How to Lower Your Water Bill in Perth

So you've opened the water bill and it's higher than you expected. Happens all the time here, and most of that cost isn't from you standing under the showerhead – it's from water you never even saw leaving your pipes. A slow drip here, a sneaky leak there, a garden that gets watered twice when it only needed it once. The quickest fix is usually finding those leaks and swapping out a couple of tired old fixtures, which you can start checking on today.

Below is a straightforward, no-fuss guide to actually lowering that Perth water bill. We're talking about tracking down the leaks you can't see, and watering your garden without sending half of it down the drain.

Start with hidden leaks, the silent bill-killer

A leak you can't see will waste thousands of litres every month without you even knowing. Could be a tap that drips, a toilet that keeps running after you flush, or a pipe underground that's slowly leaking – all of it is pumping your bill up for no good reason. The Water Corporation lets you track usage through their portal, and checking your meter from time to time is a really smart habit to get into.

The meter test: turn off every tap and all water-using appliances in the house, then go outside and read your water meter. Don't use any water for an hour or two – seriously, not a drop – then read it again. If that number has crept up, there's a leak somewhere. A cistern that just won't stop running is probably the most common and wasteful culprit we come across, and it's usually pretty easy to fix once you know about it.

Underground and hidden leaks though, those are a whole different story. Our water leak detection service uses specialised equipment to track these down without needing to rip up your entire yard. You fix the one spot and stop paying for water that's essentially disappearing into the ground.

Fix the small stuff that adds up

• Dripping taps: even a slow drip wastes litres every day. Usually it's just a worn washer, which is a straightforward fix.

• Running toilets: if you can hear water trickling long after the flush, the cistern valve probably needs attention.

• Leaking hot water system relief valve: that constant drip from the valve is wasting water and it's a sign something else is wrong with the system.

These are exactly the kind of jobs our tap, toilet and fixture repairs service handles quickly, and the money you save on water will usually pay for the repair several times over.

Upgrade to water-efficient fixtures

Modern fixtures use considerably less water than older ones, and you probably won't even notice the difference in how they perform. When you're shopping around, look for the WELS (Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards) star rating – more stars equals less water used.

Run your reticulation smarter

For a lot of Perth households the garden is one of the biggest water users, and reticulation systems make it really easy to give the lawn more than it actually needs without thinking about it. A few changes can make a noticeable difference:

• Follow the sprinkler roster: the Water Corporation sets rostered watering days for each area, so stick to your days and don't go watering more than what's actually needed.

• Water in the early morning: a lot less water gets lost to evaporation compared with running sprinklers in the middle of a hot afternoon.

• Check for broken or misaligned sprinklers that spray onto paths and fences instead of hitting the actual garden beds.

• Consider a bore if you rely heavily on scheme water for the garden – bore water is pretty common across Perth and it can take the pressure off your metered supply for irrigation purposes.

• Add or update your retic controller and adjust run times as the seasons change, because the garden needs far less water through the cooler months than it does in summer.

Even just shaving a couple of minutes off each station's run time, or dropping one watering cycle through winter, adds up to a surprising amount over the course of a year.

Everyday habits that trim usage

• Shorter showers, and turning the tap off while you brush your teeth or shave
• Only running the dishwasher and washing machine with full loads
• Using a broom instead of hosing down driveways and paths
• Keeping a jug of drinking water in the fridge so you don't run the tap waiting for it to cool
• Fitting a trigger nozzle on garden hoses so they aren't running freely when you set them down

Consider rainwater and greywater

For households that want to go a bit further, capturing water you'd otherwise be paying for can make a real dent in costs, especially on the garden side of things:

• Rainwater tanks collect runoff from your roof and can be used for the garden, and with the right plumbing setup they can also supply toilets and laundry – which cuts scheme-water use quite a bit.

• Greywater systems take water from showers, basins and the laundry and redirect it to irrigate the garden, though they do need to be installed to strict health regulations.

Both options involve upfront cost and must be installed by a licensed plumber to meet WA requirements, including backflow protection wherever the system connects to scheme water. Whether they pay off really depends on your usage and how big the garden is, so it's worth getting some professional advice before you commit to either.

Understand your bill and tariffs

The Water Corporation charges for water in tiered blocks, so the more you use, the higher the rate you pay on that extra usage. That's part of why cutting waste matters more than people think – reducing your usage can actually move you out of a higher-priced tier. It's worth sitting down and reading your bill properly to understand your usage pattern and see where all those litres are actually going. If you notice a jump between bills that doesn't match any change in your habits, that's usually a pretty strong sign of a hidden leak somewhere.

When to bring in a plumber

Doing things yourself and changing a washer here and there goes a long way, but you should call a licensed plumber if:

• Your meter test shows a leak you can't locate yourself
• Your bill has jumped sharply without any change in usage
• You've got persistent damp patches, unusually green spots on the lawn, or you can hear running water when every tap is off
• You want efficient fixtures installed properly and to code

A concealed leak can waste enormous amounts of water and damage your home at the same time, so it is one of those repairs that genuinely pays for itself over time.

Bill higher than it should be? Call our licensed Canning Vale plumbers to track down hidden leaks and fit water-efficient fixtures that keep your usage down.

Frequently asked questions

Related: Contact our Canning Vale plumbing team to get help with leaks and water-efficient upgrades.