Annual Watermark

How we performed

Customer satisfaction with the quality of drinking water has improved by 2% since 2023-24. We continued our strong performance by meeting all customer commitments relating to the delivery of high-quality drinking water. All water quality samples and audits were compliant with legislation and very few, only 0.18 customers per every 100 customers, raised a complaint about their water quality. Approximately 7 out of every 10 customers stated that they were satisfied with their drinking water.

Customer Assessment Panel

“We believe that Westernport Water provides safe, reliable drinking water across the region. When Issues do occur, such as changes in taste or colour, staff respond and resolve these issues quickly, showing they take customer concerns seriously. We commend Westernport Water for its improvement in water quality and customer satisfaction with drinking water.

Although satisfaction is high, and growing, we think that the current 68 percent satisfaction target could be more ambitious.

Taste remains an issue for some customers. Though we generally accept and understand the variation in taste, there is an opportunity to improve education about taste variation, particularly for part-time residents and seasonal visitors.

Clearly explaining that water is safe, even if it tastes different, may help customers trust the water more and rely less on bottled water.
Overall, the Panel believes Westernport Water is performing well in this area.“

Outcome 3: Resolve sewer blockages quickly

We understand that when something happens to our sewer network, customers expect us to respond promptly and resolve the issue as soon as possible. Over the last 12 months, we were able to cut our response and resolution times in half. From the moment we were notified, we will have a crew arrive in 27 minutes on average and have the problem fixed well within two hours.

Customer Assessment Panel

“Westernport Water is doing an excellent job of resolving sewer blockages quickly. We appreciate that the organisation finds and fixes issues before they affect customers or the environment, and we are very impressed it achieved a response time of 27 minutes to clear blockages.

We support Westernport Water’s risk-based management initiatives, like installing emergency storage tanks to minimise disruptions and using CCTV to proactively monitor lines with a history of blockages. It is pleasing that performance has improved since last year.

We want to see the organisation strive for continual improvement and maintain its proactive approach. Given the growing impact of extreme weather, staying ahead of potential issues will be important for maintaining strong performance.

Overall, Westernport Water is performing very well on this outcome, proving it is committed to reducing risks and limiting disruptions for customers.”

OuR PERFORMANCE	2024-25	2023-24	Target 2023-28
Average time (min) to respond to Sewer Blockages	27.14	28.26	<35
Average time (min) to rectify Sewer Blockages	96.30	107.08	<150

Outcome 4: Keep water interruptions to a minimum

Water interruptions are a necessary part of maintaining our network. Whether for proactive maintenance reasons, such as flushing the network to ensure our water mains remain clean, or for responding to bursts or leaks. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet our target to limit the average duration of interruptions to 85 minutes. The team at Westernport Water continues to focus on initiatives to minimise the impact of water interruptions on our customers.

Customer Assessment Panel

“We acknowledge that Westernport Water has kept interruptions per customer low, but it hasn’t met its target for the average duration of unplanned interruptions. We understand that some disruptions are unavoidable due to extreme weather, ageing infrastructure, and third-party damage.

Westernport Water showed accountability for missing this target by financially penalising itself by making a donation to a community-led cause. It is also working to reduce the number and duration of disruptions through pipe upgrades, pressure reducers, and renewal programs, and by assessing its response approach. We support Westernport Water in carrying out careful repair works and investing in the future, even if doing so has come at the expense of meeting its targets.

We also suggest that more could be done to prevent unplanned disruptions caused by third parties, such as educating contractors and the community, and enforcing stricter penalties.

We want Westernport Water to continue to strive to reduce both the number and duration of unplanned outages while maintaining customer satisfaction and not increasing costs.

Overall, we believe Westernport Water’s performance on this target is acceptable given the challenges faced.“

How we performed

Overall, customers have provided positive feedback in relation to dealing with Westernport Water; 96% of customers who dealt with us stated that we were easy to deal with. We had just one incident after hours that caused us to miss our target for average response time to ‘Priority 1 bursts and leaks’.

Customer Assessment Panel

“Westernport Water performs well in the outcome – Be there when I need you. Its customer service is consistently strong, and staff are easy to reach when issues arise.

We appreciate the noticeable improvements in response times for Priority 2 bursts and see the organisation as genuinely committed to resolving issues. The fact that 44% of customers don’t know whether Westernport Water responds quickly to disruptions tells us the organisation is often quietly resolving issues without customers even noticing.

The Panel acknowledges Westernport Water missed its target for Priority 1 bursts and leaks response time. However, we think customers should keep in mind that there have been only three Priority 1 bursts in the last five years, meaning the average response this year is based on only one incident. We think that is important context for customers to understand when assessing Westernport Water’s performance.

We commend Westernport Water for its strong customer focus and quick resolution of service issues. Regarding complaints, we suggest that there is opportunity for Westernport Water to make billing systems more user-friendly.

Overall, Westernport Water is performing well in relation to this outcome, despite missing its target for Priority 1 bursts.“

Our Performance	2024-25	2023-24	Target 2023-28
Number of customer complaints  (per 100 customers)	.35	.29	< 0.6
Average response time (min) to Priority 1 bursts and leaks	57	6	< 30
Average response time (min) to Priority 2 bursts and leaks	23.78	36.38	< 35
Customer satisfaction with ‘Ease of Effort’  (% of survey respondents)	96%	92%	> 89%

How we performed

We continued to help customers in need throughout the year, awarding 269 hardship grants and facilitating 432 utility relief grant payments from the Victorian Government. Overall, we connected customers to over $1M in support, including concessions, rebates, relief grants and high usage leak allowances.

Customer Assessment Panel

“We believe Westernport Water is performing exceptionally well in keeping essential services affordable. We appreciate its proactive and compassionate approach to helping customers facing financial hardship.

Customers who experience payment difficulties can easily access a range of relief options including grants, flexible payment arrangements, and concessions simply by contacting Westernport Water. We also support having someone in a dedicated customer care role, which provides a valuable service to community members in need.

We recommend increasing awareness of the available support options among customers. Strengthening connections with local charities and community organisations could further help people understand what assistance is available and how to access it.

Westernport Water provides thoughtful, proactive customer care, and compassion during challenging times.

Customers cannot choose their water provider, so we are grateful that Westernport Water demonstrates such exceptional care for our community.“