| Company type | Government enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public utilities |
| Predecessors | Ben Lomond Water, Cradle Mountain Water, Southern Water, Onstream |
| Founded | July 2013, Tasmania, Australia |
Area served | Tasmania |
| Services | Water and sewage supply |
| Total assets | A$2,187.5 million |
| Owner | Local Government Areas of Tasmania |
| Website | https://www.taswater.com.au |
TasWater is Tasmania's water and sewage utility. It is responsible for providing drinking water across the state as well as collecting and treating sewage. It is owned by Tasmania's 29 local governments. [1]
TasWater commenced operations on 1 July 2013, following the merger of the three former regional Tasmanian water and sewerage corporations (Ben Lomond Water, Cradle Mountain Water and Southern Water) and the common services provider company, Onstream. [2]
Prior to 2008, Tasmania's water and sewerage infrastructure was owned by either one of the state's 29 local government councils or one of the three bulk water authorities; Hobart Water, Esk Water and Cradle Coast Water. In 2006 a State Government appointed Ministerial Water and Sewerage Taskforce "...noted that Tasmania faced significant challenges to enable its water and sewerage infrastructure to keep pace with demand and that in many areas existing water and sewerage infrastructure was reaching capacity." [3] The taskforce also noted that 33 towns had been identified with water supply problems and 58 wastewater treatment systems were operating below standards.
In 2008, the State Government passed the Water and Sewerage Corporations Act 2008 [4] as a result of a report from the Taskforce. The Act transferred council owned water and sewage assets to three new entities: Southern Water, Ben Lomond Water and Cradle Mountain Water. A fourth entity, known as Onstream, provided shared services to the corporations including payroll, billing and procurement. The state's 29 Local Government councils became joint owners of the corporations with Onstream being jointly owned by the three corporations. These changes took place in July 2009. [3]
In September 2011, the common chair of the boards of the three corporations and Onstream started talks on creating a single statewide water and sewerage corporation. In 2012 a House of Assembly Select Committee report into the issue supported the creation of a single entity. The report's executive summary found "after considering the evidence presented to it, the Committee accepts that a single entity will deliver material benefits to the Tasmanian community. These benefits will manifest as either, downward pressure on future price increases, better health outcomes as a result of increased investment in infrastructure, improved financial security for owner councils, or a combination of all three." [5]
On July 1, 2013, the four entities were merged into the one corporation trading as Tasmanian Water and Sewerage Corporation. [6]
The company was criticised for a sewage spill into the South Esk River in April 2014, which it failed to inform the Northern Midlands Council of until three days after it was reported by residents and would not inform the Mayor of when the spill had started. [7]
The company was the subject of a petition by residents of Circular Head Council, requesting control of local water services be returned to the council. The petition was handed to TasWater by local alderman upon receiving 350 signatures. [8] Residents of Gretna presented a petition to Will Hodgman, the then Premier of Tasmania in January 2015, demanding fixing of their water which had been dangerous for up to six years but degenerated even further recently. Gretna was at the time one of 21 towns in Tasmania with permanent danger warnings on their water supply. [9]
In February 2015, the state peak body for property investors, the Property Council of Australia – Tasmania branch, launched a call for the fixing of major water quality issues by paying less dividends to councils and returning profit to the companies maintenance. [10]
Launceston is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launceston urban area has a population of 90,953. Launceston is the second most populous city in Tasmania after the state capital, Hobart. Launceston is the fifth-largest inland city and the ninth-largest non-capital city in Australia. Launceston is regarded as the most livable regional city, and was one of the most popular regional cities to move to in Australia from 2020 to 2021. Launceston was named Australian Town of the Year in 2022.
Lake St Clair or leeawulenna is a natural freshwater lake located in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania, Australia. The lake forms the southern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. It has an area of approximately 45 square kilometres (17 sq mi), and a maximum depth of 215 metres (705 ft), making it Australia's deepest lake.
Dorset Council is a local government body in Tasmania, located in the far north-east of the state mainland. Dorset is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 6,652. The major towns and localities of the region include Bridport, Derby and Ringarooma with Scottsdale the regional centre. Dorset was placed under a board of inquiry on 2 August 2023 and is currently under the supervision of commissioner Wardlaw. The current general manager is John Marik.
Kentish Council is a local government body in Tasmania, situated in the north-west of the state, to the south and inland from Devonport. Kentish is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 6,324, the major towns of the municipality are Sheffield, Railton and Wilmot.
Central Highlands Council is a local government body in Tasmania, encompassing the Central Highlands region of the state. Central Highlands is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 2,144, the two largest towns are Bothwell and Hamilton.
Northern Midlands Council is a local government body in Tasmania, extending south of Launceston into the northern region of the Tasmanian central midlands. Northern Midlands is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 13,300, the major population centres and localities of the region include Campbell Town, Evandale, Longford, and Perth.
Ben Lomond is a mountain in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia.
Deddington is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Northern Midlands in the Central LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 34 kilometres (21 mi) east of the town of Longford. The 2016 census has a population of 121 for the state suburb of Deddington. The town is situated on the Nile River and lies in the foothills of Ben Lomond.
The South Esk River, the longest river in Tasmania, is a major perennial river located in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia.
The North Esk River is a major perennial river located in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia.
Bryan Alexander Green is a former Australian politician. He was the leader of the parliamentary Labor Party in Tasmania from 2014 to 2017, and a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the electorate of Braddon from 1998 to 2017.
Evandale is an historic town in northern Tasmania, Australia. It sits on the banks of the South Esk River, 18 km south of Launceston. Named after early colonial explorer and Surveyor-General George Evans, the town is famous for its late-Georgian and early-Victorian buildings with relatively untouched streetscape, a popular Sunday market and as a host to the annual national Penny Farthing Bicycle Championships. At the 2016 census, Evandale had a population of 1,345.
The Stacks Bluff is a peak in northeast Tasmania, Australia. The mountain is situated on the Ben Lomond plateau.
North West Tasmania is one of the regions of Tasmania in Australia. The region comprises the whole of the north west, including the North West Coast and the northern reaches of the West Coast. It is usually accepted as extending as far south as the Pieman River and including the Savage River National Park within the Tarkine region.
Skiing in Tasmania takes place in the high country of the state of Tasmania, Australia, during the Southern Hemisphere winter. Cross country skiing is possible within the Tasmanian Wilderness and two small downhill ski-fields have been developed at Ben Lomond and Mount Mawson.
Gretna is a rural locality in the local government areas (LGA) of Central Highlands and Derwent Valley in the Central and South-east LGA regions of Tasmania. The locality is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-east of the town of Hamilton. The 2016 census has a population of 211 for the state suburb of Gretna. It was formerly known as Stony Hut Plains, though the Gretna post office was known as Macquarie Plains for many years. It has a postcode of 7140.
In Australia the predominant term used for SOEs is government business enterprise (GBE). Various Australian states also have GBEs, especially with respect to the provision of water and sewerage, and many state-based GBEs were privatized in some states during the last decade of the twentieth century. Former Commonwealth SOEs include Telstra, established in the 1970s as Telecom Australia. Telstra, now Australia's largest telecommunications company, was privatised in 1997 by the Howard government. As of June 2010 Telstra owned a majority of the copper wire infrastructure in Australia and is pending sale to its former parent, the Australian government, for a non-binding amount of 11 billion Australian dollars, as ducts in the copper wire tunnels are needed to install the fibre optic cable. The Commonwealth Bank, as its name indicates, was also founded as public company before later being privatized.
Swan Point is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of West Tamar in the Launceston LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 22 kilometres (14 mi) south-east of the town of Beaconsfield. The 2016 census recorded a population of 282 for the state suburb of Swan Point.
