McCormack turns on grant to benefit water consumers

GOLDENFIELDS Water County Council customers have a new opportunity to save on their water bills thanks to a $100,000 Federal Government grant announced by the Nationals’ Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack.

“This Liberals and Nationals in Government grant will invest in the development of a MyH20 mobile app to allow council customers access to their hourly water usage on their smart phones or tablets,” Mr McCormack said.

“Customers can also use the app to set consumption targets and to receive alerts if the targets are exceeded or leaks detected,” Mr McCormack said.

“As someone who has grown up and raised a family in a country area I know how important it is to keep an eye on your water usage and to use water wisely.

“Every drop counts. It is our most valuable resource.

“This clever app will be a handy tool for families and businesses.”

Goldenfields Water County Council will match the grant to make the $200,000 app project a reality.

Council’s General Manager Phillip Rudd said the funding would ensure its 11,000 customers had even better access to information about their essential water supply services.

“Earlier this year we became the first NSW water utility to provide MyH2O to our customers, a completely free online service that lets them know how much water is being used at their property every hour and what it is costing,” Mr Rudd said.

“The new MyH2O app will make it faster and easier for our customers to stay up to date with their water consumption from any smart phone or other mobile device.

“I would like to sincerely thank the Australian Government and Member for Riverina Michael McCormack for supporting our use of smart technology to deliver improved services for communities in rural and regional NSW.”

 The grant is being delivered under the first round of the Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.

The program will invest $28.5 million in 52 projects across the country, of which 40 per cent are being developed in regional areas.

The Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, Angus Taylor, said the program was about delivering technology solutions to help fix practical problems in local communities.

“We are focused on delivering technology solutions across Australia, across our regions, suburbs and city centres,” Mr Taylor said.

The first round of Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, in which Goldenfields Water County Council was successful, attracted more than 170 applications.

A second round of funding will be available in the first half of 2018.

Goldenfields Water County Council supplies water to a population of 46,500 over an area of 22,000 square kilometres.