It's been revealed many Hunter residents are struggling to pay their water bills, with almost 18,000 households deferring payment last year.
Hunter Water says the figure includes short term extensions to help residents who were having difficulty paying on time.
However, there is some good news, with Hunter households using less water.
The region used 65-point-7 billion litres last year, which is a saving of about 3-thousand Olympic-sized swimming pools from two years ago.
