The Business of Water
In the early days of Canberra, management of the fledgling water and sewerage network was the responsibility of the Federal Government, an arrangement that remained largely unchanged for around 50 years. Through various departments, jurisdictions, agencies and names, one constant has remained: the provision of high quality water and sewerage services.
In this section you can explore a range of milestones achieved and different identities as we become Icon Water in 2015.
[{"url":"Officers-Federal-Capital-Commission.jpg","alt":"Officers of the Federal Capital Commission","caption":"Officers of the Federal Capital Commission ~i~(image courtesy of Canberra and District Historical Society)~i~."}]The Federal Capital Commission
The Federal Capital Commission was formed to construct and administer Canberra and prepare Canberra for the influx of public servants and their families.
Until the advent of self-government in the ACT in the late 1980s, operation of the water and sewerage network in Canberra was the responsibility of the Federal Government. To support this though, several advisory bodies were established over time to advise the federal government on matters relating to the ACT.
The first of these was the Federal Capital Advisory Committee which was established in 1921 to oversee the construction of Canberra following the departure Walter Burley Griffin. The aftermath of the first World War, however, put immense strain on resources and funds and greatly reduced the ability of the committee to attain Griffin’s original vision for the city.
In 1924 the Committee was abolished due to the slow pace of development and was replaced by the Federal Capital Commission in 1925. The Federal Capital Commission was formed to construct and administer Canberra and prepare Canberra for the influx of public servants and their families that would arrive when Parliament relocated to Canberra. The Federal Capital Commission achieved far greater success than their predecessors.
A snapshot of life in 1975
In 1975, water and sewerage services were looked after by the Department of Housing and Construction. In this clip, John Dymke gives us a snapshot of what things were like at that time.
[{"url":"Icon100-Fishburn-staff-office-break-1989.jpg","alt":"people talking during office break in the Fishburn office in 1989","caption":"~i~(Image courtesy of Ian McRae collection)~i~"}]The new ACT administration
Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water Authority
In 1989, water and sewerage services were looked after by the newly formed Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water Authority. This image shows an office break in Fishburn House with some members of the Sewerage Planning and Projects sections. Two of those shown are Peter Buscombe (on the left leaning on partition) and Ian McRae (centre).
[{"url":"Icon100-water-meter-reading-man.jpg","alt":"Man from ACTEW entering water meter reading details onto a paper form","caption":""}]Water meter reading
The image above shows a meter reader from ACTEW using the traditional paper based entry system
The first water meter in the ACT was installed in 1952, however compulsory metering including additional charges for consumption in excess of the given allocation was not introduced until 1960. Even then the given allocation was very generous (almost double what we use today). The image above shows a meter reader from ACTEW using the traditional paper based entry system. Today meter readers use a small hand held device which uploads data overnight to the billing system.
[{"url":"Icon100-geneology-timeline.jpg","alt":"Geneology timeline of Icon Water from 1911 to today","caption":""}]100 years of providing water and sewerage services
The genealogy of water and sewerage service providers in the ACT for the past 100 years.
The genealogy of water and sewerage service providers in the ACT for the past 100 years.
[{"url":"Icon100-governance-and-identity-history.jpg","alt":"Sewerage services","caption":""}]Managing water and sewerage services after self-government
In the 1980s, the ACT commenced self-government and with that came the transition from Federal Management of water and sewerage services to the development of ACTEWA (ACT Electricity and Water Authority) which for the first time saw the operation of water and sewerage services managed at a local level.
In 1995, ACTEWA was corporatized and ACTEW Corporation was born. By 2000, the addition of gas services saw ACTEW Corporation enter in to a joint venture to form ActewAGL, which delivered water and sewerage services along with electricity and gas until 2012, when water and sewerage was reintegrated back in to ACTEW Corporation and began trading as ACTEW Water.
2015, our centenary year, sees us become Icon Water and will help to address the continual confusion between ACTEW Water and ActewAGL and that the name ACTEW is also no longer strictly relevant to what we do and who we are as a business.
Did you know…
In 2013, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey on water use and conservation, Canberra drinking water received the top score in Australia with 95% of ACT households satisfied with their water quality.
[{"url":"Icon100-man-holding-tomato.jpg","alt":"Man holding a tomato in a garden","caption":""}]Water bills
Water consumption in the ACT was not charged until 1960.
Water consumption in the ACT was not charged until 1960. The main thinking behind this was that not having to pay for water would encourage Canberrans to develop gardens which would truly help to achieve the original vision of creating a Garden City.
In the end, water use was charged but the allocation given was very generous and much higher than what we use today (almost double our current daily water use).
By 1965, Canberrans were paying £5 for 75,000 gallons and the excess over that amount would cost 2/- for 1,000 gallons.
During the Millenium Drought, the waterwise behavior of Canberrans included changing their gardens to incorporate drought tolerant plants and artificial turf.