Topic 2: How much water is actually enough?

Let's talk more about district-wide water metering

Over the past 30 years, many councils across New Zealand have rolled out universal water metering.

One of the main perks of this initiative is that it helps cut down on daily water use. By making people more aware of their water consumption by metering usage and charging the household or business for actual use. Water metering encourages better water efficiency and reduces unnecessary water use and waste.

With water metering, users pay for the exact amount of water they use, creating a fairer charging system. Instead of all ratepayers paying the same amount for their household water supply, individuals are charged based on their actual water usage. This means that households or activities that consume more water will pay more than those that use less. This system actively promotes and encourages more responsible water use.

Using less water could mean lower operational costs for the council in the future since there's less demand on water treatment and distribution systems. This can lead to savings in energy and maintenance for these systems (pipes lasting longer and our reservoirs staying in good shape). Plus, using less water means less wastewater, which could delay expensive upgrades to our wastewater treatment and collection systems.

Water metering is a great way to spot and fix water losses in the network. If you're on a metered system and notice a spike in your bill without using more water, it'll make you want to find out why. If the increase isn't due to things like filling a pool or having extra guests, it might mean there's a leak in the supply.

Water leaks can really mess things up for our community. They put extra stress on our water supply system and can cause serious damage to buildings, leading to expensive repairs and safety issues. Plus, the dampness from leaks is a perfect breeding ground for mould and mildew, which can cause health problems like allergies and respiratory issues. On top of that, leaks can waste a ton of water, making our water scarcity problems even worse. Fixing leaks quickly is super important to keep our infrastructure in good shape, protect public health, and save our precious water resources.

Having the meters installed and being able to identify the area of a potential leak through increased demand, this can help to detect and fix leaks faster, conserving water and reducing wastage.

Additionally, the data from meters provides valuable insights into the overall water balance, which is crucial for effective water management and planning.

One area that has installed meters and seen the benefits of these is Tauranga City Council. As part of installing the meters, they rolled out a comprehensive water demand management program that includes active leak management and public education. This has made people more aware of their water use and shown them how valuable water really is.

One of the standout results they have seen is a 30% drop in peak water demand. This reduction allowed the council to delay a proposed water scheme by at least 10 years, saving a lot of money on capital expenditure and other costs.

Since introducing metering and volumetric charging, there's been a 25% decrease in average per capita water consumption compared to pre-metering. Water restrictions used to be common during summer, but now they rarely happen, even with a population increase of about 27% during this time of year. This has led to more efficient water use, lower operational costs, and less water wastage.

In Waitaki, we already meter large water users and rural properties on a restricted supply. In Kurow, every property connection in the township is also metered for water use. This isn't a new idea – it's just something we need to think about more. Not only to create a fairer user-pays system to reduce costs for those who aren't big users, but also to protect one of our most valuable lifeline sources – water.

Overall, water meters lead to more efficient water use, lower operational costs, and reduced water wastage, helping councils manage their resources better and potentially lower rate payments for their customers.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and preferences on how we manage the future supply of our water.