Annual report card returns consistently high scores for water quality, customer service
Jul 06, 2026
Riverina Water’s latest Customer Satisfaction Survey has again returned strong results, capping off a year in which the organisation was named Australia’s best local government customer service provider
More than a thousand community members took part in the annual survey from across Riverina Water’s supply area, which covers the Wagga Wagga City, Lockhart Shire and parts of the Greater Hume and Federation council areas.
Satisfaction with water quality was overall rated high on average, including almost 93% of survey participants been satisfied with water supply reliability.
Customers who had contacted Riverina Water in the past 12 months rated every aspect of customer service in the high range, including overall satisfaction of 8.55 out of 10. Around 75 per cent of enquiries were resolved the same day, and 98 per cent within a week.
“Listening to our community is central to how we work, and these results tell us we consistently deliver on our customer’s expectations,” Riverina Water CEO Andrew Crakanthorp said.
“It has been a remarkable year. In November we were named Customer Service Organisation of the Year for Local Government at the national Australian Service Excellence Awards, recognised alongside leading national brands and organisations.
“That recognition is backed by what matters most, the continually high satisfaction scores our customers give us each year. The trust of our community, measured year after year, is a real measure of success.”
The survey also assessed customer priorities, with the community again rating water reliability, water quality, affordability and great customer service as what’s most important to them. Survey participants also scored Riverina Water highly for trust, reputation and overall performance.
“Our teams, both on the front line and behind the scenes, earn these results every day,” Mr Crakanthorp said. “On behalf of the Board, I thank them, and I thank our customers for taking the time to tell us what matters to them.
“While our results are strong overall, we are passionate about being an industry leader and review these results for opportunities for improvement. Issues such as water pressure in rural areas and villages is an ongoing concern, along with maintaining affordability for our customers.
“Riverina Water’s mission is to provide safe and reliable water at the lowest sustainable cost. Balancing affordability with rising costs and providing vital infrastructure for our growing region is always front-of-mind when making decisions and plans.
"We will continue to actively listen to our customer concerns and I thank all survey participants for their important feedback this year.”
Survey participants again went into the draw to win their water bill paid for a year, up to the value of $800. This year’s lucky recipient was Katelyn from Wagga Wagga.
“Riverina Water has a great reputation,” Katelyn said. “Every time I’ve called up and spoken to staff, they have been friendly helpful and knowledgeable – including letting me know to contact a plumber about a leak under our house.”
2025/26 Customer Satisfaction Survey
Top customer priorities
- Water quality
- Water supply reliability
- Water affordability
- Efficient and reliable customer service
Customer perceptions of Riverina Water (out of 10)
- Overall trust in Riverina Water 7.9
- Satisfaction with service provider 7.69
- Our reputation in the community 7.64
- Water affordability 6.35
How do we compare? Benchmarking against similarly sized Victorian utilities shows Riverina Water performing above these and the Victorian average in all customer perceptions scores. While comparative results aren’t available for NSW, Riverina Water’s fees and charges are the sixth most affordable in the state’s latest comparative data.
Water quality performance indicators (out of 10)
- Water supply reliability 8.61
- Water clarity 7.65
- Water smell 7.41
- Water pressure 7.35
- Water taste 7.25
Customer service performance indicators (out of 10)
- Friendly and caring service 8.82
- Contact dealt with quickly 8.72
- Knowledge and skill of staff 8.70
- Convenient hours of operation 8.62
- Handling your transaction accurately 8.62
- Ease of doing business 8.59
- Meeting your needs on first contact 8.55
- Overall satisfaction with service 8.55
- Information easy to find on the website 7.68