They are the latest in a series of ratepayers who have successfully contested their water bill in the past year.

But future appeals could be heard in public after Armidale Dumaresq acting general manager Glen Inglis said there was no reason to continue the practice of councillors hearing such pleas behind closed doors.

Armidale Dumaresq Council is responsible for the city’s water services and sets and collects water fees from homes and businesses.

At a council meeting earlier this month, the pensioners were one of two customers appealing unusually high water bills.

They told Council how they returned to the high water bill from an overseas trip in October last year.

“[They] have advised there were no leaks in their piping system during that period [September to October] therefore, there have been no alterations or repairs carried out and they are at a total loss as to why the consumption had jumped so drastically,” officers advised councillors.

Their water bills over the previous three years had averaged less than $100 and so councillors agreed to reduce their bill by $825.83. Another household also successfully appealed its water bill after the owners noticed their usage was four times over their regular reading.

“They discovered that the roots of a tree in the adjoining property had extended into their property, lifted and ruptured their incoming water pipe approximately 18 inches underground leaving no water pooling on the surface,” the officers said. 

“As soon as the owners became aware of the problem, they called in plumbers who identified and rectified the problem. In this case, there are grounds to base a reduction of the account to the average consumption of the previous three years. 

“This would result in a reduction in the account from $388.50 to $72.30, a reduction of $316.20.”

But the biggest reduction in water bill adjustments in the past quarter was in November last year, when a bill was reduced by nearly $2000. 

Then, councillors met in private and agreed to reduce two bills by $845 and  $1922 respectively.