In the 2014/15 Draft Operational Plan and Budget, Dubbo City Council indicated it planned to increase the water usage charge by 7 per cent for 2015/16. Instead the increase for 2015/16 was 3.2 per cent.

"In last year's budget we were projecting for the 2015-16 year, we had assumed a 7 per cent increase in usage charges back then and also the councillors, some were still interested in a tiered system," council's director of technical services Stewart McLeod said.

"But when we reviewed the charging this year we decided to stick with the single tariff, but more importantly we did work out ways to, instead of going for a 7 per cent increase, take it back to 3.2 per cent."

"We were really just aiming for 3 per cent - 3 per cent was the rate peg limit for general funds. Water and sewer are not subject to rate pegging - we just aim to stay in line with general rate increases. We didn't have to but we chose to. We said we would do a review and we did."

The internal review has resulted in a water usage charge of $1.91 per kilolitre in 2015-16, up from $1.85/kL. The fixed water access charge also rose from $241.95 per year to $250.

But despite a smaller increase, the rate rise has still drawn criticism. Prior to the passing of this year's budget, multiple submissions to council argued the continual increases to water prices would make people use less water, resulting in less revenue for council.

But Mr McLeod said the weather at Dubbo had far more impact on water use than any price hike.

"Increasing the price certainly reduces demand, that's just simple economics, but in Dubbo the impact of price change is completely swamped by the impact that rainfall has," Mr McLeod said.

"From past experience, we would expect our 3.2 per cent change in price to result in a 0.8 per cent drop in consumption, but the effect of rainfall is much greater than that.

"If the rainfall for 2015-16 changes by say 100 mL from what it was in 2014-15, we would expect that would change consumption by 35kL.

"A 100mL change in annual rainfall will have 14 times more impact on consumption than a 3.2 per cent increase in price."

And he said any increased revenue would cover council's "operating and maintenance costs" and help "build new capital works for the future".

"We have plans for new reservoirs, we have plans for new pumping mains, we are calling [for] tenders at the moment for the Eumungerie Water Supply scheme and that's likely to be about $5 million," Mr McLeod said.

"What we charge is what we need, for operations, maintenance and future capital expenditures."