How to check your water use
Our water use graphs and tools can help you keep track of your water use in your home or business.
Keeping track of your water use can save time and money, allowing you to get on top of leaks early and identify ways to improve your water efficiency.
If you’ve received an unexpectedly high bill or want to track your water use to make some savings, our water use graph and comparison tool can help you stay on top of things.
Using your online account
To view a detailed water use summary, log in to your online account and go to the water use graph under the ‘My bill’ tab. This is where you can see your water use history and get water use forecasts based on your household’s trends.
If you have a smart meter, you can take a closer look at your hourly water use by clicking on ‘view data’.
Understanding your water use graph
The water use graph shows you how many litres of water you’ve used on average per day and for each billing period. Your water use billing period is based on the last time we read your meter until your current reading.
Your water use is shown in colours:
- Purple shows the water use for your current billing period.
- Light purple shows our forecasted water use for your next billing period. We calculate this based on your water use history and your use for the same time last year.
- Blue shows your water use for the previous billing periods, with light blue showing your water use for the same time last year.
You can also download your water use information in CSV format to view your detailed water use in Microsoft Excel. By clicking on the ‘download water use’ link under the graph.
Compare your water use to other households
With the water use comparison tool, you can see how much water your household consumes compared to similar households in your area.
- Go to Bill & account and look under the ‘My bill’ tab for the comparison tool.
- Enter your account number, which can be found on the top right-hand side of your bill.
- Answer a few questions about your home, so we can better understand your household's water use.
- You will then get a result showing how waterwise you are. You can learn more below if you’re unsure what your status means.
Understanding your waterwise status
| Waterwise status | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Waterwise | You are doing a great job! |
| Nearly there | You are not far off being Waterwise. Well done! |
| Halfway there | Keep up your good work! |
| Needs improvement | Run a few checks to see where your water is going. |
| Off track | Do you have a leak? Have you installed a lawn? Are visitors staying in your home? It is worth investigating to save you both water and money. |
Your status is based on how many litres per day you use compared to similar households in your neighbourhood. The exact amounts depend on your suburb’s average water use.
Using your bill
If you don’t have an online account, your water bill will be a good starting point. On the front of your bill, you can see how much water you used for the current billing period compared to the previous bill and the same time last year.
Your average daily water use in litres provides a good indication of your day-to-day consumption. Unusual spikes or gradual increases can sometimes mean a hidden leak. If you think a leak might be the cause, use our leak detection tool to find out.
Monitoring your business’s water use is important to help you identify potential savings or consumption issues that can be solved with simple changes.
Using your online account
You can monitor all your properties’ water use in your online account.
When you log in, you’ll see an overview of your properties. If there's higher than usual water use, you'll see an increased percentage in the overview for the property.
You will also see high water use alerts if your water use is above 25% for the current billing period. An increase of 25% can indicate a hidden leak or other operational changes.
Learn more about the potential reasons for your high water use.
Detailed water use
To see a more detailed summary of your water use and compare consumption for the different billing periods, log in to your online account and select the 'Water use & services' tab.
Scroll down to find the water use per billing period graph. This is where you can see how many litres of water you've used on average per day for your current billing period and your water use history.
If you have multiple properties and need to view another property's water use, select the property address from the drop-down. If you have multiple meters, you can choose the meter for which you need to view the water use.
You can view all your water use data for your combined meters by selecting 'Total water use - all meters'.
Understanding your water use graph
The water use graph shows you how many litres of water you’ve used on average per day and for each billing period. Your water use billing period is based on the last time we read your meter until your current reading.
If you see an asterisk next to the number of days on the graph, it’s because your property has more than 1 meter, which was read on different days resulting in a varying number of days within the period.
Your water use is shown in colours:
- Purple shows the water use for your current billing period.
- Light purple shows our forecasted water use for your next billing period. We calculate this based on your water use history and your use for the same time last year.
- Blue shows your water use for the previous billing periods, with light blue showing your water use for the same time last year.
You can also download your water use information in CSV format to view your detailed water use in other programs.
Properties with a smart meter
If your property has a smart meter, please select the ‘Smart meter’ link at the bottom of the ‘Water use & services’ tab to view your smart meter dashboard and data.
Water use comparison
Benchmarking helps you measure and compare your performance against similar businesses. It can also assist with identifying potential inefficiencies, determining realistic targets and planning for changes in your operations.
Please visit our benchmarking page to see how you compare to businesses in your industry.
Benchmark my business