Water Meter Programme

• Reducing Water Demand
• Keeping our Water Safe
• Paying for Water
• Water Charges 2012/13
• Lastest Media Release in The News 5 July 2012

Water Meters

Water meters have now been installed on most Central Otago District Water Supply Connections. The meters have been installed to:

• Help manage demand for treated water
• Provide backflow protection to protect the water supply
• Allocate the cost of water production more fairly

Reducing Water Demand

The hot, dry Central Otago climate means in summer months many of us reach for a hose to keep our lawns and gardens green. Did you know that an estimated 75% of the water treated in summer months is used for irrigation on private property? That’s a lot of water and it doesn’t come for free!

As well as the cost of treating water to meet the relevant drinking water standards, the cost of pumping, piping and storing water must also be met by ratepayers each year. Local authorities must also provide enough storage to meet periods of peak demand even if that is only a few weeks a year. If there is not enough storage, more may need to be built and that doesn’t just mean a new tank, it means more treatment facilities, more chemicals, more pumping capacity and more wear and tear on the whole system.

Reducing demand and therefore the costs of meeting that demand, saves us all money. While many people think managing demand just means using less water, it is also about making sure we are getting maximum benefit from the water we do use. Often just being smarter about water use can lead to a reduction in use.

Water meters mean we can each monitor the water we are using and pay based on what we actually use. Meters can encourage us to be more aware of the cost of the water we are using, to think about how much water we use and whether we can do things differently and avoid wasting water. By using less we pay less.

Keeping Our Water Safe

The water meters and manifolds Council has installed contain built in backflow prevention. This stops contaminants being accidentally sucked into the water supply system through a connection into the town supply. This can happen for a number of reasons but most often will happen where a change in pressure causes water to flow the wrong way through a hose connected to a tap.

These "backflows" do not happen very often, but can be serious. In one case in the US a contractor had a hose in a barrel of insecticide which was sucked into the water supply. Fortunately no one was affected, but this incident caused US$40 million worth of damage to the water supply system.

Paying For Water

Changes adopted through the 2012 Long Term Plan Process mean ratepayers will now pay for their water differently. Previously Central Otago ratepayers paid one set charge for their water each year regardless of how much water they actually used. Water meters allow for water charges based on actual use.

From 2 July 2012 water charges will be split into two parts:

1. Annual Uniform Charge: This charge will appear on your annual rates account. The uniform charge covers each ratepayer’s share of funding the water supply system. This includes the cost of maintenance, replacement and development of bores, pipes, pumps and other infrastructure that is part of the water supply system.
2. Volumetric Charge: This charge primarily covers the cost of the water each ratepayer uses through their meter. The meter is read and this charge collected by account three times a year (every four months). You will get an account following each read. When your meter is read depends on where you live. (Refer to table)

No Allocation: The uniform charge no longer includes a pre-paid allocation. You will be directly billed for all water you use.

Charges apply from 2 July. As we can’t physically read all meters on 2 July, meters will be read during the first scheduled read rounds for the 2012/13 financial year. Charges will only apply from 2 July (whether you have been billable in the past or monitored). Any charges on your account up until 1 July 2012 will be billed at 0 cents.

Water is a ‘Rate’: Both the uniform charge and the volumetric charges are a ‘rate’ and by law must be billed to the ratepayer, not to the tenant where properties are leased or rented out. A landlord may of course seek to recover the volumetric rate from his/her tenant(s).

Where there are multiple connections to a property, ratepayers will also now pay one uniform charge per connection.

Roxburgh: Roxburgh residential ratepayers will not pay volumetric charges until installation of residential meters in Roxburgh is complete.

More Information to help you through the transition will accompany your water bills.

Cost-recovery: Council cannot make a profit on water by law. Under the new volumetric charging model, ratepayers still pay only what it actually costs to operate the water supply.

Water Charges 2 July 2012 - 30 June 2013

* Status quo pf an annual rate and allocation remains to align Patearoa urban and rural water supplies.