and have not been provided with a Form 4, as shown above, and the work falls under the listed categories, you should report it to the QBCC immediately or call them at 139333. High-quality plumbing and drainage work is essential for protecting your health.
If you are uncertain or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us at (07) 5580 4311; we will offer our opinion. Ultimately, all plumbing work is not about guesswork but compliance with the law, specifically the Plumbing and Drainage Act 2018.
by Gary Mays | Feb 19, 2019 | City of Gold Coast, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Gold Coast Water, Plumbers Gold Coast, Water, Water Leaks, Water Meters, Whywait Plumbing
Most property owners on the Gold Coast have just received their City of Gold Coast Water and Sewerage Rate Notice for January. Under Queensland law, you must receive a quarterly water bill. The City of Gold Coast issues their water bills in January, April, July and October.
Whenever water bills arrive, we get clients asking us why their Gold Coast water bill is always out of date. From experience, we can guarantee the average Gold Coast Water bill is still out of date. For example, most water bills issued in January were for water that was used between July and October. This is due to the contractors who read each water meter having set routes and timelines to read your meter so yes your usage charges are always at least two months out of date. This is why we suggest you monitor your water meter weekly and read how to do it on our page “How To Read Your Water Meter”.
For most homeowners who use around the average daily water usage of 451 litres, the highest costs in the quarterly water bill are their sewerage and water services charges. If you look closely at your water bill you can see that you have the following charges:
- Sewerage service charges – sewerage access $181.03 per quarter
- Water service charges – water access $53.02 per quarter
- Gold Coast Water – water usage per kilolitre $1.09
- Queensland Government – water usage per kilolitre $2.91
In reality, even if you used no water, you would still pay for service charges of $234.05 every quarter or $936.20 every year.
Average water use of 451 litres or 0.451kL per property is not an accurate guide to your water use. In our experience, 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.
If you suspect a water leak, call Whywait Plumbing and ask for our leak detection service.
by Gary Mays | Jun 28, 2018 | City of Gold Coast, Cold Water, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Gold Coast Water, Leaking Pipes, Plumbers Gold Coast, Queensland Government, Rain Water Tanks, Sustainable Plumbing, Water, Water Filtration, Water Leaks, Whywait Plumbing
Gold Coast council water rates are about to increase again. For both homeowners and business owners, this could be a double whammy when you couple this with the increases in power bills in recent years.
The Increases are likely to continue in coming years even though the City of Gold Coast has not increased its portion of your water bill at all for three years. Bulk water charges for the City of Gold Coast are recommended to increase by the Queensland Competition Authority a further $12 a year for the next two years.
The City of Gold Coast has now finalised the 2018-19 budget. Your Gold Coast council water rates charges will not increase on the retail and distribution component of the water and sewerage charges from the last financial year.
However, the significant portion of your water cost which is Queensland Government’s bulk water price will increase in line with the recommendations by the Queensland Competition Authority. The bulk water price will increase by 2.5% from $2.74 per kilolitre to $2.91 per kilolitre.
Contrary to some urban myths City of Gold Coast no longer owns Hinze Dam and the desalination plant. Gold Coast Water buys the water that you use through your meter from Seqwater owned by the Queensland Government. The price paid for the bulk water is itemised in your water bill.
Essentially the bulk water charges levied by the Queensland Government makes up the bulk of your water bill.
These charges are still reflecting the poor planning from 20 years ago that resulted in the multi-billion dollar water grid construction in 2007-08 which resulted in supply pipes connecting all of South-East Queensland being built. To a large extent, the pipe grid was constructed without dams being built and to lesser extent dams constructed without pipes which also resulted in the construction of the seldom-used Tugun desalination plant.
For 2018-19 your Gold Coast council water rates will increase on 1 July for your water and sewerage which will comprise of the following charges:
- Queensland Government bulk water charge $2.91 per k/L
- City of Gold Coast distribution $1.09 per k/L
- Total water consumption charge $4.00 per k/L
The water and sewerage access charges will remain the same as in previous years being:
- water access charge of $212.08 per year
- sewerage access charge of $724.12 per year.
Currently, water charges are relatively stable, but significant problems are looming. Long term planning is required to address the issues of aging infrastructure and their maintenance costs which will impact Gold Coast council water rates.
Infrastructure Australia in a major report has predicted water bills will go the way of power bills increasing by at least $50 every year. They predict today’s average annual water bill of $1200 will increase to $2500 within 20 years.
The report correctly says we need to start planning now as our dams are relatively full which gives us the rare opportunity of “….clear thinking and long-term planning to meet our future needs.”
As we all know from the water management supply crisis of 2007-09 South East Queensland can be adversely effected quickly with a combination of natural disasters, poor planning and below average rainfall.
Very simply if we don’t start long-term planning now for planning our future water needs the drastic increases in water bills will cripple family and business budgets in the same way power bills are now.
by Gary Mays | Jul 19, 2014 | City of Gold Coast, Cold Water, Consumer Issues, Gold Coast Plumbing, Gold Coast Water, Leaking Pipes, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Queensland Government, Water, Water Leaks, Water Meters
Increases continue for average Gold Coast water bill in 2014
The average Gold Coast water bill continues to increase. Did you know another water bill will arrive soon, in October despite the fact you have not yet received your six-monthly water account for the first half of 2014?
Due to legislative changes as from 1 July 2014, your water account will be issued quarterly, usually in July, October, January and April of each year.
The rationale behind this law change is that quarterly bills will assist in monitoring your water usage plus the bills will not be as large as they have been previously when bills only came out every six months.
Tugun Desalination Plant that was constructed entirely from borrowed money that we repay for now in our water bills even though it only operates in “hot standby” mode when there is a critical supply emergency
For most clients of Whywait Plumbing that means you will be getting another bill from Gold Coast Water or Logan Water in October, albeit only about half of the one you will receive for the first six months of 2014.
Many of us remember when water was virtually free on the Gold Coast and the only time you got charged for it was if you used excess water over and above the very generous allowance that was paid for as part of your council rates.
However, cheap water is the past thanks to poorly costed projects such as the construction of the South-East Queensland water grid and the Tugun desalination plant.
The reality of today is that water is expensive. The only guarantee anyone can give you on the cost of water is that it will continually increase every year.
For Gold Coast and Logan residential property owners who use the average water consumption of 250k/L annually your yearly bill on the Gold Coast will be $1887.20 compared to Logan of $1939.60 which is a slight difference of $52.40.
Ultimately we all have to be vigilant in ensuring that the integrity of our household water reticulation pipes is maintained at all times because a small water leak left to flow can add up to thousands of dollars in a very short time. This is why Whywait recommend every home should have water leak monitoring installed.
by Gary Mays | Sep 25, 2013 | City of Gold Coast, Cold Water, Consumer Issues, DIY Plumbing, Emergency Plumber, Gold Coast Plumbing, Gold Coast Water, Leaking Pipes, Plumbers, Plumbers Gold Coast, Plumbing Emergencies, Plumbing Maintenance, Toilets, Water, Water Leaks, Water Meters
How to check if you have a water pipe leak
With a water pipe leak, it’s commonly said that prevention is the key. Positive preventive maintenance saves you thousands of dollars in hassles and water damage.
That’s why you want to follow the simple step by step check for a water pipe leak. This will prevent the hassles before they hit you where it hurts most – in your pocket!
Step by Step Instructions
Below we run through:
- Check your taps
- Check your toilets
- Turn the taps off
- Check your water meter
- Wait 15 minutes
- Compare water meter readings
- Turn the taps back on
- When to call a plumber
- When your good to go
At Whywait Plumbing, we have always preached that preventative maintenance policies and procedures will prevent many of the significant cost blowouts in plumbing maintenance.
As always, prevention on checking for a water leak is the best solution. An underground concealed water pipe leak is often impossible to see or hear. More so if your home is on sandy soil or has lots of garden vegetation.
The simplest way to check if you have a concealed water pipe leak is to follow the how-to steps below:
Step 1 – Check your taps
Check all taps both inside the house and outside the house are not dripping.
Step 2 – Check your toilets
Check the toilet cisterns are not overflowing or running into the toilet bowl by tipping a few drops of food dye into the cistern and if there is no colouring of the water in the toilet bowl you know there is no leak.
Step 3 – Turn the taps off
Turn off all the taps that you normally leave turned on, such as the washing machine, dishwasher and the toilet cisterns.
Step 4 – Check your water meter
At the council water meter check the meter is not turning and write down the figures on the meter dial.
Step 5 – Wait 15 minutes
After 15 minutes recheck the water meter and write down the figures on the meter dial again.
Step 6 – Compare water meter readings
Compare the figures you have written down, and if the numbers have not changed at all, then you have no water pipe leak. If the numbers have changed very slightly repeat the test but do it for at least 1 hour.
Step 7 – Turn the taps back on
If you are satisfied there are no leaks remember to turn back on the taps you turned off at the washing machine, dishwasher and toilet cisterns.
Step 8 – When to call a plumber
If the meter dial reading on the water meter has changed after 1 hour then in all likelihood you have an underground concealed water pipe leak, and you need to give Whywait a call to organise leak detection.
Step 9 – When your good to go
If the meter dial reading has not changed, that means your underground water reticulation piping is in good condition.
Prevention is the key
No matter what your results in the above step by step preventative maintenance suggestions, we recommend you repeat it monthly. We also recommend you record your water meter readings every month as any change in water use patterns will quickly indicate a possible leak.
As a rule of thumb, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for any water leak after the council water meter that is on your property. Therefore we recommend that you at least check your water meter reading every month and seriously consider the installation of an AquaTrip water pipe leak detection and control system.
