Water Pressure

In periods of higher-than-normal water demand across the network, eg during summer peak holiday periods, it is possible that your household water pressure will be impacted.

Water pressure can vary from property to property for a range of reasons, including the topography of the land, the distance the water must travel, and the time of day. During periods of unusually high-water use, such as during influxes of visitors in town or the use of hydrants during fire emergencies, water pressure can also change significantly.

What is ‘normal’ water pressure?

Pressure is measured in kilopascals (kPa).

Your water pressure will usually be between 150kPa and 500kPa. Often, home appliances and fittings have restrictions on water pressure, so before making any purchasing decisions, it is wise to check that:

  • Garden reticulation or watering appliances you are considering will satisfactorily operate at 150kPa; and
  • Pipes, fittings and appliances are able to accept pressure as high as 900kPa.

What is normal flow?

Busselton Water aims to provide 20 litres of water per minute to the boundary of your property.

If you think you may be receiving less than normal pressure or flow, there are a number of things you can check:

  • First check for water outages in your area.  You can do this via our website here or on our Facebook page.
  • If there are no outages, you can first conduct a flow test as follows:
    • Write down the number on your meter.
    • Turn all taps and water using appliances off.
    • Turn on your front garden tap for 60 seconds.
    • Take another meter reading and subtract it from the first meter reading to see how many litres you received in 60 seconds. This amount should be at least 20 litres.
  • If you still have concerns you could conduct a water pressure test on your property using a pressure gauge.

If you are unable to do this, you can contact us about your concerns directly and we can investigate further.