Agreements

Our agreement with you

Most services you connect to will be covered by our Customer Contract (6MB), which outlines the level of service we offer and explains your rights and obligations. However, some types of connections or services may be different to the services outlined in the Customer Contract or have ongoing conditions of connection, such as maintaining pumps or pipes. You'll have a separate agreement to explain what you must do to use and maintain your connection.

Pressure sewerage wastewater connection

We use these agreements to manage connections to our pressure sewerage system where property owners privately own the pressure sewerage equipment.  Many of these connections were installed as part of our Priority Sewerage Program.

Your agreement will cover:

• what pressure sewerage equipment you must have on your property to operate your wastewater connection
• who owns and maintains the connection and pressure sewerage equipment on the property.

Our wastewater network explains the different types of wastewater systems.

Pump-to-sewer wastewater connection

We use these agreements to manage customers who need to pump wastewater to our gravity wastewater system and install pressure sewerage equipment on their property. You may need to pump to our wastewater system if your property is situated lower than our gravity wastewater pipes.

Your agreement will cover:

• what kind of pump and tank you need to install
• how much wastewater you can discharge and how quickly you can pump into our wastewater system
• the quality of wastewater you can discharge
• your responsibilities for owning and maintaining your pressure sewerage equipment.

Pump water

We use these agreements to manage customers who want to pump water directly from our water mains. You may need to do this to boost water pressure or to pump water to multi-storey buildings. Agreements ensure that when pumps operate they don't damage our pipes or affect the service we give other customers.

Your agreement may cover:

• the type of pump you can install
  
• the rate at which you can pump water from our mains.

We don't need an agreement with you if there's a tank between our pipe and your main.

Extended private water service

We use these agreements to manage connections to our water main that involve very long lines of private pipes. You may need this type of connection if your property doesn't front one of our water mains.

Your agreement may cover:

• your responsibilities for maintaining your private pipes
• where your meter can be located.

Low pressure water connections

We use these agreements to manage water connections in areas where:

• our water supply has low pressure
• we can't meet the standards set out in the Customer Contract (6MB) – this can occur in rural areas with small pipes or where another customer has a very high water demand.

Your agreement may cover:

• the water pressure we can supply to you
• your requirements to install any tanks or flow restricting devices on your private service
• your responsibilities for maintaining your own pipes and equipment.

Vacuum wastewater connection

We use these agreements to manage connections to our vacuum wastewater systems. 

Your agreement may cover:

• what equipment you must have on your property to make your wastewater connection work
• who is responsible for owning and maintaining the equipment.

Sewer mining

We use these agreements when customers take water from our wastewater system, treat it and reuse it.

Your agreement may cover:

• where you can connect
• the design of your connection
• how much wastewater you can extract and how quickly you can pump it
• when you can extract wastewater
• any fees you must pay us.

If you return wastewater or sludge to our system after treating it in your sewer mining process, you must have an industrial trade wastewater agreement with us.

Stormwater harvesting

We use these agreements when customers want to take water from our stormwater pipes and channels, treat it and reuse it.

Your agreement may cover:

• where you can connect
• the design of your connection
• how much stormwater you can extract and how quickly you can pump it
• when you can extract stormwater
• any fees you must pay us.

If you want to discharge stormwater or sludge to our wastewater system after treating it in your stormwater harvesting process, you must have an industrial trade wastewater agreement with us.

Metered standpipes

We use these agreements when we've given permission to use a metered standpipe on our hydrants. You may need a metered standpipe for short-term water access for construction activities or water carting.

Your agreement may cover:

• what hydrants you can use your standpipe on
• how we will charge you
• how you must record your water use
• your responsibilities for maintaining your standpipe.

Non-standard meters

We use these agreements to manage water meters that aren't in a standard location or that we can't access.

Your agreement may cover:

• how and when you must give us access to your meter
• when we require you to send us your meter readings
• when we require you to install and maintain an electronic remote meter-reading device.